You mean that you don't have Admin control well locked-down ?!!!

*** Edit *** Just saw later comment. Maybe things need to be locked down tighter ....

geoff

"I've read quite a few articles that all conflict but the ones that say it will be free forever stress that it's only for the original device. That means you can't install it on anther computer later and possibly if you change enough hardware on the original computer it may trigger a reauthorization and who knows if at that point you will have to pay."

FUD and conspiracy theories abound. The net has been the biggest boon for the conspiracy crowd since the beginning of time.

Windows has always been for a single computer device since they have done the activation thing. I cannot remember which Windows version started the activation thing. Nothing new or scary here.

Changing hardware for underneath and installation (like a motherboard). Again nothing new or scary here. The OS will need to be re-activated as has always been the case since activation became the norm. I have swapped MB from under my Win7 system. Generally this re-activates without a need to contact MS. That is my direct experience. I have known someone who did need to contact and it was painless.

If an activation serial number tries to re-activate say once a year from a hardware change, MS has not really cared about that and just re-activated with a mouse click.

As for the cost of Win10, that dollar amount has already been published and is basically the same price MS has recently been selling Windows.

I can see where constant updates and one version may be appealing but there is also the flip side. With each update you run the risk of some legacy hardware driver or software buggy or no longer working .

I'm guessing there would be an uninstall for the last update. But, at that point, you may find your version is effectively frozen. Future updates could be dependent on your version always being up to date.

Perhaps that is just doom and gloom but it wouldn't be the first time. Which SP2 version was the one that broke so many things?

I generally think the utility that one gets from an operating system is a real bargain. A quick calculation for my experience with Windows XP was that it cost me about $0.034 per day per machine. Windows 7 is still running so the numbers are a work in progress. I'll confess that I like high quality paper napkins and I suspect that I spend more than that every day wiping my mouth after eating. I won't go into detail about the amount my wife spends every day on bottled water.

I'm not getting too upset about the possibilities of Windows 10 this far in advance of general availability. If I had to buy it outright after the one-year free promotion, it wouldn't be the end of my world.

Windows 10 is a significant downgrade from Windows 7, for me. It eliminates the ability to run the most important program Microsoft has ever produced, except perhaps "File Manager" or "Windows Explorer." That program is "Windows Media Center," which has allowed some of our PCs to be the ultimate media device since 2005.

I will not switch to Win10, and will not give up the Media Center while I have the chance to continue using it.

i think i've asked before, but it can't harm asking again ;-)

since xp all my computers have run reasonably well throughout updates and upgrades (never did do vista though). and through all of them i didn't/don't really see any real difference in 'performance' per se.... such as using ps, vegas, ppro, etc.,

now, discounting gui, which you can either love or loath, security fixes, which if not connected to the net are of no signifcance, is there anything going on that will make vegas render any faster than it does at the moment, or other programs work more efficiently so that i'll ACTUALLY notice?

btw. i was bugged by the 10 update thing but once removing and then unchecking and hiding the relative 'important update' am not bothered by it anymore - but IF it is going to make things work BETTER (whatever that means) i would consider using it.

There is no great hurry to adopt 10, you have until July 2016 to obtain your free 'copy'
I guess the best solution is to have an image of your W7 set up as a fall back and try W10. Should you wish to switch back to W7 it is best to clear the drive with Diskpart before restoring the image. At least this has been my experience with the W10 preview.