Image: Blair Hanley Frank/IDGNS
Microsoft really wants people to get on the Windows 10 bandwagon, so much so that the company plans to start automatically downloading its new operating system to some users’ computers next year.
In a new blog post, Microsoft Executive Vice President Terry Myerson said the company plans to push Windows 10 as a recommended update through Windows Update sometime next year, after rolling it out through the service as an optional update “soon.” That means those PC users who have applied Microsoft’s suggested update settings will automatically download the update when the company makes the switch.
That’s an aggressive move from Microsoft, especially given the outcry earlier this month after the company did the same thing accidentally. Users who’ve gotten the download will still be able to opt out before it’s installed on the device, and they can roll back the upgrade for as long as 31 days after making the switch to the new OS, so that’s some consolation.
It’s a particularly raw deal for people who are on metered Internet connections. Windows 8.1 users aren’t in danger there, because that OS won’t automatically download updates over a metered connection. But Windows 7 users will have to turn off automatic downloads of all recommended updates in order to avoid downloading multiple gigabytes worth of operating system.
All this is part of Microsoft’s move to make Windows 10 more easily available. Starting today, people who reserve a copy of the new operating system will have it immediately downloaded to their devices rather than having to wait as they did in the OS’s early days.
Microsoft has said that it expects 1 billion devices to be running Windows 10 in three years, and it seems that this is a part of that strategy. What remains to be seen is how well users will take having an update they don’t necessarily want pushed at them more aggressively.
