It’s been going around the grapevine that pirates will be eligible for the free Windows 10 upgrade when it comes out. Points about this statement has been picked up by the wily ears of Microsoft.
Microsoft issued a clarification to their statement yesterday. Terry Myerson, Microsoft’s executive vice president of operating systems, said that all Windows 10-compatible devices will get the free upgrade to the new operating system when it rolls out this summer. This includes both genuine and non-genuine versions of previous operating systems.
According to Ars Technica, a Microsoft spokesperson says that non-genuine PCs will not be able to change the illegitimacy of their license. They may be able to upgrade to the new OS, but they will still be flagged as non-genuine versions.
We’ve been wondering about what the inclusion of pirates does to Microsoft’s revenue stream. It seems like we’ve got an answer. However, Microsoft did not clarify if there are any implications to the non-genuine license. The most possible implication would be a heavily restricted version for pirates. No Start Menu? No App Store? Your icons replaced with horrendous clip art? All implications are all matters of speculation at this point.
[…] Update: Windows 10 pirates will still be pirates […]