Microsoft doesn't want hardware sales dropping in the run up to Windows 8 launch.
The official Windows 8 launch is widely rumored to be scheduled for October. However, with its new OS due in less than six months, Microsoft wants to make sure customers don't hold off on purchasing computers in the mean time. As a solution, Paul Thurrott reports that Microsoft is offering those that purchase a Windows 7 laptop in the run up to the launch an upgrade to Windows 8 for just $15.
This isn't anything new for Microsoft -- the company has offered a similar promotion for previous iterations of Windows in an effort to keep PC sales steady and Mary Jo Foley reported last week that Redmond was preparing to make the same offer for Windows 8. However, there is a difference this year: Thurrott is reporting that Microsoft's upgrade will cost $15. What's more, it is for Windows 8 Pro, and not plain old Windows 8.
Microsoft hasn't formally announced the offer, which will reportedly come into play for machines purchased after June 2, so it's hard to know why the company is offering an upgrade for Windows 8 Pro for $15 instead of an upgrade to Windows 8 for free. It could be because the entry-level version of Windows 8 skips out on Windows Media Center, among other things. It's possible Microsoft knows that people running Windows 7 will expect to have the same features when they upgrade to the newer version of the OS and is therefore offering an upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for $15 as opposed to a free upgrade that will take away features they had just gotten accustomed to using.
The timing of the deal is thought to coincide with the Release Preview, which is due in the beginning of June. We'll keep you posted on any official announcement.
Windows Me 8
Nice to know I'll have the upgrade option if it turns out to be better than I expect though.
Windows Me 8
There's your problem. That's not even enough time to get fully adjusted, let alone learn how to use it effectively
That is an option....
That is the point, though. Everyone who runs some previous M$ windows version does not necessarily have the time to "figure it out." IF M$ really wants a winner with this, the transition for their user base needs to be seamless and easy to make. Otherwise, it is likely to be a long, long time before 8 is widely accepted. The business world, where time always comes at a premium, is not likely to invest in 8 after just having transitioned to 7 even if the business world had the time to give their computer users to learn 8. Without the business world on board, 8 will be another vista or Me.
And this is a completely useless gesture for M$ to make in limiting this to people who purchase laptops. While this may be a deal for people who run laptops, it is consistent with where M$ wants to take the computer user world. Personally, I think M$ is in for another wake-up call with 8 - like it or not.
In your preview version, yes. However, M$ has announced that the release version will not have that option.
Me 2 I paid $300 for ultimate, these guys better give me some sort of nice discount.
What are we Call of Duty Windows now!?!
Windows 7 is like 4 or 5 years old... It came out in 2007 or 2008, I don't remember which.
2009, my bad. Still it's not new.
I paid around $120-125 for Windows 7 *similar for XP* ... OEM of course, why pay for a box that
I have to throw away?
I spent less than $300 on a 3 pack of windows 7 ... there's your first problem, second is in one hour you won't get the whole user experience I added windows 8 onto my laptop and had to spend a few days on it but I now genuinly like it more than wondows 7 and will be updrading to it as soon as they release a family pack of it for all my machines, i'll buy a single copy for my main pc as soon as it comes out the rest will have to wait i hope they do the oem fmaily pack again with windows 8 though, otherwise my htpc's might not all get updates
The only people i suggest get windows 8. Are the people who bought bulldozer CPU's