Free Windows 10 updgrade

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Congrats on the malware

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LINK

Not Malware.

The notification popped up on my system yesterday.

For Windows 7 & 8, anyone who wants it, will get 10 for free.

They said that offer will last for one year.

hey man, i subscribe to /r/android and /r/technology. I have an Xbox One. I run Windows via Parallels. Can't keep up with everything. Sorry a reservation system for an OS upgrade seems extremely foreign to me.

For anyone currently running Windows Media Center, be aware of the following:

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Remember, Windows Media Center is NOT included with Windows 10. So if you install Windows 10, it will prompt you that it will REMOVE Windows Media Center (unless this changes at a later point). It IS NOT an installable option as of right now, in a nut shell, go to Windows 10 and you will have no more Media Center.

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Here Are the Features Windows 10 Will Remove When You Upgrade

To remove the Windows 10 update icon, you need to uninstall Windows Update KB3035583.

LINK

I'm running 7 on the laptop that got the notification. I only use it for the web and very occasional word processing. But it only has an i3 Core in it.

I know, time to upgrade. I'm waiting to see what the new Surface Pro will be like when it comes out later this year.

I liked 8 so any improvement is gravy.

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go to Windows 10 and you will have no more Media Center.

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I use WMC on my HTPC for DVR but would like Win10. I'm really hoping someone finds a way to hack it in. That or maybe the DVR for Kodi gets beefed up.

I don't really follow this segment of the market -- is there any business reason for discontinuing WMC? Are they trying to migrate users over to another MS product with equivalent features? I think I've opened WMC maybe twice in my life and found it to be redundant, but I don't see why it wouldn't just be left in there as a downloadable option.

Well, it's not redundant with other windows products, such as WMP (or even VLC if you want to go non-Microsoft) because it incorporates the "10-foot interface" as opposed to the "3-foot interface" and everything (literally, everything. No feature is Left out or requires a mouse/keyboard) is navigable by a remote (simulates keyboard press combos).
Most importantly, it includes an "all in one" DVR solution (it's both a front end and backend with a very nice GUI. Several other options, like Kodi/Emby are only front ends that require a separate backend for the tuners. Others, like MythTV, can be either or both, including over the network to separate machines).

The 10-ft interface is great for an HTPC, but Kodi, Emby, et al have largely replaced its functionality. WMC had Netflix support. Many people wrote add ins, but they were clunky as heck and failed often. Others were OK. The community developers were loyal and dedicated, but it appeared to be a fairly difficult platform and wasn't nearly as organized as the other 10-ft GUI programs by its nature.

It's big plus is that it struck a deal with digital cable providers to allow a DVR. That's the easy part (which is also absent from all the Microsoft exclusive offerings that would make it "redundant" (though "perfectly redundant" probably wasn't your literal intention)). They were able to negotiate to allow even the HD channels marked "copy once" (I forget whether you can even back them up or not, but a yet-to-be-cracked DRM that allowed the ESPN and HBO to agree to let their 720p broadcasts be stored on people's computers). That was probably a significant cost (to develop the DRM) for a fairly small group of end users. The "DVR and place shifting game" was big in the 05-08ish era, and WMC was pretty much the king. To date, it's the only software that allows certain channels to be recorded (up to the channel and the provider as to whether it's "marked" copy once or not. So if you used essentially any other program on one of those channels there, you wouldn't even be able to watch the show/event/etc). They spent money and created an elite product that garnered the interest of a small audience. They're pissed as hell that it's going away (TheGreenButton is a forum for WMC and a fairly awesome forum, as far as tech goes, with a group who knows a hell of a lot about what they're talking about freely sharing good info. There are even threads about "what's next/where to turn" and a petition or two to MS to keep WMC).


In addition, I recently learned that Guide Data (like on your cable box, back when you had one...or have you not convinced the wide to drop the habit of surfing for trash tv as background noise instead of seeking out what she wants to watch? I forget) doesn't come free. I assumed it would be fairly easy to tell WMC who your provider was (from a list) which would then go scrape their regional website for it. Apparently, it doesn't really work that way. And guide data doesn't come cheap, so it's an ongoing expense for as long as they support WMC. Heck, TiVo charges $15/mo/device (or, with a lifetime subscription, roughly 3 years of their monthly fee up front...$500) for their guide data.

So the failure of the 10' interface to be widely accepted + other non-Windows exclusive 10' interfaces that are superior in pretty much every way except for the one that actually cost them to upkeep was probably enough for Microsoft to say "oh well."


I'd pay probably as much as $50 for it to appear in the Windows App Store, as is, and up to maybe $5/mo for guide data. Beyond that, I'd buy a TiVo and bite the bullet on lifetime subscription. Also, SiliconDust, a very popular producer of internal and external (especially networked) tuners is creating their own software, mostly just for DVR +/- place shifting, if I'm not mistaken, that will be something like $30/year and be the first 3rd party group to include the fancy DRM as above that should allow all the channels, rather than allowing, basically, an opt-out for the more in-demand ones that are "worried about pirating." There was a kick starter that was funded and met stretch goals for, at least, Kodi integration of the non-DRM channels.