Windows 8.1 Prices Revealed: Upgrades are Full Versions

[Marcus Yam]

Windows 8.1 is coming out in a month and this is how much it will cost.

Windows 8.1 Prices Revealed: Upgrades are Full Versions : Read more

 

[bee144]

Microsoft really needs to start listening to it's customers while it still has some. 8.1 is a step in the right direction but it is still lacking.

 

[soldier44]

Will wait it out for Windows 9. More than likely what 8 should have been in the first place.

 

[hannibal]

[quotemsg=11555122,0,1330141]Will wait it out for Windows 9. More than likely what 8 should have been in the first place. [/quotemsg]

Are you sure, that it is a worth of wait to have win9 aka win8 with transparent tiles? But if you allready have win7, sure no need to upgrage but if you have XP, win 8.1 is about as good as win9 will be. What win9 will bring are aero upgrade to tiles (transparent tiles...) and new disk operation system (this one can actully be important! But support to that will take some time). It is really needed when win10 (aka skydrive version) is out.

 

[dimar]

[quotemsg=11555124,0,1387183]The real question is.. what is the difference between 8.1 and 8? Are we talking about no more of those stupid tiles? I NEED TO KNOW THX IN ADVANCE!![/quotemsg]

I think it's even more of those stupid tiles..

 

[JD88]

Please just give us a toggle switch for the Metro start page and let us run metro apps in windowed mode. Thanks.

 

[slomo4sho]

$199.99 for 8.1 Pro... $19.99 for Apple OS X 10.6... Ubuntu 13.04 is absolutely free... It is funny how the price of the software is inversely proportional to its quality...

 

[qlum]

Microsoft please look at the name you have given your os (Windows) if you really intend to lock everything behind your windowless prison, running all games in full or split screen just drop the name windows as it really doesn't apply anymore.

 

[edogawa]

[quotemsg=11555218,0,195632]$199.99 for 8.1 Pro... $19.99 for Apple OS X 10.6... Ubuntu 13.04 is absolutely free... It is funny how the price of the software is inversely proportional to its quality... [/quotemsg]

Windows 8 will have a much better price if you buy it from Amazon. Also no, it is not proportional to it's quality, It's a fantastic operating system despite what people think about the "metro" interface.

 

[softplacetoland]

"This shift allows more flexibility for customers in specific technical scenarios and is in response to feedback we’ve received,"

Microsoft, feedback, response - do these go together at all? Till now not so much. And if they did then it was in totally wrong fields. At least I can say guy has sense of humor. I give him that. Even if Microsoft and the guy itself take it seriously.

 

[tomfreak]

good thing I spend just a tiny amount of $14.99 on 2 copies of Win 8 pro MEDIA PLAYER edition, lol instead of 199.99 with win8 pro only. @ current price I wouldnt even buy it.

 

[targetdrone]

I just love how Microsoft is charging full price for what should be a SERVICE PACK.

Wait, no I don't. I will still with Win7 until a fundamental need arises to upgrade to Win 9 or may switch over to Linux.

 

[Fokissed]

[quotemsg=11555668,0,715483]I just love how Microsoft is charging full price for what should be a SERVICE PACK.

Wait, no I don't. I will still with Win7 until a fundamental need arises to upgrade to Win 9 or may switch over to Linux.[/quotemsg]

Try reading the article: "Those who are already running Windows 8 will receive the upgrade to 8.1 for free"

 

[slomo4sho]

[quotemsg=11555321,0,648374]Windows 8 will have a much better price if you buy it from Amazon. Also no, it is not proportional to it's quality, It's a fantastic operating system despite what people think about the "metro" interface.[/quotemsg]

I got my upgrade key for $15 last year. People can still pickup the Windows 8 Pro upgrade key for $70. Nevertheless, I said inversely proportional, at this point Windows has nothing grand going for it as Ubuntu and OS X are just as stable. The fact that windows is still a monopoly and maintains 90%+ of the OS market share enables it to maintain a price premium simply because more developers develop programs for this platform and Apple still not providing universal hardware support. With China and select governments making a push for a transition from XP to Linus over the next few years, Linus may finally start eating away at Microsofts market share and finally force the monopoly to start pricing their products competitively

 

[slomjh2]

Microsoft is cutting their own throats. If they haven't figured it out yet they are now starting to compete with Android and tablets and as they become more functional the need for Windows based PCs will drop even faster. I can envision a day in the not to distant future when all you have is a table and you hook it up to a large monitor, key board, and mouse to perform all your desk top computing functions. In fact for most home computing a desk top PC is obsolete I haven't had a desk top in five year relying on a laptop and tablet and I find I have been using the former less and less as a table is filling more and more of my computing needs.

 

[edogawa]

[quotemsg=11556121,0,195632][quotemsg=11555321,0,648374]Windows 8 will have a much better price if you buy it from Amazon. Also no, it is not proportional to it's quality, It's a fantastic operating system despite what people think about the "metro" interface.[/quotemsg]

I got my upgrade key for $15 last year. People can still pickup the Windows 8 Pro upgrade key for $70. Nevertheless, I said inversely proportional, at this point Windows has nothing grand going for it as Ubuntu and OS X are just as stable. The fact that windows is still a monopoly and maintains 90%+ of the OS market share enables it to maintain a price premium simply because more developers develop programs for this platform and Apple still not providing universal hardware support. With China and select governments making a push for a transition from XP to Linus over the next few years, Linus may finally start eating away at Microsofts market share and finally force the monopoly to start pricing their products competitively [/quotemsg]

Linux and OS X would also considerably have nothing going for them either for the desktop. Linux is great for business type environments, but on a consumer level which is important, rubbish. Windows has the market share because there are no better alternatives, with the amount of people needing help with Windows already on a daily basis, Linux would be a nightmare with people constantly needing help. With what Windows offers too, compatibility, ease of use, stability, etc in their operating system paying 100 dollars for Windows 8 on Amazon is rather cheap.

