Windows 8 price increases go into effect on February 1st

Microsoft has announced today the end of its introductory pricing for Windows 8 upgrades.

As of February 1st, the following are the new prices (via BI):

The Windows 8 Pro upgrade edition will be available online and at retail for $199.99 MSRP (U.S.).
The Windows 8 upgrade edition will be available online and at retail for $119.99 MSRP (U.S.).
The Windows 8 Pro Pack will cost $99.99 MSRP (U.S.).
The Windows 8 Media Center Pack will cost $9.99 MSRP (U.S.).

Current prices are significantly cheaper, as Microsoft is hoping to get upgraders. If you purchased a new PC with Windows 7 between June 2nd and the end of this month, the upgrade costs $15. Windows 8 Pro upgrade discs cost $70 otherwise.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 19 Jan 2013 0:47

PraisesToAllah

More reasons not to upgrade! They are just shooting themselves in the foot.

19.1.2013 00:51 #1

juaneryle

I have Windows 8 on my desktop and I'm not impressed. When I'm in desktop mode, I find myself seaching for the Start button. No dvd playback and bland GUI spell trouble when you throw in these new prices.

19.1.2013 01:19 #2

Morreale

I'd love to know their logic behind this...

*\\\****//\\\***//\\\*****
**\\\**//**\\\*//**\\\*******
***\\\//****\\\ ****\\\****

19.1.2013 02:08 #3

bigdan45

What's the point in upgrading when Windows costs damn near the cost of a NEW PC. Screw that. I'll wait until Windows 7 is killed off. Then maybe just get a new computer......Mac maybe???

19.1.2013 03:01 #4

ben101

Originally posted by juaneryle: I have Windows 8 on my desktop and I'm not impressed. When I'm in desktop mode, I find myself seaching for the Start button. No dvd playback and bland GUI spell trouble when you throw in these new prices. Agree,its clumsy to use and everything is hidden.Might be good with a touch screen but horrible otherwise.

19.1.2013 05:59 #5

dali

I also tried it and hated it wholeheartedly. No start button, ugly interface, no Aero, and despite all that "simpler" interface I noticed many responsiveness lags in a Sony Vaio Core i5 with 6 GB of RAM.

The "settings" button in Metro mode won't show the control panel, among many other things. Searching apps is slow, and painful if you have quite a few apps installed. Internet Explorer 10 in full-screen mode is not intuitive to use, and ugly as hell, just like a mobile browser in a huge screen. Apps opened in desktop mode won't show in the list of running apps in Metro mode and vice versa... And to close an app from the Metro interface you have to... Drag from the top to the bottom of the screen? With a mouse? WTF?

Windows Blue will come out soon. If anyone wants to pay for an upgrade which will cripple his or her computer, better wait for it. At least it will be cheaper. Meanwhile, if you buy a new desktop or laptop today, and it has this shit preinstalled, bad luck.

"You know, it seems that quotes on the internet are becoming less and less reliable." -Abraham Lincoln.

19.1.2013 06:33 #6

pierrrre

I am not one to bitch and bash just for the sake of it. However, in the case of win 8...I bought a new laptop three weeks ago. It came with Win 8. I already had Win 8 installed on a virtual machine on my desktop PC and had an idea what it was about. Since I wanted to move with the time, I forced myself to use it on my laptop and hopefully like it. I have to say that even after installing Classicshell to get the start button back, I am going to format my laptop drive and install Win 7 today. On top of the clumsy ugly interface, several pieces of software I own (some very expensive), don't work. I could install Win 7 on a virtual machine and run my software from there but what would be the point. I found myself doing every thing possible to get Win 8 to look and behave like Win 7. Might as well get rid of Win 8 and install Win 7. It should look and behave like Win 7 then, isn't it?

Not impressed at all...

19.1.2013 09:55 #7

Mysttic

03/01/2013 - MS lowers price after sales slump from price increase.

19.1.2013 10:00 #8

mukhis

Originally posted by bigdan45: What's the point in upgrading when Windows costs damn near the cost of a NEW PC. Screw that. I'll wait until Windows 7 is killed off. Then maybe just get a new computer......Mac maybe???
ditto.
oh well, not a mac really, i will still stick to windows because of hardware and software availability.

