Windows 8 Pro will be available for $40.

 

For a limited time, Microsoft will offer upgrades to Windows 8 Pro for a flat $40, as long as you're using Windows XP or later. That will be the download price and if you want the DVD it will be $70.

Don't see any detail on Windows.com yet but details can be found here:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/258674/windows_8_upgrade_offe...

Micosoft announced this morning that Windows 8 will be available in October and the special pricing will remain in affect until Jan. 31/13

--
Nuvi 350, 760, 1695LM, 3790LMT, 2460LMT, 3597LMTHD, DriveLuxe 50LMTHD, DriveSmart 61, Garmin Drive 52, Garmin Backup Camera 40 and TomTom XXL540s.

How can anyone resist a deal like this?

t923347 wrote:

For a limited time, Microsoft will offer upgrades to Windows 8 Pro for a flat $40, as long as you're using Windows XP or later. That will be the download price and if you want the DVD it will be $70.

Micosoft announced this morning that Windows 8 will be available in October and the special pricing will remain in affect until Jan. 31/13

So, Windows 8 is still in development, but if you pay Microsoft $40, they will be generous and allow you to experience the bugs in Windows 8 at first hand . . .

How can anyone resist a deal like this?

With best wishes,
- Tom -

--
XXL540, GO LIVE 1535, GO 620

it's lots cheaper

-et- wrote:
t923347 wrote:

For a limited time, Microsoft will offer upgrades to Windows 8 Pro for a flat $40, as long as you're using Windows XP or later. That will be the download price and if you want the DVD it will be $70.

Micosoft announced this morning that Windows 8 will be available in October and the special pricing will remain in affect until Jan. 31/13

So, Windows 8 is still in development, but if you pay Microsoft $40, they will be generous and allow you to experience the bugs in Windows 8 at first hand . . .

How can anyone resist a deal like this?

With best wishes,
- Tom -

Than buying a new GPS ...

--
Illiterate? Write for free help.

Never Never Never

I would never, never, never be the first to buy, or upgrade to, a Microsoft product. Let others be on the 'bleeding edge' of their experiments.

--
NUVI40 Kingsport TN

Very True

Box Car wrote:
-et- wrote:
t923347 wrote:

For a limited time, Microsoft will offer upgrades to Windows 8 Pro for a flat $40, as long as you're using Windows XP or later. That will be the download price and if you want the DVD it will be $70.

Micosoft announced this morning that Windows 8 will be available in October and the special pricing will remain in affect until Jan. 31/13

So, Windows 8 is still in development, but if you pay Microsoft $40, they will be generous and allow you to experience the bugs in Windows 8 at first hand . . .

How can anyone resist a deal like this?

With best wishes,
- Tom -

Than buying a new GPS ...

Very true, but at least the GPS manufacturers pretend that they have debugged the software before selling it to the public.

With best wishes,
- Tom -

--
XXL540, GO LIVE 1535, GO 620

Very true

-et- wrote:

Very true, but at least the GPS manufacturers pretend that they have debugged the software before selling it to the public.

Once, during a problem report with Garmin's 'help' desk, they admitted that they don't have all models available to them for testing.

That is probably true of their development department also.

--
NUVI40 Kingsport TN

Windows 8 Pro

Is the "Pro" the highest end Windows 8 or are there many other versions like Win7 had ?

$14.99 to upgrade a new PC

And if you purchase a new PC before October, you can upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for $14.99:

https://windowsupgradeoffer.com/en/

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Nüvi 2595LMT

wow..

Thanks for the info.

They have to try something

Before this announcement, Microsoft has even stated they don't think there would be a big migration to Windows 8.

Me personally, I will get it, but then that is part of my business, so it is important to me to stay on top of it.

That being said, I'm not expecting too much. I've played with the preview releases Microsoft offered and I don't see anything worthy of an upgrade.

Like most things with Microsoft, it seems every other release is worth it. Windows 98SE was pretty good, ME was a joke and very buggy, XP was the standard for quite a while, Vista left a lot to be desired. Windows 7 is pretty decent.

