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Microsoft: We've sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses to date

zdnet.com

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Re: Microsoft: We've sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses to date

#31

Post by arebop »

aresant wrote: post #24

Win 8 moves ~40,000,000 licenses in first month. Upgrades are $39.99. Win 7 moved ~30,000,000 in month one. Upgrades were $120 - 220/upgrade. Vista moved 20,000,000 first month. Upgrades were $129 - 299. MSFT is offering the DVD-version of Windows 8 for ~$30/more per copy so let's just pretend that the fair price for comparison of Windows 8 is $69.99 (since I assume far more physical media went out of Win 7 in 2009).…

Microsoft's traditional strength has been their ability to lock users into their ecosystem. Windows revenue has been important for them, but as long as Windows helps them secure stable/improving positions for their other products and services, they could profitably license Windows for $0.

Re: Microsoft: We've sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses to date

#32

Post by contextfree »

whatshisface wrote: post #27
contextfree wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. This, along with everything else that happens in the world anywhere ever, is clearly a sign that Microsoft is doomed.

Everyone is doomed, just at different times. :)

"Memento mori"! I agree, "market thermodynamics" dictate eventually they will meet their doom, and at that time the perpetual doomsters will find themselves vindicated, like a stopped clock is vindicated twice a day. :)

Re: Microsoft: We've sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses to date

#33

Post by chc »

aresant wrote: post #24

Win 8 moves ~40,000,000 licenses in first month. Upgrades are $39.99. Win 7 moved ~30,000,000 in month one. Upgrades were $120 - 220/upgrade. Vista moved 20,000,000 first month. Upgrades were $129 - 299. MSFT is offering the DVD-version of Windows 8 for ~$30/more per copy so let's just pretend that the fair price for comparison of Windows 8 is $69.99 (since I assume far more physical media went out of Win 7 in 2009).…

I don't think cash flow is Microsoft's overriding concern at the moment. They'll still get plenty of steady income from their corporate cash cows. Right now, I think Microsoft is more worried about the existential threat of a world where people are weaned off Windows. They want Windows 8 to be used in as many places as humanly possible. If they can maintain their ubiquity, their overall ecosystem is secure. They will gladly trade a little profit from the consumer OS market to stay entrenched.

Re: Microsoft: We've sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses to date

#34

Post by skc »

aresant wrote: post #24

Win 8 moves ~40,000,000 licenses in first month. Upgrades are $39.99. Win 7 moved ~30,000,000 in month one. Upgrades were $120 - 220/upgrade. Vista moved 20,000,000 first month. Upgrades were $129 - 299. MSFT is offering the DVD-version of Windows 8 for ~$30/more per copy so let's just pretend that the fair price for comparison of Windows 8 is $69.99 (since I assume far more physical media went out of Win 7 in 2009).…

Perhaps they've found a way to bring the costs of managing their app store down enough that they can turn a profit on it.

It is intriguing though.

Re: Microsoft: We've sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses to date

#36

Post by forgotAgain »

If Microsoft wanted to impart real knowledge in pronouncements such as this they would have clarity in what they say. By not giving a definition of what they mean by "licenses sold" they are avoiding clarity. It's an example of why many people, including myself, have lost confidence in everything they say.

Re: Microsoft: We've sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses to date

#37

Post by hnriot »

wheaties wrote: post #26
dangrossman wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Considering Microsoft is not reading this, and you don't have a Twitter account in your profile, would you mind sharing with HN what your message means? Why did you buy Windows 8 if you didn't want it, and why can't you get rid of it?

I bought an emergency computer at Best Buy pre-installed with Windows 8. No matter what I've tried I can not get the thing to start not in Windows. I can't even drop down to the legacy BIOS to get Linux to boot. Oh yeah, I also failed the recapcha several times before I could even get into the computer in the first place. A recapcha when you're first starting... brilliant. Btw, I'm not an MS hater but I am a Windows…

What you describe is a feature of Windows 8, it's to ensure that a trusted source controls what runs on the hardware. Windows 8 is, as you've discovered, far more security conscious.

Re: Microsoft: We've sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses to date

#38

Post by dhawalhs »

arscan wrote: post #16
dhawalhs wrote: post #15

I wonder how many Windows 7 licences were sold in the same period

"How does this compare to Windows 7 sales? Microsoft said it had sold 60 million Windows 7 licenses from the end of October 2009, its launch date, to the end of January 2010 December 2009. So that's 60 million Windows 7 licenses sold in two months. So far, Microsoft has sold 40 million licenses of Windows 8 in one month."

By same period I meant since October 26 i.e. since the launch of Windows 8

Re: Microsoft: We've sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses to date

#39

Post by Karunamon »

wheaties wrote: post #26
dangrossman wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Considering Microsoft is not reading this, and you don't have a Twitter account in your profile, would you mind sharing with HN what your message means? Why did you buy Windows 8 if you didn't want it, and why can't you get rid of it?

I bought an emergency computer at Best Buy pre-installed with Windows 8. No matter what I've tried I can not get the thing to start not in Windows. I can't even drop down to the legacy BIOS to get Linux to boot. Oh yeah, I also failed the recapcha several times before I could even get into the computer in the first place. A recapcha when you're first starting... brilliant. Btw, I'm not an MS hater but I am a Windows…

I had to help a friend out of this predicament a while ago.. what I ended up doing was taking my smartphone into the store (an Office Depot) and searching the models of the computers they had for sale to see what has Windows 7 drivers available. Found one (A Lenovo, couldn't tell you what kind), had to muck around because it would only boot from USB but not cdrom (???), but finally got into the 7 installer and cleared all eight partitions and installed windows 7.

Eight Goddamned partitions. What the hell.

Re: Microsoft: We've sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses to date

#40

Post by candybar »

aresant wrote: post #24

Win 8 moves ~40,000,000 licenses in first month. Upgrades are $39.99. Win 7 moved ~30,000,000 in month one. Upgrades were $120 - 220/upgrade. Vista moved 20,000,000 first month. Upgrades were $129 - 299. MSFT is offering the DVD-version of Windows 8 for ~$30/more per copy so let's just pretend that the fair price for comparison of Windows 8 is $69.99 (since I assume far more physical media went out of Win 7 in 2009).…

Most sales are OEM, not retail upgrades. Doubt OEM prices have changed dramatically.
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