This weekend Microsoft rolled out Windows 10 with somewhere between 18 and 67 million installations within the first 48 hours (67 million if you ask Microsoft, 18 million if you believe the source quoted by WinBeta). Tablet and PC users upgrading from Windows 7 and 8.1 get Windows 10 for free for the first year. Windows users upgrading from previous versions will pay $100 or more for the new operating system.

For Office users, viewing and most editing will remain free for non-commercial use on devices 10.1″ or smaller. Commercial users, PC users, and users with tablets larger than 10.1″ must have a qualifying Office 365 subscription.Microsoft is currently offering a free one-month trial for Office for Windows. After that, Office 365 Home for households with up to 5 users is $9.99/month and Office 365 Personal for individual use is $6.99/month. There is no contract, and users can cancel anytime. Trying to soften the blow, Microsoft reminds users that they can always edit documents for free in Office Online.Not interested in being beholden to Microsoft on a monthly basis for the foreseeable future? For now, Microsoft is offering Office Home & Student 2013 for a one-time cost of $139.99, Office Home & Business 2013 for $219.99 and Office Professional 2013 for $399.99. This version can only be downloaded to one PC, and it includes restrictions the other versions don’t. Visit Microsoft for a complete rundown of features, pricing and limitations.In an unexpected twist, Solitaire on Windows 10 – which comes pre-installed – is free to play if you don’t mind enduring 30-second video ads. For an ad-free experience and to get additional features, Solitaire players can pay $1.49 per month or $10.00 a year.Insider Take:We are skeptical with new technology, so we aren’t among the first 18, or 67 million, to upgrade to Windows 10 – just yet. We’ll wait until Microsoft gets all the bugs worked out.We’re more interested in their pricing structure. It is interesting to see they are giving free upgrades for Windows 10 for the first year to what one publication estimated as 74% of all Windows users. Does that mean those with the free upgrade will have to subscribe a year from now to keep Windows 10, or its successor? Will Microsoft make enough off the remaining 26% of users who choose to upgrade to recoup some of their losses?And what’s with the ad-supported version of Solitaire? It will be interesting to see what kind of ad and subscription revenue that generations, and whether it will be worth the PR fallout and loss of goodwill with customers to make this change without an announcement.That said, Microsoft has made itself an integral part of our lives. Whether we like it or not, Microsoft is moving toward subscription products that have value that we can’t get elsewhere and for which we are willing to pay. It is merely a question of when and how much we pay.