Interesting story that could potentially have a twist/loophole.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/...0ME06A20150318

All those in China that currently use pirated copies of Windows will get a free legitimate upgrade to Windows 10.

I wonder if the Chinese manufacturers might spot an opportunity to bypass any possible licensing costs for 10 (assuming that there will be any at all of course) in supplying boxes wholesale with the 30 day evaluation and a pirated key, knowing that if each box is connected to the Chinese internet at least once, they will then become eligible to receive a genuine licence key for 10 that they could pass onto the customers who buy in the run up to launch.

As an aside, this article also states that Microsoft will not be storing a recovery image locally, which means more space on boxes in the future.

http://bgr.com/2015/03/17/window-10-update-storage/