Anyway, just my opinion, your results may be varied.

--
Garmin Nuvi 2450

I tried the beta public release....

Cannot get used to the UI. Staying with Win 7 for now.

That's

WAASup wrote:

And if you purchase a new PC before October, you can upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for $14.99:

https://windowsupgradeoffer.com/en/

That's right, the Best Buy ad in the local paper last week had this offer noted in it, ever here in Canada. wink

Here are all the various versions of Windows 8:

Windows 8, for most consumers.
Windows 8 Pro, for enthusiasts or businesses.
Windows RT, which is what you get installed on a Windows tablet.
Windows 8 Enterprise
Windows 8 Local-language Windows 8, if you live in China or other “select” markets.

--
Nuvi 350, 760, 1695LM, 3790LMT, 2460LMT, 3597LMTHD, DriveLuxe 50LMTHD, DriveSmart 61, Garmin Drive 52, Garmin Backup Camera 40 and TomTom XXL540s.

Don't think

-et- wrote:

So, Windows 8 is still in development, but if you pay Microsoft $40, they will be generous and allow you to experience the bugs in Windows 8 at first hand . . .

How can anyone resist a deal like this?

With best wishes,
- Tom -

Don't think you'll be able to buy it until it's October release date. Of course you can wait until after January 31/13, and pay full price when you decide you want to go with the new OS, instead of paying $40 between October and January and not updating your PC until you want to. Take your pick.

--
Nuvi 350, 760, 1695LM, 3790LMT, 2460LMT, 3597LMTHD, DriveLuxe 50LMTHD, DriveSmart 61, Garmin Drive 52, Garmin Backup Camera 40 and TomTom XXL540s.

Window 8

Thanks for the info.

--
Alan-Garmin c340

Similar results

jfossy wrote:

Before this announcement, Microsoft has even stated they don't think there would be a big migration to Windows 8.

Me personally, I will get it, but then that is part of my business, so it is important to me to stay on top of it.

That being said, I'm not expecting too much. I've played with the preview releases Microsoft offered and I don't see anything worthy of an upgrade.

Like most things with Microsoft, it seems every other release is worth it. Windows 98SE was pretty good, ME was a joke and very buggy, XP was the standard for quite a while, Vista left a lot to be desired. Windows 7 is pretty decent.

Anyway, just my opinion, your results may be varied.

My experience has been similar to yours with the different OSs listed above. As far as I'm concerned, Windows 8 is something I will not put on my personal PCs, but will need it for testing purposes.

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Streetpilot C340 Nuvi 2595 LMT

Not bad but 7 is really fine

Unless I have a tablet / touch screen, why upgrade? Not a fan of immediate use of a new OS. Be Careful.

I agree 100% with dkstl

dkstl wrote:

Unless I have a tablet / touch screen, why upgrade? Not a fan of immediate use of a new OS. Be Careful.

I agree 100%.

I'm in Microsoft's tech net and have been running Windows 8 since early March on one of my desktop drives and unless you have a touch screen monitor and like the GUI interface on the windows phone and new tablets I cannot find any compelling reason to get rid of Windows 7. I still find the Windows 7 interface easier and quicker to use and have had zero problems with that OS the entire time it has been out.

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Garmin Drive Smart 55 - Samsung Note 10 Smartphone with Google Maps & HERE Apps

Not Even

David King wrote:

I would never, never, never be the first to buy, or upgrade to, a Microsoft product. Let others be on the 'bleeding edge' of their experiments.

Not even if they offered a free bug zapper with it??????????

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Being ALL I can be for HIM! Jesus. Kenwood DNX9980HD Garmin 885t

You can do the User Testing or pay $30

That's why they're charging $30 extra for a DVD that costs about a dime. They don't want you to sandbag installing their product until it's debugged. In effect, they're paying you the $30 to help them do User Testing.

