By Sillicur at Monday, December 28, 2015 10:20:00 AM

It’s been an eventful year for Microsoft and Windows 10 to say the least with the launch of Windows 10 in July. We’ve covered a lot of Windows 10 news, recently focusing on the upgrading process, in particular that Microsoft is using Windows updates to sneak Windows 10 onto devices and user choice in upgrading to Windows 10.

Last week I talked about how you can stop your PC from constantly trying to update to Windows 10 via the nifty GWX Control Panel. However, I noted that every time Microsoft is asked about the seemingly “forced” upgrade, the company has come up with a “nothing answer”.

In a Skype interview with Paul Thurrott and Mary Jo Foley of Windows Weekly, Microsoft’s Chief Marketing Officer and “former speech writer for Bill Gates”, Chris Capossela, went into detail about Microsoft pushiness regarding Windows 10 upgrades.

Microsoft finally responds – There is no backing down

When asked about the GWX Control Panel and the news that “Windows 7 and 8 users don't have a choice about upgrading to Windows 10” Mr. Capossela comments:

“This is definitely something as we move windows to…a look service we are trying to find the right balance. Look we made windows 10 for free for anybody who is on Windows 7 or 8. You can call that freemium if you want, but we did not make that decision lightly. For us, it was just so incredibly important to end the fragmentation of the Windows install base.

We think that every machine capable of running Windows 10…we should be doing everything we possibly can to get people to move to windows 10. We always want to give them a choice and we always try to give them the right update constructs and UI constructs that we think are going to please as many people as possible.”

According to Mr. Capossela, Microsoft won’t be letting up on the push to get everyone they can on Windows 10. One of the main reasons for pushing Windows 10 so aggressively is that Microsoft is apparently worried about the user experience, as Mr. Capossela notes:

“We do worry when people are running an operating system that’s 10 years old, that the next printer they buy isn’t going to work well… or they buy Fallout 4 and it doesn’t work on a bunch of older machines. We’re willing to put up with some level of discomfort if we feel like we’re getting more and more people to a safer, better operating system that’s frankly better for everyone in the ecosystem… it’s better for Intel, Dell, HP… our customers.”

Further, Microsoft’s marketing chief feels that the pushy tactics are justified, as he notes the company “does feel a responsibility to get people to a much better place.” Citing security concerns and device incompatibilities with previous versions of Windows, Mr. Capossela jokingly comments that “users can stay with Windows 7, at their own peril”

That is probably not something many users want to hear. Yes, staying on an Operating System (OS) that is old could cause some security risks, but that’s what updates are for. Microsoft should continue to support Windows 7 and 8.1 users with security updates as well, instead of just pushing Windows 10 onto its customers.

Mr. Capossela does admit that the move to Windows 10 could anger some people, but notes that the Windows 10 push won’t be going anywhere by stating: “We are really trying to push people to get to Windows 10… we’re going to keep at it. It’s hard to move anyone to a new model without angering some people.”

Finally, an interesting bit of information is that Satya Nadella and the senior leadership team “are intimately involved in influencing the upgrade screens and language presented to users of Windows 7 and 8, providing direct feedback to designers for what is clearly a strategically important experience for Microsoft.” - Source

There is no doubt the push to upgrade to Windows 10 will continue in 2016. Although many people will probably be a bit upset about the unapologetic nature of the answers, Mr. Capossela has at least given a transparent explanation as to why Microsoft is pushing their latest OS onto users.

You can listen to the full hour and a half Skype interview here, or skip to the 26-minute mark to listen to the Windows 10 upgrade talk.

What do you think about Microsoft’s response to Windows 10’s pushiness? Let us know in the comment section below.

Source: Windows Weekly

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