Quote - I'd I would bet that previous purchasers will get the future 4.1 release for free or reduced price (it's the version with the big render speedup). The freebie folks will have to upgrade for the render joy. That's my guess for the future.

That would be a good way to reward those who shelled out money.  But they said in the announcement that the free versions would be eligible for upgrade pricing, just like the paid versions.