--
Gotta travel on ... with my nuvi 2450LM.

Yes...I also agree with Dkstl and Rjrsw

I'm on technet as well. The new interface doesn't sound that great to me. I haven't even bothered to try any of technet previews. I will be sticking with Windows 7 for a while.

Here is an article, with a video, about the new features of Windows 8:

http://lifehacker.com/5839777/first-look-at-whats-new-in-win...

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Matt

.

What's worse, MS is trying to force the new interface onto everyone. The initial previews could still have some registry tweaks done to re-enable the Windows 7 interface/desktop, but the latest releases have had all the various tweaks completely disabled and/or removed, so you have no choice but to use the new interface.

This could still change once RTM comes around. Maybe MS will realize that customers DON'T want a mobile phone/tablet interface on their home/business PC (even Server 2012 has forced the new interface), but being that it is MS, I wouldn't hold my breath on it.

Well, maybe

PastorMC wrote:
David King wrote:

I would never, never, never be the first to buy, or upgrade to, a Microsoft product. Let others be on the 'bleeding edge' of their experiments.

Not even if they offered a free bug zapper with it??????????

Maybe so. It is worth considering.

To me, there has never been as big an option on a PC since the pop-out cup holder on the towers.

shock

--
NUVI40 Kingsport TN

Never, never, never

David King wrote:

I would never, never, never be the first to buy, or upgrade to, a Microsoft product. Let others be on the 'bleeding edge' of their experiments.

I totally agree. People 'taking advantage' of this offer are unknowingly agreeing to be their Guinea pigs. What M$ should be doing is to pay the people that are willing to test their new product...and go through all the hassle that is required to eventually get the product where it's barely usable to the masses.

--
Politicians and Diapers must be changed often for the exact same reason...

As a computer guy I agree

As a computer guy I agree with both the positive and negative points of view regarding upgrading to a new OS. I will most certainly take advantage of this offer for only one of my systems for testing purposes. If it checks out.....Great! If not...I will still need to know the system's shortcomings to be able to help others who make the switch. All I ask of MS is please don't do a Windows ME or Vista to me.

Good and Bad

t923347 wrote:

For a limited time, Microsoft will offer upgrades to Windows 8 Pro for a flat $40, as long as you're using Windows XP or later. That will be the download price and if you want the DVD it will be $70.

Don't see any detail on Windows.com yet but details can be found here:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/258674/windows_8_upgrade_offe...

Micosoft announced this morning that Windows 8 will be available in October and the special pricing will remain in affect until Jan. 31/13

The information is appreciated. Thanks for posting.

I won't personally be taking advantage of it but many will do so and it's good to pass on this type of info.

I stuck with DOS for a long time after Windows came out. I stuck with Windows 98SE for a long time after XP came out. I still haven't migrated to Windows 7 yet but I plan to get off my duff one of these days and build a new computer and I'll go to Windows 7 then. I never change OS until I see how well it functions. Consequently I never installed Windows Millennium, Windows 2000, or Windows Vista.

I don't have a touchscreen device that would entice me to try Windows 8. The only touchscreen I own is my phone and it's an Android device. If I get a tablet I'm about 99% sure it will also be an Android device.

--
GPSMAP 76CSx - nüvi 760 - nüvi 200 - GPSMAP 78S

windows 8

Yea and who knows if this is like Vista just something nor worth having???

Rule of thumb

A good rule of thumb at the corporations where I have worked is to wait until Microsoft releases Service Pack 2 on any OS before we even think of deployment. The initial release is usually a disaster, it gets usable but still shaky by SP1 and it will work pretty smoothly after SP2.

Following this mentality as served me very well for quite a few years.

I am going to look at

I am going to look at getting this once it comes out. Even if I do not perform the actual upgrade right away, $40 is a lot cheaper than the actual retail would be.

My sentiments exactly

I agree with your comments and have also experimented with the pre releases and still find Windows 7 friendlier. I suspect that if one had a Touch screen then Windows 8 might be more appealing.

