http://gizmodo.com/5922988/upgrading-to-windows-8-will-only-cost-you-40-bucks
I like the 40 bucks, but I still don't like Windows 8...
Windows 7 yes.
Microsoft is selling Windows 8 dead cheap
(10 posts) (6 voices)-
vanderoeast
MemberPosted 12 years ago # -
Whiterabbit-uk
Games GuruWhat really temps me if this price is to be believed is the amazingly fast boot up speeds. There was an article posted several weeks ago by Hotdog that said if you had your operating system installed to an SSD, boot up times would be blazing fast, in the order of only 7 seconds, and that's from a cold boot to everything loaded.
I'm all for changes, I just hope Win 8 isn't going to be another ME or Vista debacle. I loved the upgrade from Win 3.1 to Win 95 and then from Win 98 to ME and then on to XP, which I used for 8 years before changing to Vista and then on to Win 7 almost 2 years ago. I'm very pleased with Win 7; it is in my opinion, been the best operating system to date that I've ever used (that's for ease of use, speed, the number of useful tools and looks). I liked the look of Vista, but never really got into it, then again I suppose i've liked the improved looks of each OS as it's been released as it's always looked at least slightly better than its predecessors. Beasides that with Vista quite a few of my applications and some of my favorite games wouldn't work with it so I hardly ever used it, preferring instead to revert back to XP, that is until I tried the pre-release version of Win 7 three years ago. That was great, but I couldn't afford to purchase a copy for about a year after release. For me the only negative for both XP and Vista was the removal of Microsoft Office from the package way back when XP was released, oh yeah and the propensity for XP to blue screen (BSOD) occassionaly. As for Win 7, so far on my main computer I've never had a BSOD.
Despite all that's been said about Win 8, I'm going to at least upgrade one of my computers to Win 8 to see what the final result is. I've got the pre release version but have been reticent to install because last time, when I installed the pre release of Win 7, I then had to reinstall XP once the official version of Win 7 was released becasue as mentioned I'd not been able to afford a copy right away. That led to me losing quite a few of the giveaway's (on what was then my main computer).
If it's true that you can boot up in 7 seconds it will be great just to sit in front of my computer, turn on and be ready to go in almost the blink of an eye. I'm really looking forwards to seeing that. :)
(Also, if the article about the price is also true it's only going to cost less than a AAA game and I purchase those almost weekly).
p.s.
I wonder if I'll be able to downgrade my Win 7 Ultimate license to a Win 7 Pro - does anyone know? I never did use the language options available to Win Ultimate users (which is the reason I went for a Ultimate license in the first place). I though it would be useful, but it never has so far; in fact I only considered the Pro and Ultimate versions over the home versions initially, because a free image of XP was available from Microsoft to Pro and Ultimate license owners, but I've since got over XP totally. I still keep a copy of XP running on one of my secondary computers, but only so that I can test games for the game giveaways; it's also the only reason I keep a copy of Vista running as well.
I thought that I may have had problems running some of my games on Win 7 so the ability to run an image of XP in Win 7 instead of having a dual boot win7/XP seemed like a good idea at the time. I've since found that all my games work in Win 7 and even a few games that didn't work in XP now work; (that is so far, as I've still not managed to install and test many of my older arcade games and am still working through my client based games due to the many sales that I'm a sucker for) :)
Posted 12 years ago # -
Anonymous
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Posted 12 years ago # -
mikiem2
ModeratorFor those who could get the win7 Family Packs, this isn't such a great deal in comparison... There you got 3 licenses in a retail box that could be, & was discounted by retailers to the $90 range rather than the MSRP ~$120. In this proposed deal MS pockets the cash they'd spend on discs, packaging, & distribution, locks in a firm end date [Family Packs are still occasionally advertised on sale], & collects 100% of the money. Based on all that a fair price IMHO would be close to $70-$80 for a 3 pack.
That's not to say it isn't better than paying full retail.
One thing that is unknown is if the licenses are going to be limited somehow so they only work on replacement upgrades, where the existing version is wiped out. Maybe win8 will check if there's any other versions of Windows on other partitions for example, &/or check to see if it's in a VM, & refuse activation? The guy writing the original blog talks about the builder license [OEM] for that sort of thing -- in the past it required a full license if you went by the book, though OEM licenses would still activate in those situations. Is that part of new license terms, & if so, what other changes are there going to be? And which one's will MS enforce?
Posted 12 years ago # -
ChrisS
AdministratorGood points to consider Mikiem but one minor clarification. The $40 download is strictly an Upgrade version. Installation requires an existing (and valid) XP, Vista or Win7 installation. The upgrade won't care if your existing version is a physical or virtual box, it just cares about an existing license. As with all version upgrades your previous version, and license, will be wiped out and you may not have any downgrade options should you find Win8 unsuitable.
