Have you been slow to move to the newest versions of Windows in the past? If you are still using Windows XP, that’s definitely true. Even many users of Windows 7 hesitate to upgrade to Windows 8/8.1 as they don’t see any benefit. Microsoft wants to do everything possible to get users to upgrade to Windows 10 when it is available.

So they are giving away Windows 10 upgrades for free!

Yes, there are some specifics if you want to get the free version. It will be available to users currently on Windows 7 or 8 and the upgrade will only be available for the first year. After the first year, the upgrade would have to be purchased as you’ve had to do in the past. Once you’ve upgraded to Windows 10, it will be kept current for the supported lifetime.

What does “keeping current” mean? It definitely includes new security updates just as we’ve had with the last few versions of Windows. It also includes new features and you’ll have options for how you want new features installed including the option to not install them.

As Windows 10 is not expected to be released until sometime in the fall of 2015, this isn’t something you’ll need to do right away and the clock is not yet ticking on that year. As you plan for the future, include a plan to upgrade your computers to Windows 10 within the free year. For those thinking about purchasing a new computer now, the good news is that you’ll be able to upgrade it once Windows 10 is available and it won’t cost you anything extra.