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[–] beancounter ago 

Part of it is selling data, sure. Actually, it's probably more like "see, we can push this update to everyone, and sell your product that way." They're selling the marketplace, honestly.

But the other part is, I think, trying to counteract the poor adoption of Windows 8. Part of that was the pile of tablet-aimed code, but the other part is was "Why would I pay you money for something I've heard is worse?" They're attempting to address this situation with Windows 10 by handing it out for free early and trying to get market momentum before people can declare it bad. It's also worth mentioning that new computers will include a license as part of the fee, so getting people comfortable with the new platform will encourage companies to purchase it when making large corporate orders. This is all about marketing, and they'll forgo, what, three months of sales from people who might have upgraded? That's a low cost in comparison to the money they stand to make by encouraging people buying new computers to purchase them with Windows 10.

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[–] Warrick ago  (edited ago)

Yeah, I have no doubt that in the end they are making more money off of this stunt than the old model. Just the publicity alone surrounding the whole "is it free or not" thing has been worth dozens if not hundreds of millions in marketing.