19.1.2013 11:19 #9

bigdan45

Originally posted by mukhis: Originally posted by bigdan45: What's the point in upgrading when Windows costs damn near the cost of a NEW PC. Screw that. I'll wait until Windows 7 is killed off. Then maybe just get a new computer......Mac maybe???
ditto.
oh well, not a mac really, i will still stick to windows because of hardware and software availability.
I personally, don't do too much with stuff that's not available on Mac.

19.1.2013 11:43 #10

jdwinty

I think the only reason for anyone to move to Windows 8 is if they actually move in the other direction and make it even cheaper. Instead, it seems they are nostalgic for the days when Microsoft enjoyed huge profits off their OS and would like to return to that time. If this is the case, then they have lost me as a customer.

20.1.2013 01:45 #11

Bozobub

Er, M$ still "enjoys huge profits" from Windows. It's always been a cash cow.

20.1.2013 13:18 #12

ZippyDSM

For me its running better, start button can be added on for free, metro is not the end of the world but is poorly utilized(why not bring up a screen to select what goes onto metro and have the programs button so you can go into a better sorted metro screen of all the program shortcuts when you install something.)

Also for the first time since vista I can use the search to find any file.

All in all its not bad, not worth more than 50$ but its not that bad.

Copyright infringement is nothing more than civil disobedience to a bad set of laws. Lets renegotiate them.

---
Check out my crappy creations
http://zippydsm.deviantart.com/

20.1.2013 19:33 #13

aldan

well no offence zippy,but when it becomes more than not bad i will be there with bells on to buy it.so much talk about tweaking an operating system to be more like windows 7 kinda makes me want to stick with windows 7.making an operating system attractive to the consumer is not my job.its no different than say chrysler coming out with a new model and asking the consumer to work the bugs out of it and make it "attractive" to the consumer.to me,its up to microsoft,to do their job and come out with a finished product.

21.1.2013 00:11 #14

dEwMe

Well I am just waiting for the next one cause historicaly as many have said M$ is on an every other release being worth using cycle and has been for years. I won't be buying anything I can't put Windows 7 on till the next one. They emailed me several times asking why I was waiting so long to get my cheap upgrade. Man it's garbage. Doesn't matter what ya charge if noone's buying anyway right? I just wonder how far they will have to go to make it a good operating system? Prob have to scrap the whole thing...

Just my $0.02,

dEwMe

21.1.2013 10:51 #15

Mr_Bill06

You could also see the price raise as a way for them to squeeze more money out of people. People on the fence or maybe where going to wait will more then likely pick up a copy while it's still selling for a good price. I have tried Windows 8 and it's not for me. Like I always say I hope Windows 9 will allow the option for the more classic Windows experience or the new touch screen experience. I sit at my desk I have no touch screen I don't want to have to mimic hand gestures with a mouse.

21.1.2013 12:46 #16

Ofnir1

My second thought about the price increase is stated in the news post, "Current prices are significantly cheaper, as Microsoft is hoping to get upgraders".

What Microsoft wants: "Windows 8 is going up in price? How much is it already? Oh dang! That's a steal compared to what it will be. I had better get it before February 1st!".

21.1.2013 16:54 #17

SomeBozo

Originally posted by Morreale: I'd love to know their logic behind this...

Isn't that simple? If you don't make a million on 'x units', increase the price.

But i'm with with you, with all the companies out there complaining that win8 ain't great, i think M$ maintains their tradition of one good one bad OS. Only thing with the current management at M$ it doesn't seem anything will change and for the new win9 and it will continue as "it ain't great" did.

22.1.2013 11:57 #18

ZippyDSM

Let me know when people start selling 50$ legit keys.

Copyright infringement is nothing more than civil disobedience to a bad set of laws. Lets renegotiate them.

