Windows 10 pricing remains up in the air

Microsoft has bold ambitions for Windows 10: To power 1 billion devices by 2018. To achieve that goal, the company will let most users update to the new version at no charge for one year after Windows 10’s release.

微软公司对Windows10系统信心十足，期望到2018年，有10亿台电脑使用该系统。为了达成这个目标，微软公司决定，在Windows10系统发布后的一年内，用户可以免费将系统更新至最新版本。

After that, however, Microsoft doesn’t know what it will charge customers to upgrade -- or how it will deliver upgrades in the future.

但微软公司尚不明确一年之后，如何收取更新费用，或者以后如何收取更新系统的费用，

Joe Belfiore said Thursday the company’s primary concern is getting the operating system onto a critical mass of devices as quickly as possible. How will people get their hands on Windows 10 after the first year? "I don’t know, " Belfiore said at a press event.

副总裁乔·贝尔菲里奥本周四表示，现在最重要的是让众多重要的设备都安装该系统。但是，一年之后，人们怎么安装Windows10系统？“我不知道。”贝尔菲里奥在发布会上说道。

While Microsoft hasn’t claimed it would never charge customers to upgrade to its latest software, executives have put greater emphasis on casting the software as far as possible than on pricing. Users who update to will get "new features and benefits for a long, long time," said Belfiore. Those add-ons will include application and full OS updates, he added.

虽然微软公司并未明确表示客户可以享受免费更新软件的服务，但是主管人员对软件的重视程度远远超过了对价格的重视。贝尔菲里奥表示：“选择更新系统的客户将能长时间享受各项一些新的功能和各项福利。”这些额外的好处包括应用以及操作系统的完全更新。

Microsoft is taking a big gamble with Windows 10: That Windows can become integral to every mobile device and every piece of software we use. That’s because the one operating system can run universal apps developed for any device.

对微软公司来说，Windows无异于一个赌注：或许该系统对于我们所用的所有移动设备或者软件都是不可或缺的。因为该操作系统可以运营所有设备的通用应用。

The result is a very different strategy for how the world’s largest software maker delivers and sells its products. To that end, Microsoft has transformed Windows from a one-time software license into a perpetual service. It’s also making sure its applications can live on many different devices, even those not running Windows.

结果导致了世界上最大的软件制造商在销售产品时采取了不同的策略。为此，微软公司摒弃了一次性软件许可证，转而决定为客户提供永久性服务。此外，微软公司确保这些应用在各式设备上都能使用，不再运行了Windows系统也不例外。

Uncertainty about Windows 10’s price tag may urge more PC users to upgrade sooner rather than later. Yet it also raises questions about the benefits and new features users can expect when they pay for Windows 10.

但微软公司尚未确定一年之后Windows10系统的价格，这使得更多用户在一年之内更新系统。但是，人们仍然好奇花钱购买Windows10系统时还能享受哪些新的功能。

So how Windows 10 operate in the future? It will be "pretty similar to the model you see with phones," said Belfiore.

那么，在未来Windows10将何去何从呢？贝尔菲里奥表示这与“手机的更新换代是一样的。”

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来源:CNN 双语新闻爱语吧作者:Annie