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Windows 10 sees 14m installs in 24 hours

Jon Tullett
By Jon Tullett, Editor: News analysis
Johannesburg, 04 Aug 2015
A Microsoft delegate explores Windows 10 at the launch event in Nairobi, Kenya.
A Microsoft delegate explores Windows 10 at the launch event in Nairobi, Kenya.

Windows 10 is flying off the virtual shelves, with Microsoft reporting 14 million installs in the first 24 hours after last week's launch.

A recent survey of 500 people across EMEA and North America by Spiceworks suggests 25% of PCs could be running the new OS inside a year, and 75% will update within two years, far exceeding the poor uptake of Windows 8.

That reversal was a key objective for Microsoft, as Windows 8 was widely criticised as "a dud" and "a flop" with slow adoption and many users opting to remain on previous versions: Windows 7 and even Windows XP.

Microsoft put a number of measures in place to spur adoption of Windows 10, which the company sees as critical to its evolving strategy. First and foremost, the upgrade is free for users who update inside the first year, a move intended not only to drive uptake, but to do so rapidly.

With Microsoft moving to an incremental update model for future versions, this may be the last major upgrade for the OS. Microsoft is betting heavily on a unified approach for tablets, PCs, and phones in the future.

The long beta programme was also designed to attract early adoption and smooth the transition by resolving complaints early. Windows 8 was marred by strong pushback from the user community, with key dislikes centring on the user experience.

"We've been building Windows 10 together with our customers and partners: we have over five million customers in our Insider Programme," says Anthony Doherty, Windows Business Group lead at Microsoft South Africa. The programme includes many thousands of enterprise users and developers in South Africa, Doherty says.

Unfortunately, criminals have also been quick to seize on the interest in the new OS, with malware already circulating. CTB-Locker is Cryptolocker-style malware, delivered with e-mail claiming its executable attachment offers the free Windows 10 upgrade, but instead encrypting users' files and demanding a Bitcoin ransom to decrypt them.

PCs running eligible versions of Windows 7 and 8 will receive notifications to update as Microsoft rolls out updates. An offline installer can also be downloaded.

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