If you're doing a new install, where no previous version exists, then you'll need the Builder program which makes your comments about the price even more compelling. The Win7 licenses were "full install" licenses, they weren't "upgrade" licenses. With the "full install" you got to keep your XP license, with an "upgrade" your XP license went away. So you're really paying $40 plus an existing XP, Vista, or Win7 license for an upgrade. That seems rather pricey to me.
Posted 12 years ago # -
mikiem2
ModeratorI once read where Bill Gates said in effect that he was OK with limited amounts of Windows pirating as those were people who didn't move to & learn *nix. IOW MS was [might still be] a bit choosy on enforcing their own DRM. If I'm correct [and admittedly it's a big IF], and MS feels they need to get as many using Metro as possible to provide an incentive to the developers they want to fill their App Store, MS *might* lean towards being a bit lax. OTOH I'm pretty sure with 7 they wanted to finally nail the coffin shut on XP, & being lax on licensing didn't do it. And OTOH MS has said repeatedly that they're Very careful what they put in writing because even with every sort of disclaimer, people will take them to court for breach of contract -- that's why I try to read between the lines when their guy mentions licensing.
I know that sounds a bit like a scene from Princess Bride, -- "so I know I can't choose the cup in front of you" -- Sorry.
At any rate we'll know soon enough once win8 goes on sale -- with win7 it took just a week or so before folks were reporting on-line what type of installs what license keys worked with to get win7 activated. As long as it was the right version of 7, upgrade keys worked no matter how you installed it, though you have to bear in mind that a good percentage of win7 activations had to be done over the phone no matter what [I think that was reported the 1st week by Paul Thurrott on his Windows SuperSite].
As with all version upgrades your previous version, and license, will be wiped out and you may not have any downgrade options should you find Win8 unsuitable.
I've been thinking about different scenarios, trying to work it out. There's simply no way I'd take the plunge & get rid of XP or win7, taking the risk that win8 would run everything I need it to right from the start. According to Mary Jo Foley existing copies of the win8 preview will be able to be upgraded to the RTM, so shouldn't have to worry too much, as partition's with other Windows versions *should* be left alone assuming Foley's source at MS was correct. If her source was wrong I'm thinking of restoring a Paragon partition image backup of win7 where I've got win8 right now, maybe *if necessary* hiding the other two partitions, upgrading, un-hiding the partitions, & using EasyBCD to get the boot loader/menu right. Then again I haven't seen OEM pricing or what's included in the win8 SKUs so I'm not sure yet I'd want to run whatever comes in the $40 upgrade... if it's = to win7 HP I can't, but with fewer SKUs hopefully it's got more than win7 HP.
Posted 12 years ago # -
ChrisS
AdministratorThere's simply no way I'd take the plunge & get rid of XP or win7, taking the risk that win8 would run everything I need it to right from the start.
Yeah, that's where I am. It's just not worth the risk nor does the total upgrade cost of $70 look all that attractive ($40 for the upgrade + $30 for the previous version of Win7 (using the family pack numbers)). I wouldn't be surprised if single copy Builder versions of Win8 retailed around $80 given the lack of enthusiasm I've seen, so for a bit more money I'd have my current Win7 & XP licenses plus the Win8 license.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Hmm I have an old Dell Mini netbook with only 1 gig ram I never use that has XP on it. Perhaps I will put out the $40 to put it on that just to mess around with it. Besides I have the XP disc for that if needed as the computer originally had no OS (Refurb Project). But as said I don't think I would put this on my main computer and possibly lose access to programs I need.
Posted 12 years ago # -
mikiem2
ModeratorHmm I have an old Dell Mini netbook with only 1 gig ram I never use that has XP on it.
FWIW I'd suggest doing a disk image backup so you could put things back, then try adding the win7 trial -- just add win7 without entering a key & you get the trial. If it works OK on that hardware then win8 should too -- if not I wouldn't hold my breath on running win8. Right now win8 doesn't have drivers for a lot of hardware, & I wouldn't expect that to totally change by the fall release date -- that's not as bad as it sounds since win7 drivers will often work in my experience, but on hardware designed for XP, if you jumped straight to win8 don't know that it would be clear if win7 drivers weren't working in win8 or the hardware wasn't capable of running it.
The biggest problem I've seen personally is from Vista on Windows doesn't like single core CPUs, so if you've got a single core in the netbook I'm not sure I'd bother. The biggest change as far as drivers go that I've seen is with the graphics drivers -- almost everything else I've used win7 drivers for, but the graphics drivers have to at the least be modded to install AFAIK.
Good luck. :)
Posted 12 years ago #
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