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Yeah I think the issue is that for most people it is freeware. Very few consumers are actually paying €145 for Windows. They might have got Windows 7 with their PC (I believe the actual cost is around $10) a literal decade ago and paid nothing since.

I can see why Microsoft are trying to explore other revenue sources. If they give Windows away they make a huge loss but if they charge for upgrades nobody will upgrade and it will become a support nightmare.

We used to call seeing ads in Windows ‘adware’. Now we just call it ‘Windows’.

I’m dead serious - unless you have a specific business reason like most do to use this POS, I can’t imagine anyone actually choosing to use Windows over the alternatives. What a seriously awful piece of software.

For many, it was a "free upgrade".

I bought 1 pro license for Windows 8. I have used that key ever since. Countless virtual machines and reinstall / hardware upgrade has accepted that key the past 10 years.