The power of free: Windows 10 now on 75 million devices, although adoption is slowing
Key points
Give something away for free, and you'll have people queueing up around the block
But updates to Windows 7 and 8 introduce new data-collection practices for them as Windows 10, warn bloggers
Windows 10 has now been installed and activated on more than 75 million devices, according to Microsoft vice president Yusuf Mehdi, making it one of the fastest-adopted Microsoft operating systems ever.
However, giving it away free to existing users, rather than requiring them to buy a copy or a high-end PC capable of running it, no doubt helped.
By comparison, it took Windows 8 six months to reach 100 million licences - largely from people buying new laptops and PCs - while Windows 7, the escape route from the appalling Windows Vista, took four months to reach 90 million devices.
In a series of tweets, Mehdi claimed that the operating system is running on more than 90,000 different PC, laptop or tablet computer configurations in 192 countries around the world.
"Even some devices manufactured in 2007 have upgraded to Windows 10," he tweeted, perhaps indicating the level of information that the operating system "phones home", as well as how it is used by Microsoft.
He also claimed that there had been six times the number of downloads per device in the Windows Store compared to Windows 8 - indicating that the app store might be gaining some traction after three years.
The success has been achieved despite widespread reports about the level of surveillance conducted by the operating system and the amount of data that Windows 10 feeds back to Microsoft - even if all the privacy checkboxes are ticked.
However, users of Windows 7 and Windows 8 will also be subjected to the same data collection practices, according to a report by a privacy blog, following a flurry of Microsoft updates.
"KB3075249 Microsoft Update adds telemetry points to ‘consent.exe' in Windows 7, 8 and 8.1, allowing for remote monitoring of everything that happens within the operating system. KB3080149 ensures that all 'down-level devices' receive the same updates and treatment as Windows 10 boxes get," they claim.