---
Check out my crappy creations
http://zippydsm.deviantart.com/

22.1.2013 12:15 #19

joepet200

Used to be that in the hardware business, IBM, DEC, HP would RAISE the price of their obsolete gear in order to force customers to move up to their new, faster products. This would reduce their support/spares/inventory costs and keep their customers happy and up to speed with their technologies. Microsoft should double their Windows 7 prices and keep the Windows 8 at pre-february prices. Either way they would win. Repeat process with Windows 9.

23.1.2013 09:06 #20

jwnoord

Law of Demand and Supply

If Demand is low and Supply is high, raise the price to make up for lost profits!

All I can say is WOW!

25.1.2013 11:08 #21

Delljunk

I have an old Dell (Multimedia) desktop with XP. How much of a problem would it be to install Windows 8? MS is going to stop supporting XP in a year. Can't afford to buy new hardware. What do you all think?

25.1.2013 13:25 #22

jwnoord

Originally posted by Delljunk: I have an old Dell (Multimedia) desktop with XP. How much of a problem would it be to install Windows 8? MS is going to stop supporting XP in a year. Can't afford to buy new hardware. What do you all think? if you can afford FREE

UBUNTU LINUX and a windows emulator

or Buy some RAM and a "newer" graphics card and you are good to go.

25.1.2013 13:40 #23

jjmehm

Originally posted by Delljunk: I have an old Dell (Multimedia) desktop with XP. How much of a problem would it be to install Windows 8? MS is going to stop supporting XP in a year. Can't afford to buy new hardware. What do you all think? It's no hassle at all, you'll be able to keep all of your stuff. and Honestly, while there is a pretty steep learning curve, after I got used to it, I found that I can actually work more efficiently on Windows 8, but that's just me. I think 90% of people's problems stem from trouble adapting to change, and 10% are actual concerns. Your biggest problem will probably be your hardware which is likely very outdated. Windows 8 requires at least 2GB of RAM and very few windows XP computers shipped with that much, but you likely have at least a 1ghz processor, so look into your machine's specs to determine if a hardware upgrade will be worth it for you. :) Oh, I almost forgot, if you upgrade from XP, you will lose most of your installed programs, but get to keep your files. Best of luck!

25.1.2013 13:44 #24

jwnoord

Originally posted by dali: I also tried it and hated it wholeheartedly. No start button, ugly interface, no Aero, and despite all that "simpler" interface I noticed many responsiveness lags in a Sony Vaio Core i5 with 6 GB of RAM.

The "settings" button in Metro mode wont show the control panel, among many other things. Searching apps is slow, and painful if you have quite a few apps installed. Internet Explorer 10 in full-screen mode is not intuitive to use, and ugly as hell, just like a mobile browser in a huge screen. Apps opened in desktop mode wont show in the list of running apps in Metro mode and vice versa... And to close an app from the Metro interface you have to... Drag from the top to the bottom of the screen? With a mouse? WTF?

Windows Blue will come out soon. If anyone wants to pay for an upgrade which will cripple his or her computer, better wait for it. At least it will be cheaper. Meanwhile, if you buy a new desktop or laptop today, and it has this shit preinstalled, bad luck. Ubuntu LINUX has AERO LIKE interface only problem is ITs FREE !!! HAHAH

25.1.2013 13:45 #25

raunchynm

Ridiculous comment based on no real usage of the product. Learn it and you'll like it

25.1.2013 14:02 #26

Delljunk

Originally posted by jjmehm: Originally posted by Delljunk: I have an old Dell (Multimedia) desktop with XP. How much of a problem would it be to install Windows 8? MS is going to stop supporting XP in a year. Can't afford to buy new hardware. What do you all think? It's no hassle at all, you'll be able to keep all of your stuff. and Honestly, while there is a pretty steep learning curve, after I got used to it, I found that I can actually work more efficiently on Windows 8, but that's just me. I think 90% of people's problems stem from trouble adapting to change, and 10% are actual concerns. Your biggest problem will probably be your hardware which is likely very outdated. Windows 8 requires at least 2GB of RAM and very few windows XP computers shipped with that much, but you likely have at least a 1ghz processor, so look into your machine's specs to determine if a hardware upgrade will be worth it for you. :) Oh, I almost forgot, if you upgrade from XP, you will lose most of your installed programs, but get to keep your files. Best of luck! Thanks - Looks like the RAM will be a problem. I have an 8400 Pentium 4 550 (3.4GHz) processor, but only 1GB DDR2 SDRAM at 533 MHz. Whaaa.

