Microsoft has finally wrapped up production of its Windows 8 operating system and is releasing it to manufacturers. The company states that sales of Windows 8 will start on October 26th either by upgrading for $39.99 or on a new PC or device. Individuals who have eligible Windows 7 PC, will be able to purchase an upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for $14.99 (U.S.).
Microsoft reports that Windows 8 will be release to the market as follows:
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- August 15th: Developers will be able to download the final version of Windows 8 via your MSDN subscriptions.
- August 15th: IT professionals testing Windows 8 in organizations will be able to access the final version of Windows 8 through your TechNet subscriptions.
- August 16th: Customers with existing Microsoft Software Assurance for Windows will be able to download Windows 8 Enterprise edition through the Volume License Service Center (VLSC), allowing you to test, pilot and begin adopting Windows 8 Enterprise within your organisation.
- August 16th: Microsoft Partner Network members will have access to Windows 8.
- August 20th: Microsoft Action Pack Providers (MAPS) receive access to Windows 8.
- September 1st: Volume License customers without Software Assurance will be able to purchase Windows 8 through Microsoft Volume License Resellers.
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In order to assist you in making an informed purchase of Windows 8. I’ve put together a few snippets of Windows 8 reviews.
Windows 8 review: Yes, it’s that bad – Infoworld
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We’ve been examining and dissecting beta versions of Windows 8 for almost a year. In that time, a few traits have become eminently clear. First and foremost, no matter what you think about Windows 8’s design, it’s a towering engineering achievement: Microsoft managed to bolt a very capable, modern, touch-friendly interface (I’ll stick with calling it Metro for now) onto a stalwart (some would say stodgy) workhorse, coming up with a product that’s familiar to more than a billion users, and forward-looking at the same time. That’s quite an accomplishment….
Some people think that Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro tablets will hit the market by storm. Having used Windows 8 on desktops, a laptop, and on a tablet for almost a year now, I’m considerably more skeptical. Although Win8 running on an Intel tablet will undoubtedly solve some specific corporate (and personal) requirements, I certainly don’t expect a massive move to Windows 8, either in the office or at home. Windows RT Surface tablets, based on the ARM processor, may be a different story. We’ll learn more about RT’s chances in the coming weeks. One thing is for sure: There’s going to be significant demand for Windows 7 laptops and desktops for the foreseeable future.
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Windows 8 Release to Manufacturing review – Cnet
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Microsoft’s vision for the future of computers builds a new world for Windows. It works well with a mouse and keyboard, and it’s great with touch screens. It lusts for apps, lives for sync, and loves real-time updates. But you better believe it’ll take some time to get used to it all. Since Microsoft debuted its vision for Windows 8 to the world at its Build 2011 conference, we have watched the themes that drive Windows 8 slowly gestate. The new operating system applies the lessons of mobile to the personal computer in a way that’s absolutely innovative. Connectivity, cloud access to personal files, seamless updates, and a simple interface all come together in Windows 8…
We’re giving Windows 8 a strong recommendation in no small part because of its value. If you’re running a Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7 computer, upgrading will cost you $40. That’s worth it alone for the security and speed enhancements, not to mention the better driver and utility support. That price point is almost $100 cheaper than upgrading from XP or Vista to Windows 7 was.
One big question remains: Does the learning curve make it worth strongly considering other operating systems? We think not. There are more than enough similarities between Windows 7 and Windows 8 that while the incline is aggressive, it’s far easier than learning an entirely new set of hot keys and workflow. We think that it’s worth seriously considering the upgrade, especially from older systems, but it’s not yet the one operating system (to rule them all) that Microsoft wants it to be.
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Windows 8 Review: Incredibly Innovative, Incredibly Important, Not Quite Incredible – Gizmodo
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Windows. The central pillar of Microsoft and the modern computing world has also been, for the past several years, passingly easy to take for granted. Operating at varying degrees of mundane to tolerable, Windows has been a bore; a groan and a what-can-you-do shrug. No more.
Using Windows 8 is pleasant, especially if you don’t have to do anything in a particular hurry. It’s a totally new way of thinking about how you want to operate in a desktop OS—and maybe not entirely in the way you think. But it also seems like a rough draft of a deeply interesting idea.
Going forward, that can mean a few things. Maybe Metro just needs to evolve. This is its first run in a true desktop environment, remember, so it will definitely see things like upgrades to Charm functionality that lets you use that space as a visual clipboard. Or maybe Microsoft just decides to keep the desktop around as a utility belt for when you need to do anything like that—though that wouldn’t help much with the problem in Metro apps.
The visual disconnects are a real issue that should be addressed. It’s not a small thing; Microsoft’s goal is to make Windows as easy and friendly to use as possible. But who would intuit just looking at the Metro start screen and typing away? Imagine showing up to your government job and trying to make sense of this oddly stylish screen…
The central question surrounding Windows 8 and the Metro UI is this: Will this actually stick as an interface for PCs?
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Sources: Microsoft, Infoworld, Cnet, Gizmodo
Image/Video Credit: Microsoft
