Poll: Would you pay a fee for Windows 8.1 update?

Would you pay a fee for the Windows 8.1 update?

  • Up to $15

    Votes: 13 9.2%

  • Up to $40, or more

    Votes: 4 2.8%

  • Not a dime more than FREE

    Votes: 63 44.4%

  • I'll stick with Windows 7, kthx

    Votes: 62 43.7%
  • Total voters
    142
  • Poll closed .
As someone already using Win8, no. If I were using Win7, then yes.
 
FM 3370 said:
I mean I'd like to click that area of the taskbar without having the little Start Screen rectangle appearing. I know it's a small thing but I'm being picky.
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The rumor is that a start icon will be placed in the desktop's lower left corner which will open the metro start screen in the Build 2013 preview release coming in late June.
 
FM 3370 said:
I voted nothing more than Free. After a couple of registry modifications I'm much happier with Windows 8 now. The only thing they need to fix is to disable the hot corners. The Start Screen is great but just let me click the lower left taskbar to open it. Same for the charms bar, I disabled the charms hint, but it still annoys me when it comes up when I don't want it to. :(
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cariocadude said:
no.
I hope they put the option to boot directly to the desktop.
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Just download Start8 and ModernMix from Stardock. Fixes everything I hated about Windows 8. Not only does it bring back the start menu, but you can disable the hot corners if you like, boot straight to the desktop, and run Metro apps in a window.
 
Demon10000 said:
Because I have no idea what it's going to update, I can't answer the question.

I'm currently happy with Windows 8, so it would have to offer me something that I don't already have that won't be hotfixed in later.
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Let's see how much I'm willing to pay for a product that I have no idea what it is yet!

Ideologically, I'd want the pack to be FREE, especially if it returns the full desktop experience (Windows 7 interaction, Windows 8 guts/core) while making "Metro/Modern" optional. I'm not a big fan of paying companies to clean up their self-inflicted messes.

I'd be willing to pay up to $15, truth be told (yay academic copies).
 
I wouldn't pay a dime for it. Largely because I believe a dime would be a gross overcharging on their part.
 
As a retail customer, I'd be willing to pay around $15 for it. However, on a personal note, I'd not be willing to pay anything for it, as I fully expect (and demand if not) this to be on Microsoft TechNet for subscribers. I realize TechNet is not designed for personal use, but even for testing purposes, it would be VERY useful for those who want to know if Blue (or 8.1, whatever) will be suitable for their company after the changes from vanilla Windows 8.

Short version, this had better be on TechNet/MSDN!
 
I missed Windows 7 upgrade. I have all the Windows 7 media from my son in laws computer and hopefully I can still buy a Windows 7 key from MS. After trying to work on my wife's new laptop this weekend, I have come to the conclusion that Windows 8 is a (multiple expletives deleted). It is a major PITA just to try to move files and trying to navigate just $***$. WHY DID MICROSOFT TURN MY WIFE'S LAPTOP INTO A CELL PHONE? (and yes I was shouting). Unless MS fixed Windows 8 to be more power user friendly I will move to another operating system.
 
if it's free then I'll gladly upgrade from Win 8 pro. If they charge for it then I'll consider "downgrading" to Win 7.
 
GP40X said:
I missed Windows 7 upgrade. I have all the Windows 7 media from my son in laws computer and hopefully I can still buy a Windows 7 key from MS. After trying to work on my wife's new laptop this weekend, I have come to the conclusion that Windows 8 is a (multiple expletives deleted). It is a major PITA just to try to move files and trying to navigate just $***$. WHY DID MICROSOFT TURN MY WIFE'S LAPTOP INTO A CELL PHONE? (and yes I was shouting). Unless MS fixed Windows 8 to be more power user friendly I will move to another operating system.
Click to expand...

So, it must have been a major PITA to move files and navigate in 7, Vista and xp, eh? Especially since on the desktop, it is exactly the same.
 
pxc said:
The rumor is that a start icon will be placed in the desktop's lower left corner which will open the metro start screen in the Build 2013 preview release coming in late June.
Click to expand...