25.1.2013 14:04 #27

jjmehm

Originally posted by Delljunk: Originally posted by jjmehm: Originally posted by Delljunk: I have an old Dell (Multimedia) desktop with XP. How much of a problem would it be to install Windows 8? MS is going to stop supporting XP in a year. Can't afford to buy new hardware. What do you all think? It's no hassle at all, you'll be able to keep all of your stuff. and Honestly, while there is a pretty steep learning curve, after I got used to it, I found that I can actually work more efficiently on Windows 8, but that's just me. I think 90% of people's problems stem from trouble adapting to change, and 10% are actual concerns. Your biggest problem will probably be your hardware which is likely very outdated. Windows 8 requires at least 2GB of RAM and very few windows XP computers shipped with that much, but you likely have at least a 1ghz processor, so look into your machine's specs to determine if a hardware upgrade will be worth it for you. :) Oh, I almost forgot, if you upgrade from XP, you will lose most of your installed programs, but get to keep your files. Best of luck! Thanks - Looks like the RAM will be a problem. I have an 8400 Pentium 4 550 (3.4GHz) processor, but only 1GB DDR2 SDRAM at 533 MHz. Whaaa. yeah...though the goodnews is that it's probably DDR1 RAM, so you can pick a few stick up pretty cheap on ebay

25.1.2013 14:05 #28

Delljunk

Originally posted by jwnoord: Originally posted by Delljunk: I have an old Dell (Multimedia) desktop with XP. How much of a problem would it be to install Windows 8? MS is going to stop supporting XP in a year. Can't afford to buy new hardware. What do you all think? if you can afford FREE

UBUNTU LINUX and a windows emulator

or Buy some RAM and a "newer" graphics card and you are good to go. Thank you -- Will have to look into the costs. Can't really afford anything right now though.

25.1.2013 14:08 #29

Virgil_B

Originally posted by juaneryle: I have Windows 8 on my desktop and I'm not impressed. When I'm in desktop mode, I find myself seaching for the Start button. No dvd playback and bland GUI spell trouble when you throw in these new prices. Juaneryle,

If you install the open source program "Classic Shell" (not to be confused with Classic Shell 8) I think that you will have a slightly different opinion of Windows 8. The program restores the start button along with the All Programs functions and even gives you the option of booting to the desktop. I have been using it for some time now and have been pleased with Windows 8 ever since.

25.1.2013 15:38 #30

jwnoord

Originally posted by Virgil_B: Originally posted by juaneryle: I have Windows 8 on my desktop and I'm not impressed. When I'm in desktop mode, I find myself seaching for the Start button. No dvd playback and bland GUI spell trouble when you throw in these new prices. Juaneryle,

If you install the open source program "Classic Shell" (not to be confused with Classic Shell 8) I think that you will have a slightly different opinion of Windows 8. The program restores the start button along with the All Programs functions and even gives you the option of booting to the desktop. I have been using it for some time now and have been pleased with Windows 8 ever since. AN "Open Source fix" to a "closed source product"? Anyone else see the irony in that.

Glad that is there to "soften the blow" of dealing with windows 8, but that is classical irony that "open source software" helps people use an expensive "commercial product" from a company that is diametrically opposed to "open source software".

25.1.2013 15:45 #31

Virgil_B

Originally posted by Delljunk: I have an old Dell (Multimedia) desktop with XP. How much of a problem would it be to install Windows 8? MS is going to stop supporting XP in a year. Can't afford to buy new hardware. What do you all think? It all depends on what is in your old Dell system. If you have a 32 bit processor then you are limited to 3 GB of ram memory. Windows 8 will run in that amount of memory but depending on your processor it may not run very fast. If you have a 64 bit processor and your motherboard supports more than 4 GB of ram I would suggest that you install 8 GB at a minimum. Eight GBs of ram seems to be the sweet spot. Windows 8 also eats up from 16 GB to 20 GB of hard drive space. Plus, If you haven't test driven Windows 8, look out because you lose the start button and will have a very difficult time using the new version of Windows. I hated Windows 8 until I installed an open source program called "Classic Shell". Classic shell restores the start button and most of the other things that are in Windows 7 including the ability to boot directly to the desktop instead of the Windows 8 surface. Plus if you are going from Windows XP to Windows 8 you are going to have a big learning curve simply due to all of the changes in Windows 8.

