Within one year after the release of the final Windows versions 10, users of devices running Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1, and the use and update of the platform will remain free for them for the entire life of the device. An official representative of Microsoft reported this to Lenta.ru.

At a Microsoft presentation held on Wednesday, January 21, the upgrade to Windows 10 will be free for users of a number of previous versions platform within a year after its release. However, the company did not specify what will happen after the first year, or for whom the operating system will be paid.

The service life of a device that is planned to be upgraded to Windows 10 will be determined by the user himself, Microsoft clarified. During this entire time he will receive automatic updates platform for free if installed in the first year after release final version.

This refers to the definition of “Windows as a Service”, which was repeatedly heard at the Microsoft presentation - some suggested that the company was thereby hinting at a translation operating system for subscription payment. However, Microsoft clarified that the concept of WaaS refers to the process of regularly updating the platform.

However, for those users who do not install Windows 10 within the first year after its release, the operating system will be paid. “Our business model will not fundamentally change. We want to attract users to the latest version of Windows 10. We expect that free update will stimulate innovation among our partners and desire among consumers,” the company says.

Microsoft will also continue to charge device manufacturers for Windows 10 licenses, meaning that for buyers of new Windows devices, the cost of the platform will be included in the purchase price.

The Lente.ru company also said that the new one, codenamed Spartan, which Microsoft presented the day before, can be tested by all interested users who take part in the Windows 10 testing program under named Windows Insiders. Now a preliminary technical version of the platform is available for them, and from next week - Windows 10 Consumer Preview.

At the same time, Windows 10 will come with two browsers - in addition to Spartan, the platform will also have Internet Explorer 11. Microsoft refused to talk about possible plans to make Spartan available on other platforms.

The exact release date for the final version of Windows 10 is not yet known. However, Microsoft previously said that this would happen this year. Windows 10 Preview for mobile devices will be released in February.

If you find yourself on this page, then you are almost certainly interested in the question of where you can download official version operating room Windows systems 10 in Russian for free. I must say frankly, you are lucky to be with us. There are a lot of sites on the Internet where, under the guise of legal, they offer Windows image 10 with all sorts of surprises inside. We will not deceive you, but will honestly tell you how to get a truly original “ten” x64 or x32 (32- or 64-bit versions). Don't believe me? You are absolutely right! Don't take anyone's word for it on the World Wide Web. Just read on and you will see for yourself that the proposed method to download free Russian Windows 10 is absolutely official.

In general, the popularity of pirated versions of Windows OS, which still exists today, is already an anachronism, but it is quite understandable. The fact is that before the advent of the “ten” it was not possible to download a completely official image of the operating system from Microsoft from its official website. To do this, you definitely needed keys, and not just any activation keys, but certainly from the boxed (not OEM) version of Windows. For example, for the “Seven” pre-installed at the factory, the path to download its original image from the official Microsoft website was ordered. Of course, people looked for ways to get around these restrictions and downloaded them for free from third-party sites. Lost a disk with "seven"? Download from torrents.

The fundamental difference between Windows 10 and all previous versions of this operating system is that now absolutely anyone can download it for free and legally. This is the official policy of Microsoft Corporation. And it is very strange that people are still looking for legal OS images on third-party resources, in particular, torrents.

Of course, Windows 10 is by no means free for users. No. The operating system is posted on the official website for those who want to use it legally. As before, you will need a key to activate it. But even in this case, Microsoft made significant concessions for users of non-activated versions of Ten:

  1. First, install original Windows 10 image, including in Russian, now you can download it without any key. To do this, during the installation process you need to select the “I don’t have a key” option. Thus, everyone can “try” the OS in operation before purchasing it, and for an unlimited amount of time.
  2. Secondly, if previously the non-activated version of Windows 7 or 8 was forced to reboot, now this is not the case.
  3. Thirdly, even non-activated Windows 10 will receive all the latest updates.

Of course, it would be foolish to hope that Microsoft will not have a fly in the ointment hidden in this barrel of honey. But, in our opinion, the restrictions are not very significant: the non-activated version of the “ten” in Russian (and not only) appears in the lower right corner with a translucent and barely visible inscription “ Windows activation" Also to owners of original, but not having Windows key 10 will have to come to terms with the fact that they will not be able to customize personalization settings for themselves: the design of the Taskbar, the color scheme. We don't think these problems will be significant for most people. Moreover, there are workarounds for solving them that do not pose any danger to the computer. About them at the end of the article.

