On Friday, Microsoft described a way for anyone to get
Windows 10 for free: activated, genuine, and updated forever. We wrote at the time that we expected the company to do a
volte-face and back away from this promise. Lo and behold, it has come to pass.
Since Friday, the blog post describing the changes to the Windows Insider preview program has been silently updated. Previously it said that signed up members of the Insider Program running a preview version would "receive the Windows 10 final release build and remain activated." Now it says only that they will "receive the Windows 10 final release build." The activation wording has been removed. The company has also added a "clarifying" sentence: "It's important to note that only people running Genuine Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 can upgrade to Windows 10 as part of the free upgrade offer." This is in contrast to what the company said on Friday, when Microsoft's Gabe Aul
confirmed that upgraded preview copies would be Genuine.
