Windows 8 = $39.99 upgrade

[balamw]

Just note that this appears to be a temporary/limited price point around the launch. I picked up my W7 licenses for 50% off at the launch. $49 for W7 Home, $99 for W7 Pro.

$39 for Pro is a better deal, and I expect I will take advantage of it.

B

 

[maflynn]

$39 for Pro is a better deal, and I expect I will take advantage of it.

Just to have the license in my back pocket - I'll take the plunge as well. Most of my windows work at home is by way of vmware though.

 

[balamw]

Just to have the license in my back pocket - I'll take the plunge as well. Most of my windows work at home is by way of vmware though.

Yeah, I haven't used the W7 Home license I bought for my 2006 iMac, it's still running XP. It's not clear to me though from the link if we will just be able to download an ISO or if the upgrade has to proceed in-place.

In case you didn't click on the OP's link, here's the evidence that it is a limited time promotion. Just like the 50% off W7 and W7 Family Pack deals at its launch.

If you prefer to shop at a local store, a packaged DVD version of the upgrade to Windows 8 Pro will be available for $69.99 during this promotion.

This upgrade promotion for Windows 8 Pro both online and at retail runs through January 31st, 2013.

B

 

[Zombie Acorn]

Apple's hardware markup more than makes up for their cheap OS, added you have to buy snow leopard to upgrade to lion.

 

[AppleScruff1]

I think Microsoft may be going with this low price because they know that a lot of people are very happy with Windows 7 - it's the best version of Windows they've ever made.

A very good point. Microsoft knows they will have difficulty getting people to switch from Windows 7. And if they sell both side by side for the same price, Windows 7 may still come out on top.

 

[LethalWolfe]

Just going to point out Apple only has a ever sold upgrade edition. It is impossible to legally install a new version of osx on a computer that did not run a privous eligible upgrade.

That's right. I got labels backwards. They sold it as an 'upgrade' but it was always really the full version of the OS.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

That's right. I got labels backwards. They sold it as an 'upgrade' but it was always really the full version of the OS.

So was windows. It just requires hoops to jump threw to verify you were upgrading.

Remember Apple did not have to do that verification because it only installs on Apple built computers.

Remember you have to compare Apple release cost to the upgrade edition cost of Windows.

 

[Renzatic]

A very good point. Microsoft knows they will have difficulty getting people to switch from Windows 7. And if they sell both side by side for the same price, Windows 7 may still come out on top.

That, and Windows 8 is the central piece of MS' new tablet/xbox/laptop/desktop/cell phone ecosystem. It's the future of their company, a future they've sunk a ton of money into, and they want people to adopt into it.

Personally, I was thinking about holding off on Windows 8 because, though nicer overall, it's still pretty much a lateral upgrade. The new Start menu is neat, sure, and it is a bit faster and thinner, but there's just not a huge amount of differences between it and 7. At least not enough to pay the usual MS upgrade prices.

But for 40 bucks? Hell, I'll get two.

 

[yg17]

Clearly Microsoft is infringing on Apple's patent for reducing the price of a product and should be sued into oblivion

 

[S.B.G]

http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/...07/02/upgrade-to-windows-8-pro-for-39-99.aspx



Seems like a good plan - I think they will have a hard time getting people to upgrade given how well Windows 7 works for most people.

Not too shabby. But like you said, they'll have a difficult time getting us off Win7. I have no intentions of moving my office PC's over to Win8 at all.

 

[AppleScruff1]

That, and Windows 8 is the central piece of MS' new tablet/xbox/laptop/desktop/cell phone ecosystem. It's the future of their company, a future they've sunk a ton of money into, and they want people to adopt into it.

Personally, I was thinking about holding off on Windows 8 because, though nicer overall, it's still pretty much a lateral upgrade. The new Start menu is neat, sure, and it is a bit faster and thinner, but there's just not a huge amount of differences between it and 7. At least not enough to pay the usual MS upgrade prices.

But for 40 bucks? Hell, I'll get two.

You bring up the most valid point, it is the future of the company. They are banking on integrating everything with Windows 8.

 

[G51989]

Now just to point out, this is Upgrade ONLY. I'm sure a new copy will still go from 100-200.

Now most windows versions going for 100-200? Compared to Apple's 30?

When you buy Apple, your OS cost is built into your price, its not any cheaper than Windows.

And keep in mind, Microsoft supports their OS's for a very long time, XP is over 10 years old and they still patch and provide security updates.

Apple drops support after a couple of years. But on the other hand, they charge less to upgrade. OSX isn't any cheaper than windows.

They are gonna do this to start moving people off 7, and the price is a good incentive to do that.

They are probably including XP in the Upgrade, because a TON of people still use XP.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

Now just to point out, this is Upgrade ONLY. I'm sure a new copy will still go from 100-200.

Now most windows versions going for 100-200? Compared to Apple's 30?

