Does it work on linux? :)

My original retail key of Windows 7 would still be accepted by Windows 10 future ISOs. Microsoft are working on a way to make it happens (not now, but it will).

Besides, my hardware hashes are already stored in Microsoft Servers (current activation method). I just need to install Windows 10 as it would and it will be activated automatically without the need of any key.

The last time I checked, the games on Windows Store are mostly casual indie games, the same you'd play on mobile devices I think. So I think it is relevant beyond AAA titles, and at this point even more relevant. Heck, Windows Store has Minecraft now!

However, I am unsure how many AAA titles there are currently on Windows Store, and are any incoming. Someone mentioned some Gears of War and Halo Wars games, are they such? Or are they mainly online multiplayer games?

I played that one free boat racing game on Windows Store, it had commercial level 3D graphics, but maybe it isn't quite AAA level though. Pretty ok racing game though.

Wait, is Gears remastered even out?
Can't play it anyway because I'm not running Windows 10.

As a few others have posted, the Windows store purpose is clearly to help MS compete with Apple and / or Google on mobility areas. Not on traditional desktop.

Given the recent focus MS has given to hardware and to enterprise software - the first following on the relative success of the Surface line, also intended to help them in the mobility area, and a move that might have caused frictions with their traditional OEMs - the second their cash cow since forever, and an area which has been under attack by other productivity suppliers, mainly Google, and in which MS had been relatively complacent. Given those main priorities, I'd say Steam and GOG are the farthest from their mind, and similarly the whole Xbox and MS games development has always played second fiddle at MS, and I expect under Nadella that's not going to change much, or rather, it has changed, in the directions of hardware and productivity and mobility.

So, no W10 is far from the main threat to Steam and GOG. To GOG HIB is probably becoming a significant competitor - just consider how the bundling models were adopted by GOG. To Steam the only kind of competitors are the Apple and Google stores on the mobile space. IF, and it's a big enough if, W10 manages to help raise MS to the same level of Google and Apple there is still the question of how much the mobile gaming market will cannibalize and compete the more traditional desktop / laptop markets for gaming, where Steam dominates.

More long term it's obvious there will be increased convergence but that's quite a ways off. W10 can be an important milestone on a road, but its no where near to being able to directly affect the market in such a strong way during it's whole predicted lifetime.

Just my 2 cents.

Ah, that explains a lot. :P
Couldn't find any info on it, thought it would be out as there were reviews of the console version.

This reminds me.

For anyone using Windows 7,8, or 8.1 who worries about waking up one day to a "Welcome to Windows 10" installation screen. To the best of my knowledge, uninstalling this update (& hiding it) will fix the problem (that is until another bad update pops up).
Win10 upgrade:
KB3035583

Also if you don't want MS to collect info on your computer, here are the offending updates.
Data slurping:
KB3068708
KB3075249
KB3080149

Some of these updates are listed as "Important" while others are listed as Optional.

Sources:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/10/15/pushy_windows_10/
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/09/01/microsoft_backports_data_slurp_to_windows_78_via_patches/

Did not read every post, so if my post is in any way repetetive, sry.

I think more competition is good, valve had to put up finally the refundsystem because of rising competitors like GOG. Finally.So Win10 with its own online store sounds good, I did not know about this yet.

BUTT...(I love the english language sometimes xD) what I`ve heard so far about Win10 is suspicious for me. They want to be Win10 the"last" version, an OS that will be updated and modernized just by patch. So they probably will demand a monthly fee, something like that. And when did Microsoft not try to scam their customers, especially since they still are a monopolist?
And if anyone tells me now that every company has to make profit, milton friedmann blablabla, look at bill gates and other MS-CEO`S accounts and shut up.

Aside from that, like other gamers here said, I have Win7 and there is no reason for me to change, especially since Win7 is the first OS since Win98 that does not suck.

So my final judgement is: this new online store and its OS appear to me as carrot and whip And although I really do like carrots, I`m not so in favor of whips.

Erm, the uptake is actually much faster than what Windows 7 was in the same amount of time. So it's by no means mediocre.

And that is okay for you... the average consumer? Not so much. There is a reason that Windows has 90% of the market, it works and it comes pre-installed to the end user doesn't have to mess around and get their hands dirty. Hell many people had issues just upgrading to Windows 10 and that was all automatic.

So unless something drastically happens with Steam Machines that changes the market, Linux isn't going to make any difference as far as the market is concerned.

Your come of as having a very limited view. The point is that many companies are starting to lock there stuff behind there own clients. More will come, this is just the start and that is very clear. Even if they take the Uplay route and remain on Steam, it still another client and annoyance that has to be run in the background in additional to Steam. This Steam only mind set will change, and if Valve screws up again like they did with paid mods, it might happen very quickly.

And that nice for you I guess? These are franchises people have been begging MS to put on the PC for years or to re-focus on in some cases. They will sell like crazy and MS will see 100% of the profit. Not to mention the other benefits like crossplay, ect that people will buy into. As they say it not just about you.

It really doesn't have much effect on their bottom line... they never made much money from us. They make their money on Windows licenses from business which still have to pay for Windows 10. So you better believe they are still making a lot of money off Windows 10, which businesses have been much more accepting of than Windows 8.

True enough.

That's everything today, personally I could care less about the cloud. More of a gimmick than anything. But there is no doubt that companies want us to move in that direction, even if we don't want to...

Not many AAA right now, practically none actually. But they are coming, many games have been announced. As I said before we are not talking about the here and now, rather the future potential that such a system can have.

this whole windows 10 resistance is futile is getting old. thanks for this link, uninstalling those updates now. I'll hold out as long as I can tho I have no doubt we all will be absorbed soon.

They clearly want to compete in the mobile space this is true. But they also clearly want to compete with the traditional desktop applications. That is the entire idea behind universal apps.

As of listed before, many AAA games are coming to the store. When that starts to happen we we see MS completing directly with Steam and somewhat GOG. Nadella clearly has big plans for MS and MS has a new focus and it's clear from this attempt not being GFWL 2.0 that MS has a greater interest in the Windows gaming scene this time around. I believe personally that MS is hoping Windows picks up the slack for the Xbox One since they have basically lost to Sony this gen with the mistakes they made during the Xbox One launch. MS sees Windows 10 as an extension to the Xbox. Hell they have even given devs on Windows 10 complete access to all the Xbox tools this time around, which never happen with GFWL. So anything that can be done on the Xbox can now be done on Windows 10.

Which makes sense, as far as their Store; gaming is the most poplar category...

I would say yea it's is more of a America/North America thing, Most people I know have an Xbox (or an Xbox and a PlayStation but use their Xbox more online). Now phones is a different thing, they never took off... even here, but MS wants to change that for sure.

Pretty similar to the Playstation experience honestly, except a lot of people would argue is slightly better as far as online services anyway. Not my opinion of course, I don't even own a console anymore... just pointing it out. Anything more you really want to know you can Google and get biased views on. :P

^ This 100% this.

Microsoft will still embrace Steam and Microsoft might also soon embrace gog.com. Microsoft did talk about gog.com about 2 months ago? When they said SecuROM will not work on Windows 10.

So a free OS (zero bucks!) has just a little bit more marketshare at three months after launch than the previous PAID OS (roughly 100 bucks per licence) that it supersede ... that is the definition of mediocre (at best).

...and as long as their niche remains niche (which I'm betting) they'll be too small to even matter in the long run. see all clients out there except gorilla, they're mosquitos.