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Windows 8 Pro Upgrade to cost $39.99

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Re: Windows 8 Pro Upgrade to cost $39.99

#31

Post by KeyBoardG »

neovive wrote: post #14

I wouldn't chalk this up as just a competitive response to the relatively low price Apple charges for its OS upgrades. I think Microsoft really wants/needs to accelerate the adoption of Windows 8 even if that means taking a hit on license fees. Whatever they can do to accelerate adoption of W8 in the enterprise and consumer markets will more than pay off in the long-term. A major reduction in legacy support requireme…

I beleive its both. If they are going to live up to their promise of more frequent, smaller OS versions then they'd have to come in at a lower price. Lets hope this is the beginning of a trend.

Re: Windows 8 Pro Upgrade to cost $39.99

#32

Post by frou_dh »

keithpeter wrote: post #24
freehunter wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately, negative public reaction is heavily influenced by word of mouth. Will you lose anything by not upgrading? Not immediately, but over time yes. Will you gain anything by upgrading? Possibly, depending on your needs, leaning more towards yes over time. I've been using it 100% for a few weeks and spend 90% of my time in desktop mode (due to using Chrome, AIM, and Media Player Classic). Most of the time I f…

"The only time I see $UI is when I hit the windows key, type "chro" and hit enter to launch Chrome. In this use case, $UI isn't anything more than a bigger start menu" $UI = [Metro|Ubuntu Unity|DWM/dmenu] Strange how these changes all come along at the same time. Does Mac OS have a text based launcher at all?

Spotlight. 2005.

Windows 7 is likely my last version of Windows. All I use it for now is occasional gaming and I can't see developers dropping W7 support for a long time unless they're heavily incentivised for some reason by MS. Even at $40 for W8, I'd personally be throwing that money away.

Re: Windows 8 Pro Upgrade to cost $39.99

#33

Post by anigbrowl »

WiseWeasel wrote: post #18

I have a hard time imagining that many Windows 7 users are eager to upgrade to Windows 8 on their desktops and laptops, given the drastic changes catering to touch interaction, bringing them little apparent value at best, and significant lost productivity and frustration at worst. My Windows 7 box is for gaming and productivity (not necessarily in that order), and after all I've seen of it, I wouldn't touch Windows 8…

I'm pretty stoked about it actually.

Re: Windows 8 Pro Upgrade to cost $39.99

#34

Post by zerohp »

keithpeter wrote: post #24
freehunter wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately, negative public reaction is heavily influenced by word of mouth. Will you lose anything by not upgrading? Not immediately, but over time yes. Will you gain anything by upgrading? Possibly, depending on your needs, leaning more towards yes over time. I've been using it 100% for a few weeks and spend 90% of my time in desktop mode (due to using Chrome, AIM, and Media Player Classic). Most of the time I f…

"The only time I see $UI is when I hit the windows key, type "chro" and hit enter to launch Chrome. In this use case, $UI isn't anything more than a bigger start menu" $UI = [Metro|Ubuntu Unity|DWM/dmenu] Strange how these changes all come along at the same time. Does Mac OS have a text based launcher at all?

Spotlight is a text based launcher. Cmd-Space amd start typing.

Re: Windows 8 Pro Upgrade to cost $39.99

#35

Post by greenyoda »

neovive wrote: post #14

I wouldn't chalk this up as just a competitive response to the relatively low price Apple charges for its OS upgrades. I think Microsoft really wants/needs to accelerate the adoption of Windows 8 even if that means taking a hit on license fees. Whatever they can do to accelerate adoption of W8 in the enterprise and consumer markets will more than pay off in the long-term. A major reduction in legacy support requireme…

My guess is that it will take a long, long time for enterprises to move to Windows 8, with most sticking with Windows 7 for as long as Microsoft continues to provide security patches for it. If you're an enterprise with 10000 or 50000 non-technical users running Windows 7, the cost of moving to Windows 8 will be primarily IT staff hours, including all the support questions from users puzzled by the new user interface. What compelling benefits would there be for a bank or insurance company to move to Windows 8 that would offset the steep costs?

Re: Windows 8 Pro Upgrade to cost $39.99

#36

Post by barrkel »

thekungfuman wrote: post #27

The main complaint I hear is the change of start menu behavior, but most people I know use a keyboard based launcher anyway. If you're typing the name of the thing you want does it matter if it's going into Launchy, the Win7 start menu or the Metro interface? As long as you quickly get to the app or file you want, the interaction (typing) is pretty much identical.

It's not the most frequent method for launching. According to MS, their metrics indicate pinned task bar items are, or are trending to be, the most frequent method.

When I don't remember the name of the thing I want to launch (which is quite frequent), I rely mostly on positional navigation through a customized start menu. That is, I don't remember programs by name, I remember them by where I left them. Windows Vista / 7's start menu was a major regression for my use case (the scrollable treeview with expandable items destroyed absolute screen positioning); I had to replace it with Classic Shell to get usability back.

Re: Windows 8 Pro Upgrade to cost $39.99

#37

Post by mythz »

UnoriginalGuy wrote: post #13
nathan_long wrote: post #6

Can you upgrade if your computer doesn't support "Secure Boot"? If so: 1) Buy a box with no OS 2) Install an older Windows 3) Upgrade. Permanent path to 8 without secure boot?

Why wouldn't you? Secure Boot is a root-kit protection mechanism; and Microsoft has required OEM partners to provide a way for users to disable it in the UEFI/BIOS. I think you're either trolling or hugely misinformed.

"As currently proposed, Secure Boot impedes free software adoption. It is already bad enough that nearly all computers sold come with Microsoft Windows pre-installed. In order to convince users to try free software, we must convince them to remove the operating system that came on their computers (or to divide their hard drives and make room for a new system, perceptually risking their data in the process).

With Secure Boot, new free software users must take an additional step to install free software operating systems. Because these operating systems do not have keys stored in every computer's firmware by default like Microsoft does, users will have to disable Secure Boot before booting the new system's installer. Proprietary software companies may present this requirement under the guise of "disable security on your computer," which will mislead new users into thinking free software is insecure."

https://www.fsf.org/campaigns/secure-boot-vs-restricted-boot...

Re: Windows 8 Pro Upgrade to cost $39.99

#38

Post by jmduke »

annon wrote: post #19
zitterbewegung wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is it great? Apple is worse than MS in so many other ways. In a few years you are going to see Apple being the person that everyone hates. Now, people seem to like it.

Because Apple's cost cutting has increased competition. Increased competition is usually better for consumers.

While I agree that increased competition is better for consumers, Apple hasn't cut costs for the consumers -- they've merely absorbed the cost of the OS into their hardware.

Re: Windows 8 Pro Upgrade to cost $39.99

#40

Post by [deleted] »

neovive wrote: post #14

I wouldn't chalk this up as just a competitive response to the relatively low price Apple charges for its OS upgrades. I think Microsoft really wants/needs to accelerate the adoption of Windows 8 even if that means taking a hit on license fees. Whatever they can do to accelerate adoption of W8 in the enterprise and consumer markets will more than pay off in the long-term. A major reduction in legacy support requireme…

[deleted]
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