But back to your question, I would probably wait on buying Windows 8 until I was ready to replace the computer. I think that you would be happier that way.

25.1.2013 16:20 #32

dali

Originally posted by raunchynm: Ridiculous comment based on no real usage of the product. Learn it and you'll like it
Oh, I learnt enough, and it's definitely not for me (coder and IT speciallist, among other things), neither for my customers, specially those who are 50 years old or more and were lost with the Windows XP interface when it came out, because they were used to Windows 98, which was pretty much the same thing but less improved. Making them to learn how to perform such contra-intuitive gestures with the mouse is a titanic task.

Windows 7 was a good product from the start, and so keeps on being today. Windows 8 is a huge step backwards aiming to join together two different systems (desktop and tablet) that just don't mix well.

Remember? Windows Mobile was a failure in the end because it tried to bring the look&feel of a Windows desktop to a significantly smaller screen. Then, the stylus became part of the past when WP7 and lately WP8 came out, which are pretty good as phone/tablet operating systems, but NOT good at all in a classic desktop environment (mouse & keyboard). Maybe some day in the far future, but sure as hell not right now. Period.

"You know, it seems that quotes on the internet are becoming less and less reliable." -Abraham Lincoln.

25.1.2013 16:42 #33

jwnoord

Originally posted by Virgil_B: Originally posted by Delljunk: I have an old Dell (Multimedia) desktop with XP. How much of a problem would it be to install Windows 8? MS is going to stop supporting XP in a year. Can't afford to buy new hardware. What do you all think? It all depends on what is in your old Dell system. If you have a 32 bit processor then you are limited to 3 GB of ram memory. Windows 8 will run in that amount of memory but depending on your processor it may not run very fast. If you have a 64 bit processor and your motherboard supports more than 4 GB of ram I would suggest that you install 8 GB at a minimum. Eight GBs of ram seems to be the sweet spot. Windows 8 also eats up from 16 GB to 20 GB of hard drive space. Plus, If you haven't test driven Windows 8, look out because you lose the start button and will have a very difficult time using the new version of Windows. I hated Windows 8 until I installed an open source program called "Classic Shell". Classic shell restores the start button and most of the other things that are in Windows 7 including the ability to boot directly to the desktop instead of the Windows 8 surface. Plus if you are going from Windows XP to Windows 8 you are going to have a big learning curve simply due to all of the changes in Windows 8.

But back to your question, I would probably wait on buying Windows 8 until I was ready to replace the computer. I think that you would be happier that way. Windows = :( >>> $$$$$
Linux = ;) <<<< $$$$$

25.1.2013 16:55 #34

jwnoord

Originally posted by dali: Originally posted by raunchynm: Ridiculous comment based on no real usage of the product. Learn it and you'll like it
Oh, I learnt enough, and it's definitely not for me (coder and IT speciallist, among other things), neither for my customers, specially those who are 50 years old or more and were lost with the Windows XP interface when it came out, because they were used to Windows 98, which was pretty much the same thing but less improved. Making them to learn how to perform such contra-intuitive gestures with the mouse is a titanic task.

Windows 7 was a good product from the start, and so keeps on being today. Windows 8 is a huge step backwards aiming to join together two different systems (desktop and tablet) that just don't mix well.

