First off what happened to Windows 9?
The honest answer is no real answer has been given. Personally I think it’s just easier to market Windows 10 over Windows 9. A longer reason made by a reddit user was that calling windows 9 would cause legacy issues for computer running Windows 98 and 95. I have to call BS to that statement as there were actually 3 operating systems 95,98 and 98SE which where all way different from each other. That and it’s not like Microsoft to be backwards compatible with PC’s that are just not in existence. You have to think about the No upgrade path from XP to Windows 7 as proof they just are not worried about legacy support in that manner.
The more plausible explanation from a marketing point of view is Max Os has been at 10 for a while and version 9 sounds like they are behind Mac. In all honestly I think this is the best explanation and the one I choose to believe.
Upgrading to Windows 10
My rant is over. The great news out of all of this is Microsoft is giving away Windows 10 to most Windows 7 and Windows 8 users. This is a far departure from the past revenue model as you used to have to pay for upgrades.
While there is no real explanation behind the move I think it’s done for 1 reason and 1 reason only. It will make Microsoft more money in the long run. By offering the OS as an upgrade for free users on Windows 7 will have the ability built into the OS to use Microsoft apps from their app store. Yes Microsoft has an app store just like Apple and Google. They are way behind in market share when it comes to people using Microsoft apps. The free upgrade will go a long ways in getting people into using Microsoft apps on their PC’s. Of course many of these apps cost money so Microsoft will be making some cash there.
For Windows 8 users the upgrade makes sense because, well let’s face it, Windows 8 kinda sucks. I have gotten used to the interface but that was only after hacking the hell out of it and customizing it to look more like XP. They took away the desktop which pissed everyone off. I know people who have Windows 8 and still user there slower Windows 7 and XP computers because they hate the user interface that much.
Windows 10 is supposed to address a lot of the issues people have with the UI. By offering the free upgrade they are going to keep people happy and keep them as Windows users instead of people turning to the only real alternative out there which is of course MAC.
Upgrading For Free:
To get your free upgrade you can follow the guide at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-10-upgrade . It covers the details you need to do to get your free upgrade to Windows 10. Windows 10 is slated for launch July 29 2015. Me and my geeks will be having a party to celebrate.