It’s February. So you must be already knowing that the Windows 8 15 dollar upgrade is over. Now if you want to upgrade to Windows 8 Standard Edition it costs you $119.99 and $199.99 for Pro version. Microsoft fixed the loop hole that could get you Windows 8 for dead cheap price of $14.99. Users are getting prompts for Windows 7 keys when they try to utilize this flaw in Windows 8.
The Windows 8 Pro Pack costs you $99.99 and the Windows 8 Media Center Pack will cost you $9.99. All the prices are MSRP (U.S). But before you upgrade your PC or laptop to Windows 8, it’s better to run the Upgrade Assistant.
Update : I just came to know that if you buy a Windows 7 based PC after June 2nd, 2012 then you can avail the 15 dollar upgrade discount till Feb 28th, 2013. Hurray! One more month to avail this dead cheap price. For more details you can read my earlier article above.
Some qualifying students can grab the discount offer of $69.99 for Windows 8 Pro edition. One of the benefits if you are a Windows 7 or Vista user is that you can run the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant and choose the opportunity to install Windows 8 by creating media.
Using this option you can store the Windows 8 installation on a USB stick or as an ISO file. Then you can burn that file to a DVD. In the near future you can use this DVD to install Windows 8 again. The special upgrade price of $40 is over, but if you have bought the license earlier, it’s perfectly valid when you format or re-install Windows 8 again.
If you are Windows XP user, there is a drawback. You don’t get the option when you run the Upgrade Assistant to install Windows 8 using media. But there is a workaround and hack kind of thing, to circumvent this problem. This article explains the inner details.
Conclusion:
As a bottom line, I’d like to quote this article from CNET. The market share for Windows 8 is not that high as compared with Windows 7 during the initial stages of their release. Windows 7 still occupies the largest share among dwindling PC sales as the largest OS. Then comes XP. Windows 8 is a distant fifth with 2.26% for the month of January.
So if you are planning an Upgrade, its better to buy the right hardware first that suits Windows 8, like a tablet and then move on to the OS. The future is set on tablet and smartphone market, and as a PC user its better to learn the hard things first and then Upgrade.