When you buy Apple, your OS cost is built into your price, its not any cheaper than Windows.

And keep in mind, Microsoft supports their OS's for a very long time, XP is over 10 years old and they still patch and provide security updates.

Apple drops support after a couple of years. But on the other hand, they charge less to upgrade. OSX isn't any cheaper than windows.

They are gonna do this to start moving people off 7, and the price is a good incentive to do that.

They are probably including XP in the Upgrade, because a TON of people still use XP.

As pointed out before time and time again.
Apple ONLY sells upgrades to its OS.
You can not compare OSX cost to anything but windows upgrade cost. To many people confuse that little fact. OSX is only sold as an upgrade cost.

As for the low cost I see this as mostly MS trying to drive people off of XP and complete finish off XP

 

[smoledman]

As pointed out before time and time again.
Apple ONLY sells upgrades to its OS.
You can not compare OSX cost to anything but windows upgrade cost. To many people confuse that little fact. OSX is only sold as an upgrade cost.

As for the low cost I see this as mostly MS trying to drive people off of XP and complete finish off XP

Regardless, people see OS X as selling for $29.99 and wonder why Windows costs $100. They don't understand that you can't install OS X on a non-Apple hardware. By the time the begin to get it - Apple marketing has persuaded them to overpay for an iMac.

 

[G51989]

As pointed out before time and time again.
Apple ONLY sells upgrades to its OS.
You can not compare OSX cost to anything but windows upgrade cost. To many people confuse that little fact. OSX is only sold as an upgrade cost.

As for the low cost I see this as mostly MS trying to drive people off of XP and complete finish off XP

Indeed, indeed. Even people who realize this still go nuts at 100 bucks for a copy of windows, I guess they don't realize how much money it takes to develop this stuff, then maintain it.

And yeah the low Cost is about XP, not so much 7.

XP is hard to ween people off of, simple because its such a great operating system. That has not only stood the test of time, but really cemented Microsoft's turnaround.

I'll actually be a little sad to see it go.

----------

Regardless, people see OS X as selling for $29.99 and wonder why Windows costs $100. They don't understand that you can't install OS X on a non-Apple hardware. By the time the begin to get it - Apple marketing has persuaded them to overpay for an iMac.

Indeed.

Though its not like a Mac guy has to much choice. I bought a 2011 iMac at the start of this year, as my work is all done on super high end Windows Workstations, and I already had my gaming tower at home, an iMac was it for me.

This might sound odd, but as much as I wanna throw my iMac out the Window for how hot the damn thing gets, and how loud it gets, I don't think I overpaid for mine, its the first Mac I've bought new snice my PMG5 Quad 2.5 ( 6 years ago )

For what I paid ( mine came out to like 1900 bucks ), its a great machine for what it is. It makes an awesome media machine and daily driver at home. I love mine, but there are times I wanna chuck it out the Window

 

[Rodimus Prime]

Indeed, indeed. Even people who realize this still go nuts at 100 bucks for a copy of windows, I guess they don't realize how much money it takes to develop this stuff, then maintain it.

And yeah the low Cost is about XP, not so much 7.

XP is hard to ween people off of, simple because its such a great operating system. That has not only stood the test of time, but really cemented Microsoft's turnaround.

I'll actually be a little sad to see it go.

XP problem is the long turn around time. It has been showing its age though since before Vista came out. Setting up wireless network and networking XP has always been a pain and flaky at best. Problem is when XP was release most house holds were 1 computer house holds and wireless networking was still a pretty new and relatively few people really were using it. Compare that to now where almost everyone has wireless everything.

 

[G51989]

XP problem is the long turn around time. It has been showing its age though since before Vista came out. Setting up wireless network and networking XP has always been a pain and flaky at best. Problem is when XP was release most house holds were 1 computer house holds and wireless networking was still a pretty new and relatively few people really were using it. Compare that to now where almost everyone has wireless everything.

Depends which version your on, I've ALWAYS Ran XP Pro/XP64 Pro when I still ran XP, which has all that nice wireless networking stuff built in.

My Underwater computer runs XP Pro SP3, still feels as tight as a drum.

Tho its no 7.

 

[KnightWRX]

Maybe because nobody had computers?

No, because his memory is faulty. IBM PC-DOS was a 40$ option while CP/M-86 was a 240$ option in the early 80s. This was prior to 1984.

 

[mrsir2009]

I think we're entering an age of cheap software, due to the fact that it can be easily & efficiently distributed via the internet: A game for a handheld gaming console costed an upwards of $30, but games for modern smartphones (which have largely replaced handhelds) are considered expensive when they cost $10, $8 or even $6! Microsoft used to charge $400 or something ridiculous like that for a license, but now is only $40. Even Apple used to charge a lot more for their operating systems (Leopard cost $129!) but now they've come right down to $29... Hardware on the other hand, is getting more and more pricey (Retina MBP anyone?)