Remember? Windows Mobile was a failure in the end because it tried to bring the look&feel of a Windows desktop to a significantly smaller screen. Then, the stylus became part of the past when WP7 and lately WP8 came out, which are pretty good as phone/tablet operating systems, but NOT good at all in a classic desktop environment (mouse & keyboard). Maybe some day in the far future, but sure as hell not right now. Period. raunchynm, you pegged it. From a historical perspective, I think the pinnacle of windows development will likely be seen as 2000/XP (Perhaps windows 7), but Win8 will be the last big push from the company in the PC arena. By the time windows 9 can be ready for market, new technology is going ot overtake and dominate the remainder of the PC and the emerging Tablet and thin client devices. Microsoft derives significant revenue from 3 areas, Desktop, Servers, and Gaming. WELL, Valve is going Linux.....they will take a good chunk with them initially and later as late adopters come on board, that market is declining core for Microsoft. As more people see the gaming advantage to Linux, more server migration WILL occur, (doing windows on virtual pc and emulators as required. Finally, in the desktop arena, the continued advance of Google and Linux is going to push Microsoft out. China has gone android, so goes the world.

25.1.2013 17:01 #35

dali

So... Who pegged what? I'm a bit lost here now.

And, just to clarify, I have been a Linux user (and lover) uninterruptedly since it came out (yes, I'm that old, I was in college back then). All of my servers, desktops and laptops run Debian. But my customers... Well... That's my daily fight. ;)

"You know, it seems that quotes on the internet are becoming less and less reliable." -Abraham Lincoln.

25.1.2013 17:18 #36

aldan

never ceases to amaze me how when you dont like something you are either stupid or ignorant.im with you on this one dali.

26.1.2013 17:54 #37

dali

Originally posted by aldan: never ceases to amaze me how when you dont like something you are either stupid or ignorant.im with you on this one dali.
Thank you for that. Any individual may disagree with any other one, but being at least a bit respectful and giving some kind of credit to the other party, because unique absolute truths do rarely exist, and we afterdawners do not really know each other that well. But, you know, insulting is the argument of those who have no real arguments.

"You know, it seems that quotes on the internet are becoming less and less reliable." -Abraham Lincoln.

26.1.2013 19:02 #38

leglessoz

Yeah well Microsoft can get stuffed. Windows 7 works just fine. I won't bother upgrading.

27.1.2013 02:22 #39

Ofnir1

In my situation, my laptops cheap on-board GPU works best with Windows 8, but I'm not putting up with their Apple-like environment. I was seriously considering a switch, and then came the news.

27.1.2013 02:49 #40

Delljunk

27.1.2013 15:54 #41

aldan

why not just upgrade your tower to win7?im running office 2000 on a windows 7 machine and have had no conflicts with it or any other program.

27.1.2013 17:53 #42

Jemborg

Some people have stated that PC games play better on Win8... anybody confirm that?

Its a lot easier being righteous than right.

27.1.2013 23:32 #43

Delljunk

Originally posted by aldan: why not just upgrade your tower to win7?im running office 2000 on a windows 7 machine and have had no conflicts with it or any other program.

Well that's a thought too. However, I'm reasonably sure I'll run into the same RAM issues and others too.

31.1.2013 17:13 #44

ZippyDSM

Originally posted by Jemborg: Some people have stated that PC games play better on Win8... anybody confirm that? Kinda, over all I am impressed with how well win8 runs, its a tiny bit faster all around than win7 and the search function is fast and works even!!

Copyright infringement is nothing more than civil disobedience to a bad set of laws. Lets renegotiate them.

---
Check out my crappy creations
http://zippydsm.deviantart.com/

31.1.2013 17:20 #45

aldan

Originally posted by Delljunk: Originally posted by aldan: why not just upgrade your tower to win7?im running office 2000 on a windows 7 machine and have had no conflicts with it or any other program.

Well that's a thought too. However, I'm reasonably sure I'll run into the same RAM issues and others too. ive run it on old single core celerons with 2gb of ram and they actually run somewhat better than they did on xp.how much ram do you have?

31.1.2013 18:16 #46

Jemborg

Originally posted by ZippyDSM: Originally posted by Jemborg: Some people have stated that PC games play better on Win8... anybody confirm that? Kinda, over all I am impressed with how well win8 runs, its a tiny bit faster all around than win7 and the search function is fast and works even!! Hey Zip, I always install "Agent Randsack" (free) for that.

Its a lot easier being righteous than right.

31.1.2013 20:03 #47

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