Windows 8 released - cheapest price at Rs. 1060/-

Windows 8 is here - launched in Delhi about 3-1/2 hours before its official launch in the US.  And at the cheapest upgrade price ever - at Rs. 699/-.  Costs less than my monthly internet connection.
:-D

But there is a  catch.  Has to be, isn’t it, with Microsoft?  The Windows 8 upgrade offer at Rs. 699/- is only applicable if you’ve bought a Windows 7 preinstalled PC after 2nd June of this year and the offer itself would expire on 31st January 2013.

If you’ve been a loyal customer of Microsoft and bought your PC & / or Windows 7 OS earlier to 2nd June, you’ve to pay 3 times more for your loyalty and promptness.  Yeah, like me, you will have to pay Rs. 1,999 /- (Windows 8 Pro cheapest price is Rs. 1060/- or ~$21, read on).

Is Windows 8 better?  God knows!  The new Modern-UI or Windows-8-style-UI (wasn’t “Metro” much simple, and better?) is certainly fun.  But once the enthusiasm for the new toy (?) has worn off, I felt Windows 8 wasn’t well suited for a productivity environment.  BTW if the world “Metro” had a trademark problem with Metro AG, Germany, couldn’t they have called it “MetroW” instead of such stupid long names?

In simple words, using Windows 8, I get the feeling that the OS is not suited for mouse clicking or using keys (typing).  Of course, I tested out the Release Preview (in a dual-boot using EasyBCD free) and it might have changed between May and October.

There were a couple of other issues as well.  Like without the Windows 8 drivers for the Intel MB, I did not venture on the internet.  Again, I wouldn’t have touched the net even if I had the drivers, because Comodo Internet Security (ver 5.10) wasn’t compatible with Windows 8 (CIS ver. 5.12 is compatible though).  In any case, Windows 8 broke the internet connection on Windows 7 (??).  So I stopped trying out Windows 8 altogether.



In case you think of upgrading to Windows 8, here are  few things to note:

You can upgrade from Windows XP (SP3), Vista, and 7 to Windows 8; but -

• only Windows 7 users can retain their other software.
• XP and Vista users can only retain their files - not your software.

A welcome change is the licensing models for Windows 8.  Home users have just 2 products to select from -

• Windows 8 (the basic or standard, which roughly equals the Pro models of earlier Windows), and
• Windows 8 Pro (roughly the equivalent of the 7 Ultimate);
• The other 2 - Enterprise and RT are for corporate and Tablets respectively.

Some other issues are -

• there is no Windows Media Centre (though it can be downloaded for 8 Pro separately);
• Volume Shadow Copy is deprecated - which might have an impact on 3rd party backup tools like Cobian Backup;
• some games and programs might require a dedicated graphics card compatible with DirectX 10+;
• some features of Windows 8 might itself require a Microsoft account;
• you need a Licence Key even during installation - there is no trial period at all.

The easiest way to upgrade is to run the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant which you can download from Microsoft India.  So read on how you can get your genuine Windows 8 for Rs. 1,060/-.




The easiest and the cheapest way to get your own, genuine Windows 8 DVD is to run the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant.  After you’ve reviewed the compatibility issues, go ahead and fill in the shipping details.



On the next screen ‘Review Order’ you get to choose either a 2 GB digital download, which you can then write to a media, or along with a backup Windows DVD.

Which made me blink.  The digital download is priced at Rs. 1,999/- but a backup DVD is priced at Rs. 1,060/-?  Almost a 1000 Rupees less?  Just slightly more than what I pay as monthly internet connection?

Has Microsoft gone wonky?  I don’t know.

You know whats going to happen? That backup DVD is going to be flogged for Rs. 2000/-

But before they become unwonky - grab your copy.

And please do leave a comment - even a simple ‘10x’ would do.  Seeing that I just showed you how to save 1000 bucks.
;-)

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