Microsoft Says Windows for the Internet of Things Will be Free

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Emil Protalinski

Emil was a reporter for The Next Web between 2012 and 2014. Over the years, he has covered the tech industry for multiple publications, incl (show all) Emil was a reporter for The Next Web between 2012 and 2014. Over the years, he has covered the tech industry for multiple publications, including Ars Technica, Neowin, TechSpot, ZDNet, and CNET. Stay in touch via Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

At its Build 2014 conference today, Microsoft announced it will soon release Windows for the Internet of Things priced at, well, $0. Furthermore, the company is now making Windows for phones and tablets less than 9 inches in size available for free.

The decision is undoubtedly aimed at ensuring Windows continues to dominate in market share. The Internet of Things, for those who don’t know, refers to the phenomenon of everyday objects becoming increasingly ‘connected’ – so cars, refrigerators, watches – you get the idea.

During the event, Microsoft had a giant piano (similar to the one in the film ‘Big’) that was running on the new IOT version of Windows. Undoubtedly, the company is hoping that companies will want to put its operating system on every product they can think of, so that developers can in turn build apps for them, and a $0 price tag surely won’t hurt.