Hopefully I will be able to remove the button on my machines.
 
ManofGod said:
So, it must have been a major PITA to move files and navigate in 7, Vista and xp, eh? Especially since on the desktop, it is exactly the same.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm totally confused by what he's saying about moving files, since what you're saying has been my experience. I guess he's being thrown off by no "Computer" link by default on the Start Screen or something like that.
 
ManofGod said:
Hopefully I will be able to remove the button on my machines.
Click to expand...

Oh so now you want choice. Ironic since when people asked for the choice to run with a start button, the answer from the MS investors was "deal with it". Too funny.

In any case, having more choices in the 8.1 update will be good for everyone, and its about time.
 
DPI said:
Oh so now you want choice. Ironic since when people asked for the choice to run with a start button, the answer from the MS investors was "deal with it". Too funny.

In any case, having more choices in the 8.1 update will be good for everyone, and its about time.
Click to expand...

LOL...burn.
 
DPI said:
Oh so now you want choice. Ironic since when people asked for the choice to run with a start button, the answer from the MS investors was "deal with it". Too funny.
Click to expand...

Huh? Again, you're making stuff up. Why is it that everyone that likes Metro is a Microsoft investor? Some people like the new UI, even with a keyboard and mouse, some don't and my guess is that few people in the whole universe of Windows users even care. These absolutist arguments are pointless. They show little understanding of the product and certainly aren't reflective of all that's been said of the new UI in the blogosphere.
 
He's referring to Microsoft proponents colloquially as "investors". I don't believe it's intended to be strictly literal.
 
DPI said:
Oh so now you want choice. Ironic since when people asked for the choice to run with a start button, the answer from the MS investors was "deal with it". Too funny.

In any case, having more choices in the 8.1 update will be good for everyone, and its about time.
Click to expand...

*Shrug* (I could not care less than I already do. :D) However, I personally find it quicker to and less need of accuracy to just stick the mouse in the lower left hand corner and click. Same with the swipe motion I use to bring up the charms bar with the mouse.

Amazing, is it not, that I never once said anything about choice, only that I hate intentional misinformation.
 
ManofGod said:
However, I personally find it quicker to and less need of accuracy to just stick the mouse in the lower left hand corner and click.
Click to expand...
That's how the Start Button works. You can click at the bottom-left origin 0, 0.
 
wonderfield said:
That's how the Start Button works. You can click at the bottom-left origin 0, 0.
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Cool, you are right. :) I will do what I do in 8 in the other windows versions as well. (I have 7, Vista and XP in virtual box machines and tested all 3.) Still, I personally do not need the button myself.
 
wonderfield said:
He's referring to Microsoft proponents colloquially as "investors". I don't believe it's intended to be strictly literal.
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That's not a colloquialism. Rather, he is disparaging Microsoft proponents by calling them investors. It is an obvious insult intended to discredit their opinions by implying that they are arrived at and held not by the use of reason but rather because of ulterior financial interests.
 
And you're disparaging him by implying that his motive in calling them "investors" is ulterior.

How that for "reason"?
 
Are you seriously asserting that "Microsoft investor" is a colloquialism for "someone who likes Windows 8," or as you put it "Microsoft proponents?" :eek: You've a very different idea of the definition of colloquial than I do.

Let's see how Merriam-Webster defines it: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/colloquial Why, it means the use of conversational or informal terms, not the use of incorrect terms to score a debating point.

And yes, I am disparaging him, or more precisely I'm disparaging his limp dick debating tactics. Now there is a colloquial expression for you!
 
Eman D. Rahym said:
Are you seriously asserting that "Microsoft investor" is a colloquialism for "someone who likes Windows 8," or as you put it "Microsoft proponents?"
Click to expand...
Break out Webster's again: "one who likes" and "one who advocates for" aren't even vaguely similar.