--
Cedro

My sentiments exactly

I agree with your comments and have also experimented with the pre releases and still find Windows 7 friendlier. I suspect that if one had a Touch screen then Windows 8 might be more appealing.

--
Cedro

Touchscreen

Spyder 2011 wrote:

I suspect that if one had a Touch screen then Windows 8 might be more appealing.

My 10+ year old Gateway VX900 monitor has no touchscreen, but why are there fingerprints on it?

Right above the white-out..... razz

--
NUVI40 Kingsport TN

this is

almost to good to be true.

--
Never argue with a pig. It makes you look foolish and it anoys the hell out of the pig!

Windows 8 Pro Will Be Available For $40.

While I already have Windows 7 on two computers, I do still have Windows XP on another computer. If they aren't going to be supporting Windows XP much longer, maybe I ought to consider Windows 8 for that computer. I read that the requirements for Windows 8 is less than Windows 7, but I wonder if it is also less than XP?

Thanks -

Appreciate the "Heads Up".

Thanks for the info

Thanks

I half remember a story I

I half remember a story I read somewhere on the net that basically said that Win8 allows "downgrades" to Win7. If this is true it could be a good deal, particularly for XP users.

Does anyone know anything about this?

Here is

Jim1348 wrote:

While I already have Windows 7 on two computers, I do still have Windows XP on another computer. If they aren't going to be supporting Windows XP much longer, maybe I ought to consider Windows 8 for that computer. I read that the requirements for Windows 8 is less than Windows 7, but I wonder if it is also less than XP?

Here is the quote re: system requirements from the Windows 8 webpage:

Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster

RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)

Hard disk space: 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)

Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver

It also says that Windows 8 will work great on the same hardware that powers Windows 7.

--
Nuvi 350, 760, 1695LM, 3790LMT, 2460LMT, 3597LMTHD, DriveLuxe 50LMTHD, DriveSmart 61, Garmin Drive 52, Garmin Backup Camera 40 and TomTom XXL540s.

The minimum hardware

The minimum hardware requirements for Windows XP Home Edition are:

Processor: Pentium 233-megahertz (MHz) processor or faster (300 MHz is recommended)

RAM: At least 64 megabytes (MB) of RAM (128 MB is recommended)

Hard disk space: At least 1.5 gigabytes (GB) of available space on the hard disk

Graphics card: Video adapter and monitor with Super VGA (800 x 600)or higher resolution

So, Windows 7 and 8 are more than XP required and I hope my remaining XP computer will handle it!

Windows 8 Pro is equivalent

Windows 8 Pro is equivalent to WIndows 7 Ultimate.

For $40 it is rather attractive financially.

Most of the arguments against upgrading on the first version are the same for every upgrade Microsoft ever had.

WIndows 7 went pretty smoothly, except for some legacy hardware incompatibilities.

Windows 8 just might run on those older computers that didn't quite make the grade for Windows 7. Time will tell when closer to the RC version.

hurry

...so don't delay, act now, supplies are running out....

Windows??? Last I heard, people don't even want pcs anymore. smile

More doubt about Windows 8

rjrsw wrote:
dkstl wrote:

Unless I have a tablet / touch screen, why upgrade? Not a fan of immediate use of a new OS. Be Careful.

I agree 100%.

I'm in Microsoft's tech net and have been running Windows 8 since early March on one of my desktop drives and unless you have a touch screen monitor and like the GUI interface on the windows phone and new tablets I cannot find any compelling reason to get rid of Windows 7. I still find the Windows 7 interface easier and quicker to use and have had zero problems with that OS the entire time it has been out.

I agree. Windows 8 seems better suited to tablets and other small devices than laptops or desktops with which Windows 7 works great. I'm also not sure that touch-screen monitors are a great idea in desktop applications even if you have one (and I don't). I think it will be very tiring to be using your arm in that upright position over a long work session, and it will slow you down going back and forth from monitor to keyboard even more than mouse to keyboard in a desktop (though not necessarily with smaller devices).

