Upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for $39.99

[Dave76]

The Laptop I own by HP is offereing the upgrade for 14.99 and i can make Walmart make good on it cause it is one of there products but........

Win8 ? What is it good for Absolutly Nothing ! lol ( WAR )

Go ahead and get the upgrade and I'll give you $15 for it, that way you can make a profit and I'll save $25 on the upgrade

At first when running Windows 8 in a VM, I wasn't impressed.
When I installed it in a dual boot, after using it for a couple weeks, the start menu and Metro issues faded into the background.
Enjoying the benefits and speed now.

I do use the desktop 99% of the time, and hope they add a boot to desktop option as many are requesting, even though I probably won't use it.

Windows 8 won't do as well as Win7 but, with new computer sales, including slate/tablets, and some upgraders, I think it will do pretty well, won't be a record breaker.

 

[Night Hawk]

I think the lower prices are the enticement for selling the next version. But once people get into 8 and want to run it on the desktop along with Vista or 7 that's where the problems will come up!

Not only would a direct boot to desktop help but having a standard desktop option for a non touchscreen Metro Start menu would be a smarter move. You would then see two choices of Metro for Tablet or 8 for Desktop rather then asking: "What's this nonsense?"!

 

[caleb97]

It's a great deal compared to what's usually offered by Microsoft. However, it's still not enough to convince me to upgrade to Windows 8; which in my opinion feels like a mobile interface placed on top of Windows 7. It's awful!

 

[Night Hawk]

It would have far better if you had been seeing prices like this when 7 was first coming out. But then MS knew 7 would be a "working OS" people would want and had to make the do re' me from it first! hhmmm....

Actually the thought about 8 is that this is the test vehicle for touchscreen systems while leaving out any of the familiar items most would expect to be seeing in a desktop OS! I hate to think I would have to reach out and touch the screen for each little item when I only touch the screen with an lcd cleaning solution and special cloth occasionally.

MS Mantra: "Please hold arms out straight for at least 10hrs. a day in order to run your pc!" That simply doesn't work for most and why MS must have realized they would neee to drastically lower the price to get 8 to seel at all!

 

[Dave76]

When Win7 was released they had an upgrade version for $50, I got two of them.

MS's idea is if someone has a desktop, laptop, slate/tablet and smartphone, all with the same OS (Win Phone 8 is rumored to be very similar) they will have some functionality advantages and be very happy with the interactions available.
Not a bad idea unless you only have a non-touch desktop and/or laptop, then this touch interface is bewildering to most users.
For a desktop and laptop with a touch screen, I would guess +95% would not use the touch screen more than 5-15 minutes throughout the day.
It's not ergonomically viable to have your arms extended for very long.

 

[Night Hawk]

I wouldn't think it would be! I think for the majority using the standard keyboard/mouse combo the Metro will be the largest turnoff for 8 to start with.

The one offer I would have jumped on for 7 was the family value pack for those still running XP with one now running Vista rather then upgrading further to 7. That was priced at 3 machine for $150 which would equal the $50- upgrade.

 

[Joan Archer]

I jumped on the pre-order price for 7 when Microsoft made that available and it was the full retail version not an upgrade, I paid about £45 for it. Somehow 8 just hasn't excited me like 7 did so I've not tried it. I'm still wondering whether to get the cheap offer so I'll have the latest again or just hang onto my Windows 7 for as long as this machine will last.

 

[Brds7t7]

Same here Joan, I also got the pre-order deal when Windows 7 first came out. I got 7 Pro for £80 and two copies of home for £45 each, all retail versions as they couldn't offer the upgrade version here at first. I kept the pro and one home and gave one away as a gift to a family member. Even with this windows 8 offer being cheaper I still wouldn't go for it.

 

[strollin]

I'm not a fan of Metro myself but I will have Win 8 installed on a machine somewhere simply so I can learn about it, and keep up on the latest stuff. I don't really use the desktop or Start menu in Win 7 so I won't miss them in Win 8.

I think the Metro interface works fine with keyboard and mouse but it's pretty ugly and I haven't found a Metro app that I like in the least.

 

[Night Hawk]

I didn't even bother looking over the Metro apps! They are not only changing the main gui but also stripping away a few things you would have normally expected to see included in the next version.

The Media Center will now be a separate purchase since MS decided to remove that. Window Media Player many see set as the default player will no longer support dvd, video playback! Since WMP 10 for XP you could watch a dvd movie with WMP or a video file which will now no longer see support. The MS idea is that there are too many other players and they no longer need to support it.

Most are waiting to hear on how to disable the Metro from being tossed in their faces each time the system starts up! And then the want for most to download and install a 3rd party app to replace the Start orb and Program manu with some type of suitable alternative.

End result: A great deal of dissatisfied customers! And that's not even getting into some other things found so far with the RP in particular like trashing the second OS in a dual boot with both Windows seeing freeze ups! A full system restart is seen when selecting 7 from the 8 boot options is another annoyance reported.

And then you wouldn't think people would be in any rush for 8 after 7 being a huge success resulting in 8 being a somewhat less exciting new version but hopefully learning from 7 to continue on? MS didn't learn apparently!

Instead while seeing new support for touchscreen systems that would otherwise be: "hey look at this!" the way MS simply trashed the desktop standards and has forced Metro down your throat it's become a huge disappointment for most with the first look only!