Eman D. Rahym said:
Why, it means the use of conversational or informal terms
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Yes. "Investor", in this case, is what I believe to be an informal term. Have I not communicated that clearly?
 
wonderfield said:
Break out Webster's again: "one who likes" and "one who advocates for" aren't even vaguely similar.
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I agree. I also think you are the one who makes the unfair comparison by calling people in these threads "Microsoft Proponents." I see many posts by people who like Windows 8, but I don't remember any posts by people simply "advocating for" Microsoft. Perhaps the distinction is too subtle for you. I'll spell it out: simply liking and defending Windows 8 does not make someone a Microsoft proponent. Windows 8 and Microsoft are two different things. It's perfectly possible to like one and not the other. For example, someone could like OSX, but dislike Apple.

wonderfield said:
Yes. "Investor", in this case, is what I believe to be an informal term. Have I not communicated that clearly?
Click to expand...
You certainly have and that is what I cannot understand. A colloquialism is an informal or conversational expression that means the same thing as one that could be expressed in more formal terms. It is not a license to conflate or confuse expressions that have different meanings. As an example, let's accept your proposition that people in these threads are "advocates for" Microsoft or "Microsoft proponents." Surely you can see that that does not necessarily make them Microsoft "Investors." Your insistence that "Investor" is informal (which is also wrong, by the way) is simply beside the point. "Investor" is not a colloquialism for "Proponent."
 
Eman D. Rahym said:
I see many posts by people who like Windows 8, but I don't remember any posts by people simply "advocating for" Microsoft.
Click to expand...
Then I would accuse you of either simply not paying attention or simply being dishonest. Granted, it could very well be both.

Eman D. Rahym said:
It's perfectly possible to like one and not the other.
Click to expand...
Again, the term "proponent" has nothing to do with "one who likes" or "one who dislikes". For a moment you appeared to grasp the understanding of the term and then in the next moment let it slip entirely from your comprehension.

Eman D. Rahym said:
As an example, let's accept your proposition that people in these threads are "advocates for" Microsoft or "Microsoft proponents." Surely you can see that that does not necessarily make them Microsoft "Investors."
Click to expand...
That's the point.

Eman D. Rahym said:
Your insistence that "Investor" is informal (which is also wrong, by the way)
Click to expand...
"It's wrong because I say it is". Alright.
 
Eman D. Rahym said:
I agree. I also think you are the one who makes the unfair comparison by calling people in these threads "Microsoft Proponents." I see many posts by people who like Windows 8, but I don't remember any posts by people simply "advocating for" Microsoft. Perhaps the distinction is too subtle for you. I'll spell it out: simply liking and defending Windows 8 does not make someone a Microsoft proponent. Windows 8 and Microsoft are two different things. It's perfectly possible to like one and not the other. For example, someone could like OSX, but dislike Apple.
Click to expand...

One thing I've noticed, and I guess this would be true of any subject that's controversial with two opposing sides, but a lot of times people will be called Microsoft and/or Windows 8 proponents, fanboys, etc. by simply point out plain and simple facts about Windows 8, even the most basic things like market share that comes from market share counters out there.

It's one thing not to like Windows 8, it's another to simply say things that are incorrect or to make up numbers without any 3rd party validation. We all get things wrong from time to time, that's the good thing about places like this were hopefully people can learn new things and get good information. But when it comes to Windows 8, it's very challenging just to get simple facts out there without tons of irrelevant interjections of others' motives and personal characterizations that have ZERO to do with Windows 8.
 
Looks like they did the right thing in this case, although I'm not sure about the 8.1 name.
 
I don't know why there was ever any doubt about the cost. MS has always released substantial service packs for free, unlike Apple, and Blue is just another SP (in spirit if not in name).

MS has lost a lot of money already by pricing Windows 8 so much lower and it not meeting sales targets (even though 100m is quite a good number), so I'm sure they hope this upgrade will help sales. And I have no reason to doubt that, from what I've read many of the issues of desktop users have been addressed.
 
