Following up on an earlier announcement regarding the partnership with Chinese investment company Tencent — which will bring Tencent applications to the Windows Store as well as offer free upgrades from Windows 7 and 8.1 customers in China — Microsoft has offered more details on the upgrade in the Chinese market (whether or not the upgrade details will apply to other regions is unclear).
In an interview with Reuters, Microsoft’s operating system chief Terry Myerson stated that Microsoft is “upgrading all qualified PCs, genuine and non-genuine, to Windows 10.” That means that people who purchased the operating systems and people who stole it will all receive a free upgrade.
The hope is that this will “re-engage” Windows users in China, whose numbers range in the hundreds of millions. The upgrade is said to be coming “this Summer.” Hopefully, Microsoft will clarify if the upgrade for pirates and buyers will be region-locked or worldwide (let’s hope for worldwide).
[Reuters]