Let’s add that license binding also happens differently now. If you have already installed it on your computer original Windows 10, then you no longer need the key even with a complete clean reinstallation. Activation is now tied not to a specific installation, but to the hardware - motherboard and possibly the computer processor. There is no need to enter a key.

Where to download the original (official) Windows 10 for free

Let us now return to the issue of trust. As we have already said, unlike other sites, our Internet resource describes a completely legal method get the original image of Windows 10 for free in Russian. Proof of this is the name of the site itself from which we offer you to download the OS - this official Russian-language portal of Microsoft.

So to download free Windows 10, you need to go to this page microsoft.com. You can verify that this is indeed the company's official website, for example, on Wikipedia. IN address bar You see that the site is reliable, that is, the connection to it occurs via a secure channel.

If you just want to update your computer's operating system to Windows 10, you can select the "Update Now" button. You will be asked to download a special software tool that will upgrade your OS. This method should be used by owners of licensed versions of Windows 7 or 8. For some strange reasons, Microsoft still allows you to upgrade from them to the licensed version of Windows 10 for free (although they promised to close this program back in July 2016).

If you have an inactivated operating system or you want to install “ten completely,” then you should select the “ Download the tool now " In this case, you will be prompted to download the MediaCreationTool program, with which you can create bootable USB flash drive or a disk with the official Windows 10 in Russian, or simply download an image of the original “ten” to your computer. Both x32 and x64 versions are available.

More details on how to create Windows 10 installation media using MediaCreationTool are described step by step in our article “ How to reinstall Windows 10”.

Why you need to download Windows 10 only from the official website

Let's move on to the seemingly obvious question of why you need to download the original “ten” exclusively on the official Microsoft website. Of course, we don’t want to impose anything on anyone. But we want to warn you about the need to be careful on the Internet. Unfortunately, if some Internet resources say that they offer download official Russian Windows 10 for free, this does not mean at all that they need to be trusted. The same goes for other software. The fact is that on third-party resources, significant changes can be made to the image of the operating system or programs, and, of course, including malicious ones.

It is for these same reasons that we do not recommend using activators for Windows 10. They can damage the integrity of the OS and threaten the security of your computer. If you don’t have a license, then it would be much more correct to simply use a free, non-activated Windows 10. We’ll talk about this in a little more detail below.

Is it possible to use original Windows 10 without official activation?

As we already mentioned in this article, not activated, but legal Windows 10 quite suitable for daily use. Unlike previous versions, as a sign of protest against its own unlicensed nature, it does NOT reboot on its own and does NOT block the update center. You can use this version of the operating system for as long as you like. It won't do much harm, except for two small functionality limitations already mentioned above. Let's remember them:

  • The original, but non-activated version of Ten has a translucent “Windows Activation” watermark. It may not appear immediately, but 3-4 hours after the reboot. Of course, it will irritate some people, but in our opinion, it does not look intrusive.
  • An unlicensed version of Windows 10 does not allow you to configure Personalization.

Moreover, both of these functionality limitations are quite arbitrary. In both cases, there are workarounds that, without any threat to the security of the computer and without installing suspicious third party programs will help to at least partially lift the restrictions. You can read about them in our articles “Personalization in non-activated Windows 10” and “How to remove the Windows 10 Activation watermark” (this article is still in the process of being written).

Microsoft has officially announced that users can update their software before latest version until July 29 of the current year, then Windows installation 10 will become paid and will cost $119.

Microsoft has officially announced that users can update their software to the latest version for free until July 29 of this year, after which the installation of Windows 10 will become paid and will cost $119. Thus, the company in its official blog confirmed the plans announced about a year ago, RG Digital reports.

Microsoft representatives said that this moment Windows 10 is installed on approximately 300 million devices, including computers, tablets, smartphones, Xbox consoles One and even HoloLens augmented reality glasses. The company expects that after a few years under Windows control 10 one billion different gadgets will work.

It can be assumed that Microsoft decided to follow Apple's path - to make money not from selling software, but from selling various services and programs. The company found effective method encourage users to upgrade to the new platform, because, interestingly, its main competitors at the moment are the old versions. Windows has 90 percent of the OS market, with Windows 7 accounting for more than 60 percent.