Ironically I bought an otherwise upgrade-eligible new laptop only two days too soon (May 31) to qualify. But it's not a huge disappointment given my concerns about Windows 8.

--
JMoo On

How about *no*?

I'll put it like this, speaking as someone who's been in the IT field for close to two decades...

There's a general rule of thumb that "even-numbered" consumer level Microsoft OS's tend to be horrid. This has in part been true since the days of Windows 3.0 and has been especially apparent since Windows 95:

Win95: Bleah
Win95 OSR/2: Usable
Win98: Decent, probably the best of the "95 family"
WinMe: The name is still used as a veritable curse in technical support circles and is synonymous with fail; the first of the infamous "Bridge OS's"
WinXP: Bleah-ish at first (but Masterpiece Theatre compared with WinBludgeonMeWithASledgehammerToMakeTheHurtingStop) and got to be downright good by SP2
Windows Vista: Should have been chucked out a vista window and has almost become a curse akin to WinMe. The second of the infamous "Bridge OS's"
Windows 7: Probably the best darn thing Microsoft has come out with since the days of MS-DOS 6.22, darn near perfect--and I try NOT to like Microsoft OS's. I like this despite myself.

By this rule alone, combined with the fact that Windows 7 is darn near the penultimate evolution of the NT family...Windows 8 is fated at birth to be a Lovecraftian horror that would manage to make the disaster that was Vista look like the Golden Age in comparison.

Add onto this that Windows 8 is a "bridge OS" to (of ALL things) WINDOWS PHONE OS (not to be confused with the old Windows Mobile, which was based on an earlier fork of Windows CE, which in turn was a fork that dated back to the Windows 3.1/Windows for Workgroups days)...this might make WINDOWS ME look good in comparison, and I almost feel like I need to scrub my keyboard out with salt blessed by a priest just for typing that razz

Even worse...they're also pushing this monstrosity out on their server OS's, which--up until the release of Windows 8 Server--have been solid from Windows 2000 onward.

I'm not sure it'll *kill* Microsoft...but let's just say that businesses are ALREADY making threatening noises to go to Apple and to various Linuxes if Microsoft continues in attempting to turn one's computer into a Zune (yes, Metro is basically the Windows Media Server/Zune interface, which works well if you're using a Zune but is HORRID if you're using a PC without a touch screen). This may well be one of the most spectacular foot-bullets in recent computing history.

And I expect--I hope, anyways--that much like what happened when Vista was unleashed upon the world that Microsoft has to end up extending the end-of-life of Windows 7.

Windows 8

One doesn't have to do a 'final' upgrade to use Windows 8. Ever since upgrading from dos 6.2 I've partition the hard drive, kept 'old faithful' on one partition, and installed the new operating system on the second partition. That way one can review the new OS while still using the old OS ... just swap partitions. The two I didn't keep?? WinMe and Vista!

Most everyone here seems to be knocking Windows. It may not be perfect, but evidently it's the best available in the USA .... more people here use Windows than any other OS.
http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_os.asp

RT

--
"Internet: As Yogi Berra would say, "Don't believe 90% of what you read, and verify the other half."

Update from the Microsoft TechNet on Windows 8 Availability date

rjrsw wrote:
dkstl wrote:

Unless I have a tablet / touch screen, why upgrade? Not a fan of immediate use of a new OS. Be Careful.

I agree 100%.

I'm in Microsoft's tech net and have been running Windows 8 since early March on one of my desktop drives and unless you have a touch screen monitor and like the GUI interface on the windows phone and new tablets I cannot find any compelling reason to get rid of Windows 7. I still find the Windows 7 interface easier and quicker to use and have had zero problems with that OS the entire time it has been out.

The following info on production and general availability of Windows 8 was in the email I received today from the Microsoft TechNet:

"Windows 8 on Track for August RTM

Windows 8 is on track for release to manufacturing the first week of August, with general availability by the end of October."

