Discount on Windows 8 Upgrades Ends Soon
As a way to encourage early adoption to Windows 8, Microsoft offered some really inexpensive prices on upgrades. Those crazy prices will end on January 31, 2013 so you'll want to get your copy soon if you want to get the best deal.Let's first go over the deals and then I'll talk a little bit more about Windows 8. If you buy the electronic upgrade version directly from windows.com, the upgrade price is only $39.99 now. Starting on February 1, 2013, the price will go up to $199.99. Amazon sells the disc-based upgrade for $69.99 and I would expect that price to rise to something closer to the $199.99 list price starting on February 1.
Now that you know about the current discounts, let's talk more about Windows 8. This new version has gotten criticized heavily, including by me, because Microsoft so drastically overhauled the interface. For the record, I still detest the new interface. The good news is there are products like Start8 (described in Start Up Windows 8 with Start8) that give you back an interface that is familiar.
Not only are there products like Start8, I believe Microsoft will comes to their $en$e$ (senses) and give users a choice at some point in the Windows 8 cycle. Individual users are a small part of total installs and the big piece of the pie comes from huge corporate installs. I can't imagine the big corporate licensees want to re-train all of their employees to use the awful new interface. That gives Microsoft a huge incentive to provide what their biggest customers want.
If not for the interface, I would have already upgraded. Windows 8 is faster, supports new technologies and devices and it is the future. So even if you don't want to install the upgrade right away, you may want to get a copy of Windows 8 while the price is really low.
Labels: windows
posted by Foster D. Coburn III at
8:00 AM
1 Comments:
As a daily user of Windows 8 since the day of release - I love it. The new Start screen is great when you use it for what it is there for: opening apps that are more direct and attractive than their website counterparts (e.g. checking news/weather/sports/Google Voice Search, etc.) There are apps for all sorts, such as OneNote, Evernote, SkydDrive coding apps, animation/photo editors, games, etc. Basically, what you would find on a tablet or smart phone.
If you have dual monitors the desktop opens on the main monitor and the new Start screen on the extended monitor, by default. One click of a button or tile and you jump to the desktop anyway. As for the Start button, you simply don't need it. You can get to things as fast or faster using alternative methods.
Windows Classic Shell is a free alternative to Start8 and has more options. I haven't installed it because I simply don't need it, but I have installed it on a friend's computer and seen it in action.
Learning and feeling comfortable with Windows 8 took a weekend. After 2 weeks it was like I'd always used it.
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