 

[egilbe]

Win7 still has the start button right where it belongs. I don't have to "upgrade" to 8.1

 

[slomo4sho]

[quotemsg=11556661,0,648374]
compatibility, ease of use, stability, etc [/quotemsg]

Compatibility is strictly related to market penetration since product support is based on target audiences, ease of use is subjective as many would argue that OS X is basically built for dummies, and Windows is no more stable than OS X and Ubuntu 12. Granted that learning a new OS may be a daunting task for individuals but the suppression of complications with Windows is due to familiarity and not ease of use. The aggravation that Windows 8 Metro interface flared from veteran Windows users is evident to this. Lastly, business adaptation and utilization is the key to current and future utilization of an OS as professionals that spend a majority of their work time using a specific OS are more likely to use it in the homes.

 

[stevejnb]

Concerning market penetration, Windows is a little like the imperial measurement system in the U.S. Compared to the metric it is backwards and needlessly confusing and should have been replaced long ago... But because so many people use it and are used to using it, the "easier" system is harder for them, and therefore they don't bother to use it.

(actually, I think Windows is quite competitive for actual functionality, but not over 90% of all OS's competitive - there are some other good OS's out there that it would be nice if people were at least aware of as an option.)

That being said... Having all versions be full versions is a step in the right direction. Glad I bought all this stuff when I was getting it at $15 and $40 for two copies though.

Also, for everyone who is in here complaining about the OS... Stick with 7 if it does what you want. 8 is great for some of our needs and it really shouldn't be a problem for you if we use what we like while you use what you like and we just leave each other alone. Sound fair?

 

[soundping]

I still don't see any reason to go Win8. Windows 7 is still a excellent product.

 

[beoza]

Having used the 8.1 preview I rather like it, it's also more mouse friendly for those without touch screens like me. Hated the idea of Windows 8 until I actually used it. It does take some getting used to I'll admit that. I like the ability to boot directly to the desktop in 8.1, and have full access to the all apps page when clicking the new pseudo start button. I don't need the start button to work just like prior versions, it's nice if would but I can manage I found ways around that make life easier in Win 8.1. Windows 8 is one of those things that you either love it or you'll hate it. I work on clients computers remotely all day long so I get lots of experience running the Win XP dinosaur, Vista, 7, 8, and Mac OSX. Most clients I talk to like Windows 8 a few absolutely hate it, other's mostly the over 70 crowd are just confused as hell with Win 8.

 

[bradsctt]

that's actually 12:00am on October 18th in New Zealand. FTW

 

[edogawa]

[quotemsg=11556709,0,195632][quotemsg=11556661,0,648374]
compatibility, ease of use, stability, etc [/quotemsg]

Compatibility is strictly related to market penetration since product support is based on target audiences, ease of use is subjective as many would argue that OS X is basically built for dummies, and Windows is no more stable than OS X and Ubuntu 12. Granted that learning a new OS may be a daunting task for individuals but the suppression of complications with Windows is due to familiarity and not ease of use. The aggravation that Windows 8 Metro interface flared from veteran Windows users is evident to this. Lastly, business adaptation and utilization is the key to current and future utilization of an OS as professionals that spend a majority of their work time using a specific OS are more likely to use it in the homes. [/quotemsg]

Ease of use is subjective? To a point it is, but for a desktop operating system Windows is the easiest to use along side OS X, Linux is horrible for normal use unless your above average with computer skills because of lack of compatibility and user friendliness. Besides who would use Linux as a consumer desktop when Windows runs 99% of software without issues.

Windows 8 was hated on far to much, it's basically a refined versions of Windows with a new interface, like it or hate it, on top. I personally do not find metro appealing, but that does not mean it was difficult to use, matter of fact, it was incredibly simple(it takes a minute to figure everything out). I still find it frustrating to use Ubuntu and it's bloated and tacky new interface that is worse than metro, one distro to avoid.

Stability depends on the user. Users can cause the most damage to a system from ignorance.

Linux is to fragmented right now to achieve anything and OS X is restricted to MACS. I think all the operating systems have their good and bad sides, but Windows 8 is a very solid product that needs the interface refined. I don't see an issue with paying 80-100 dollars for a stable and fast product that you know will work and is compatible with 99% of software.

 

[acyuta]

Even I though I now use 8.1, I fail to see visible improvements over 8. In some cases, MS thought of taking vengeance at all people who complained about win 8. So give one and take back three.

1. Start button is back with shutdown/restart and boot to desktop but that did not matter to me in win 8
2. In win 8, new apps installed showed on the metro screen. Not so in win 8.1. There is a down arrow button on metro from where you can pin to start.
3. There is a new desktop which I am confused as to what is the purpose.
4. Computer is renamed This PC again without any rationale to me.
5. Libraries are not default and one has to create.

If you thought win 8 was not worth it, win 8.1 is then also the same. Except if you wanted a quick shutdown/restart button or boot to desktop that was absent in win 8.

 

[acyuta]

Forgot to add a big annoyance in win 8.1 is the `secure boot not configured properly' watermark. That is a problem with older systems. In newer systems, to remove that through BIOS in newer system may result in some 2011-12 backup/imaging software not working.