--
Garmin Drive Smart 55 - Samsung Note 10 Smartphone with Google Maps & HERE Apps

Windows 8?

I'm still thinking about Win 7, from XP Pro SP3... smile

--
nüvi 3790T | Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, will make violent revolution inevitable ~ JFK

Re Windows and such

retiredtechnician wrote:

One doesn't have to do a 'final' upgrade to use Windows 8. Ever since upgrading from dos 6.2 I've partition the hard drive, kept 'old faithful' on one partition, and installed the new operating system on the second partition. That way one can review the new OS while still using the old OS ... just swap partitions. The two I didn't keep?? WinMe and Vista!

Most everyone here seems to be knocking Windows. It may not be perfect, but evidently it's the best available in the USA .... more people here use Windows than any other OS.
http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_os.asp

RT

I'm all for keeping multiple partitions--the thing is that since Vista onward this has become a bit tricker to accomplish (but by no means is impossible, especially with disk imaging software) because Vista onwards tend to not play well with other operating systems unless they're installed first. (Blame changes in how they handle master boot records.)

As for Windows...there are versions of Windows I like, and versions I find to have been mistakes that never should have seen the light of day. Windows 7 is just about perfect in my eyes--probably the first Microsoft OS in a while I've not used the "wait till the first service pack" rule on--and with the exception of Vista the Windows OS's based on the "NT family" (2000/XP/7/2003 Server/2008 Server) have been good and solid. (My gripes with Microsoft OS's have been mostly with the "95 family"--really almost a family of bridge OS's between MS-DOS and the NT family--and with Vista, which was a "bridge OS" between XP and the "finished product" in Windows 7. When stuff is gotten right in the NT family, it's gotten right. grin)

As for Windows 8, I can really see three bits of separate fail that in and of themselves have tended to make the difference between "good OS" and "bad OS":

a) Windows 8 is a "bridge OS" between two pretty darn divergent branches of the Windows family (Win7 which is still WinNT family, and Windows Phone which is based off a later Windows CE branch than the old Windows Mobile was; the separation between "NT family" and "Windows CE family including the phone OS's" actually goes all the way back to the origins of those operating system families, almost).

b) Windows 8 tries (in the default Metro interface, which per reports of beta testers Microsoft is REALLY trying to enforce) basically to have all computers be treated as if they were touchscreen devices or media center boxes. This unfortunately has the side effect of really making desktop stuff painful to use.

(I will note that Windows 8 is NOT the only operating system I have this kvetch about. I've recently changed preferred Linux distributions over Ubuntu's insistence on pushing Unity, which is pretty much based on a similar decision-making idea as Metro in Win8 and is similarly painful to use. Mint and other Debian-based Linuxes look a LOT more appealing after being forced to use Unity razz)

c) Generally (and traditionally) Microsoft has left the Crazy Experimental Stuff That Could Break Drivers And Usability with consumer-grade operating systems, whilst the business operating systems (Windows NT, Win2K, Windows Server) have been solid and professional for the most part (to the point I typically ran Win2K in preference to Win9X back in the day--at least till XP came out, which pretty much WAS Win2K with a gentler touch). Microsoft in their infinite wisdom have announced they intend to ship their business operating systems with Metro as default (and if there's any "Windows 7 style" it's going to be neutered, if beta tester reports are to be believed).

This is already causing a bit of an insurrection among business purchasers regarding this change, which actually are Microsoft's bread and butter far more than the consumer market. (Most people who use a Microsoft OS have it preinstalled on their computer by a computer manufacturer; most of the folks actually buying Microsoft OS's are buying bulk licenses for businesses, are MSDN members who get a yearly subscription of all-you-can-eat Microsoft product at a rather substantial discount from retail, are buying upgrade versions (cheaper than full), or are students (also buying the discounted versions). Microsoft really, really doesn't want to make the Business Hulk angry in this regard on making their OS painful to use; they probably would not like the Business Hulk when it's angry grin