It's curious that Microsoft is releasing 8.1 through the Windows Store. On the one hand, that will let folks update at their own pace, while on the other it could make it difficult to actually find. I suspect 8.1 will be listed in the "Spotlight" section of the Store for a long time. I suppose this is one way to get people to finally click on the "Store" tile and interact with the Windows Store. LOL at all those who so proudly deleted all the tiles except "Desktop" from their Start Screens! :p

As a second thought, I wonder if Microsoft will use the Windows Store to distribute the public beta of Windows 8.1?
 
This may be the first step in integrating Windows Update and Store. After all, Store apps already have a way of checking for updates, why not use that for everything. It would simplify the backend and make everything more consistent.

Also I think they may be trying to avoid any perception of forcing upgrades on users.
 
MrCrispy said:
This may be the first step in integrating Windows Update and Store. After all, Store apps already have a way of checking for updates, why not use that for everything. It would simplify the backend and make everything more consistent.
Click to expand...
I wonder if 8.1 will show up as a number on the "Store" tile they way upgrades to Metro apps do?

MrCrispy said:
Also I think they may be trying to avoid any perception of forcing upgrades on users.
Click to expand...
LOL!! I hadn't thought of that, but I suppose there will be people complaining about how 8.1 has ruined the Windows 8 experience! ;)
 
MrCrispy said:
I don't know why there was ever any doubt about the cost. MS has always released substantial service packs for free, unlike Apple, and Blue is just another SP (in spirit if not in name).
Click to expand...

8.1 seems to have in it a lot more than most traditional service packs. I don't think Microsoft has ever put out a service pack that changes the basic UI as much as 8.1 does to 8. Microsoft is certainly aware of the issues around 8 and I think had planned this update probably well before 8 even when to RTM as it was clear that they has plenty left to do and even mentioned a lot of the things left unfinished, like better multiple monitor support for Metro apps.


MrCrispy said:
MS has lost a lot of money already by pricing Windows 8 so much lower and it not meeting sales targets (even though 100m is quite a good number), so I'm sure they hope this upgrade will help sales. And I have no reason to doubt that, from what I've read many of the issues of desktop users have been addressed.
Click to expand...

Lost money I don't think is quite the right way to state it. Yes, they're aren't making as much on Windows software sales but then part of the point of getting into hardware with the Surface was to help mitigate this issue. And they will need to probably further become more aggressive with Windows 8/RT pricing to OEMs to get Windows on cheaper and smaller devices.

As for what issues that many desktop users have concerns about, it does remain to be seen how the big ones will be addressed, the Start Button and Menu. The Start Button seems to coming back at least as an option, but the Start Menu isn't, and the missing Start Menu I think is the heart of the problem for desktop users having issues. So far there's really nothing in these leaked builds to indicate if there will be something to address the Start Menu problem and it's the thing that's going to probably attract the most amount of scrutiny.
 
heatlesssun said:
As for what issues that many desktop users have concerns about, it does remain to be seen how the big ones will be addressed, the Start Button and Menu. The Start Button seems to coming back at least as an option, but the Start Menu isn't, and the missing Start Menu I think is the heart of the problem for desktop users having issues. So far there's really nothing in these leaked builds to indicate if there will be something to address the Start Menu problem and it's the thing that's going to probably attract the most amount of scrutiny.
Click to expand...

I really don't think the Start screen is as huge a deal as its made out to be. And the leaks indicate there will be an option for a 1/2 screen start screen which addresses the problem of it taking over the whole screen.

The main issue I think has been the lack of discoverability and general lack of guidance in the Win 8 UI, once the minimal 'tutorial' is over. Users have no clue how to proceed and go between desktop/Metro apps. I've read of some changes to charms bar, Metro app switcher etc to fix this.

The biggest thing they can do is make a proper tutorial that runs on install, and also on first use for every new feature. It will go a long way towards helping. Most people are afraid of computers because they are too complex and any change needs to be shown properly, not shoved down their throats like the current UI.
 
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