 

[KnightWRX]

I think we're entering an age of cheap software, due to the fact that it can be easily & efficiently distributed via the internet: A game for a handheld gaming console costed an upwards of $30, but games for modern smartphones (which have largely replaced handhelds) are considered expensive when they cost $10, $8 or even $6!

And games used to have complex storylines with sidequests, secret areas, tons of content and replayability. Now it's "Fruit ninja" style slash the fruit. What's a 10$ game on a smartphone ? An 8-bit era RPG with improved 16 bit graphics.

 

[mrsir2009]

And games used to have complex storylines with sidequests, secret areas, tons of content and replayability. Now it's "Fruit ninja" style slash the fruit. What's a 10$ game on a smartphone ? An 8-bit era RPG with improved 16 bit graphics.

Wofinstein anyone?

 

[Abstract]

That, and Windows 8 is the central piece of MS' new tablet/xbox/laptop/desktop/cell phone ecosystem. It's the future of their company, a future they've sunk a ton of money into, and they want people to adopt into it.

Personally, I was thinking about holding off on Windows 8 because, though nicer overall, it's still pretty much a lateral upgrade. The new Start menu is neat, sure, and it is a bit faster and thinner, but there's just not a huge amount of differences between it and 7.

I can say the same thing about OS X upgrades. I'm slow at upgrading my Apple software and OS. I upgrade the OS due to the low price, but even prior to upgrading, I understand that there's little benefit for me to upgrade. To me, if it works, then don't "upgrade". Besides, many of Apple's free OS and software upgrades only exist to ensure that I'm still compatible with the iTunes Store so that they can continue to sell movies, music, and books to me (which I don't purchase). They're the primary benefactors of me upgrading, not me.


This Windows 8 upgrade may be the same for Windows 7 users, but personally, I believe this is a bigger upgrade than Snow Leopard or Mountain Lion.



The only reason Windows users won't upgrade is because Mac users appear to be more willing to spend money than on their Macs than Windows users are for their computers. Also, uptake is slower because businesses aren't going to switch to a new OS very quickly. My hospital is still on Windows XP. It would be too costly to change OSes.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

I can say the same thing about OS X upgrades. I'm slow at upgrading my Apple software and OS. I upgrade the OS due to the low price, but even prior to upgrading, I understand that there's little benefit for me to upgrade. To me, if it works, then don't "upgrade". Besides, many of Apple's free OS and software upgrades only exist to ensure that I'm still compatible with the iTunes Store so that they can continue to sell movies, music, and books to me (which I don't purchase). They're the primary benefactors of me upgrading, not me.


This Windows 8 upgrade may be the same for Windows 7 users, but personally, I believe this is a bigger upgrade than Snow Leopard or Mountain Lion.



The only reason Windows users won't upgrade is because Mac users appear to be more willing to spend money than on their Macs than Windows users are for their computers. Also, uptake is slower because businesses aren't going to switch to a new OS very quickly. My hospital is still on Windows XP. It would be too costly to change OSes.

Do not forget upgrading is not a critical for windows users either. MS supports their older OS's. Windows 7 and Vista will get an SP giving them the required API's that are added to windows 8. Means if you write software that uses the new stuff added to Windows 8 it will work on windows 7 and Vista. XP will not get the upgraded but 7 and Vista will.

Compared to Apple were the older OS just are not supported much at all.

 

[Hugh]

Indeed, indeed. Even people who realize this still go nuts at 100 bucks for a copy of windows, I guess they don't realize how much money it takes to develop this stuff, then maintain it.

And yeah the low Cost is about XP, not so much 7.

XP is hard to ween people off of, simple because its such a great operating system. That has not only stood the test of time, but really cemented Microsoft's turnaround.

I'll actually be a little sad to see it go.

----------



Indeed.

Though its not like a Mac guy has to much choice. I bought a 2011 iMac at the start of this year, as my work is all done on super high end Windows Workstations, and I already had my gaming tower at home, an iMac was it for me.

This might sound odd, but as much as I wanna throw my iMac out the Window for how hot the damn thing gets, and how loud it gets, I don't think I overpaid for mine, its the first Mac I've bought new snice my PMG5 Quad 2.5 ( 6 years ago )

For what I paid ( mine came out to like 1900 bucks ), its a great machine for what it is. It makes an awesome media machine and daily driver at home. I love mine, but there are times I wanna chuck it out the Window

You might to have you iMac looked at. My iMac gets hot, but I don't hear it's fans at all, same with my Mac Mini. :/

Hugh

 

[G51989]

You might to have you iMac looked at. My iMac gets hot, but I don't hear it's fans at all, same with my Mac Mini. :/

Hugh

I've taken it back to the Apple Store twice once for overheating, the next for " WHY IS THIS THING SO LOUD `. Though.

Its nowhere near as loud as my old pentuim d gaming box was, I stuffed it into a shuttle mini case So I built it with 10,000rpm vortex fans. Whops