Whether you use the Start menu frequently or not finding all the hidden toolbars, right click on screen menu for system functions, and other things in a puzzle to complicate the OS is another frustration to turn people away!

 

[onesixski]

Sounds like they're gonna try and make up their money with DLC 'upgrades', so an actual full-fledge version of Windows that includes everything 7, Vista, XP, and before had will probably end up costing about the same. Damnit Microsoft, creatively thinking outside the box and trying to change its whole formula has never been a strongpoint of the company, but it still tries.

 

[Night Hawk]

Well they removed Media Center which is now a separate purchase. They eliminated dvd playback support in WMP but will now likely offer some 3rd party ware deals at the Metro Apps page for dvd playback.

With past versions going back to the Legacy days not just to XP you saw the 95 and 95 with OSR2 service release for 32bit support as well as a 95PLUS! edition followed by the 98, 98SE, 98PLUS! ME was ME while 2000 had a Pro version, XP Home, Pro, Pro x64, and then XP MCE. Vista and 7 each see the corporate flavor at the top of the food chain down to Ultimate, Business(Vista) or Pro(7), and Home Premium besides the lesser Basic or Starter editions.

In each version one edition above the first would feature more option included while now you will need to purchase separately. 8 will be known as the stripped down touchscreen OS for Tablet PC. Unfortunately this is the bad taste 8 leaves in your mouth after a good look at it.

 

[Solarstarshines]

I find it Funny

Asked the wife if she wanted me to Upgrade to 8 on her laptop since they offered it to us for 13.99 some cheap ole price when i told her how it would function she looked at me like it was the dumbest thing i ever said lol cause I told her it would be a Metro Interface with touch screen capabilities

After explaining to her she said I like typing my stuff in and if it limits using the Desktop I'll pass

I find it funny cause she hardly uses a computer and for her to say that I think a lot of people will be the same way only the young adults and teens will dig this way more then us Oldschool folks

@NightHawk Really This is pretty sad that would impact sales alone If you have to purchase 3rd party software just to do things that all others windows version do for free That has to make people stop and think about wth they are purchasing

 

[Night Hawk]

I think a great number people going out to buy a new OEM system to replace some old XP boat are going to end up saying "What in H is this garfangled nonsense?!" and want to send it back! For those that bragging rights they will saying "see 8 does everything I want better!" with the rest of the onlookers saying... "give it a rest please! "

For looking at more then just the Metro UI I was running into some compatibility issues like no longer being able to DX 9 Full to go due to the not so surprising "incompatible with this version of Windows" message you would run into with each new version at times.

The security as far as detection of bugs was improved at least while the awkwardness of getting the mouse cursor "just in the right spot" no less to get the new Settings/Apps side bar to appear just to reboot or shutdown is a headache at times! One ZDNet blog writer labeled that a "convoluted process" in a derogatory sense on how this will be another large turnoff for many!

For most who worked with a desktop OS and are not heavily leaning on hand helds and Tablet PC embedded type OSs the radical changes are going to be the main factor for those looking to upgrade out of XP or Vista. I doubt most would consider replacing 7 with 8 in their lifetime! No way! Hose' 7 is here to stay!

8 go fly a kite!

 

[Solarstarshines]

No doubt

7 is the new XP pretty much

 

[Night Hawk]

I think you will find that XP was originally filled with errors when MS rushed it out following the ME flop! The SP1 there also had to address the 137gb hardware limitations when hard drive capacities were then first seeing increases from the old 10-16gb typical size of the late 90s to the 120-250gb sudden increases.

IE 6 was also a malware writer's dream come true! On the other hand 7 was refined after Vista was labeled the "bloated OS" when MS realized Windows was getting too big for comfort and worked out the MinWin kernel. 7 was also found not in any BIG need for SP1 from the start requiring a large number of fixes.

Unlike Vista's "eye candy" label also seen 8 will not be retaining a Classic or Aero styling in themes and the eye candy now being seen is something else entirely! Back in 2009 I could have told you then the next version to follow 7 would be a hard sell with 7 being a working OS.

MS just further complicated things with a wild gambit as far as 8 is concerned when stripping away a standard desktop OS portion without providing any form of even newer looking desktop gui option. They have to slash prices now to even get people to take a look! as well as stripping the OE down.

 

[M1GU31]

No doubt

7 is the new XP pretty much

Totally with you on this one

 

[sammy3417]

Sticking with Win 7...it will take over a year for Microsoft to fix all the bugs in Win 8.... if it's not broke dont fix it Win 7 rules

 

[whs]

I guees at this price it is OK to upgrade one system for tinkering around. But for a production system, Win8 seems to be pretty useless.

 

[Night Hawk]

I guees at this price it is OK to upgrade one system for tinkering around. But for a production system, Win8 seems to be pretty useless.

The way the DP, CP, and RP look you certainly got that one right on the money! With 7 being a "win all" situation MS apparently decided to play "spin the dice" with 8!

Unfortunately due to the way they revamped a desktop OS into something else where it will land likely won't be on favorable turf. Back with Windows 98 you saw a 98PLUS! being the edition with the goodies. With Windows 8 it looks more like the opposite where it will become the 8FLOP!