I got it in the first year (was actually running all the insider builds before the retail release).
The free license was tied to my motherboard which promptly died, so I had to buy a new one at full price.
EDIT: And besides, just because they're not an essential feature doesn't make me happy that the previously included things have been removed. Say what you will about Apple's hardware, but they went the opposite direction with bundled software. Keynote/Pages/Numbers used to be an optional package ($50 IIRC), but shifted to an included feature. They don't even have banner/video ads shoved all over.
This is in fact untrue. You would not have needed a new license for a replacement motherboard if that really happened. At worst you might need to make a phone call to MS, though even that is an unusual case.
You are really trying to get me out of the bounds of acceptable decorum of this site. Really??? I see a very prominent conditional in your reply. I suppose MS has a right to screw over people who got free upgrades (not really), but I got to pay for my copy of Windows with a new computer a few weeks ago and still get the privilege of seeing all the anti-consumer crap that comes with it. I'd also venture a guess that proportion of users who aren't using free upgrade offer will increase with time - how is your argument supposed to age, Brandon?
Putting a couple ads in free games in the App Store is not "screwing over people". Nor is it "anti-consumer".
In fact, the whole point isn't even to make money from them, but to support the Windows developer ecosystem by promoting other apps and jump starting a viable ad network.
Also note that Apple and Google do the same thing.
> Putting a couple ads in free games in the App Store is not "screwing over people". Nor is it "anti-consumer".
Games came with the OS therefore they are part of the OS. If you didn't want them to be part of the OS then you shouldn't have included them. If I'm paying premium then I don't want to be INSULTED with ads. Nor with telemetry that's borderline spyware which was my outburst more about. All that is beside the point which was that you're making a dubious argument that applies to only a portion of people.
> but to support the Windows developer ecosystem by promoting other apps and jump starting a viable ad network.
And to that I say fire entire marketing team. How will a couple thousand fools that bought $10 upgrades in Minesweeper help jump start anything? Does Microsoft employ underpants gnomes because the plan doesn't follow. Marketing team is burning bridges way faster than foss software releasing portion of Microsoft is making them, there's no point in jump starting anything if marketing shortcuts any trust customers could possibly have in the platform. Every one of my friends doesn't trust Windows 10, even nontechy ones and the best/worst part is, I didn't have to help them.
> Also note that Apple and Google do the same thing.
If they are super abusive then so can be Microsoft. Flawless logic. I'll add that Google and Apple started their BS on mobile platforms which were for some time their own thing and people didn't care if they were soiling their own turf. The trouble with Microsoft is that they are exporting this excrement to PC segment of computing platforms which had established norms that were in place for decades that you are now breaking. If you kept telemetry/ads BS only on Windows Phones literally nobody would care.
The free license was tied to my motherboard which promptly died, so I had to buy a new one at full price.
EDIT: And besides, just because they're not an essential feature doesn't make me happy that the previously included things have been removed. Say what you will about Apple's hardware, but they went the opposite direction with bundled software. Keynote/Pages/Numbers used to be an optional package ($50 IIRC), but shifted to an included feature. They don't even have banner/video ads shoved all over.