Windows 8 Pro + $30 Amazon credit 69.99. Essentially 39.99

S

StormUP

Gawd
Joined
May 19, 2005
Messages
628
If you shop at amazon regularly this is essentially 39.99. From what I can tell this looks like the full version, but perhaps it's only the upgrade??? Seems better to me than the expected $40 upgrade deal coming later as you get physical media, etc. and $30 amazon credit is as good as cash to me.


http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=amb_link_365932802_3?ie=UTF8&docId=1000843221&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=hero-quick-promo&pf_rd_r=00SRNCH92E7M466RG4MA&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=1405967782&pf_rd_i=B008H3SW4I

You can also get the Windows 8 pro pack for the same price which seems....LESS awesome

Update: Price lowered to 68.88.
 
Last edited:
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Pulled off the item description for the deal.

Product Features
Upgrade your Windows 7, XP, or Vista PC with Windows 8 Pro
Start up quickly
Customize your Start screen with Live Tiles
Stay safer with Windows Defender
Encrypt your data with Bitlocker
 
It's just the upgrade. Amazon was not clear with their description.
 
lathode said:
It's just the upgrade. Amazon was not clear with their description.
Click to expand...

Microsoft isn't clear with their description either. FWIW there's no retail non-upgrade version of Windows 8 announced yet.

That said, this looks like as good of a deal as it's going to get, so I bit :)
 
Zinn said:
Microsoft isn't clear with their description either. FWIW there's no retail non-upgrade version of Windows 8 announced yet.

That said, this looks like as good of a deal as it's going to get, so I bit :)
Click to expand...

The best deal is not buying at all and boycotting this POS because Windows 8 offers nothing new besides a 3-5% performance bump in some areas and a new fischer-price user interface. Windows Vista II.
 
odditory said:
The best deal is not buying at all and boycotting this POS because Windows 8 offers nothing new besides a 3-5% performance bump in some areas and a new fischer-price user interface. Windows Vista II.
Click to expand...

Granted the UI is weird, but start-up and shutdown are noticeably faster.

The re-arrangement of the start bar is hard to adjust to but after a while I have found myself adjusting and slowly learning how use it (Win8). There are some definite improvements hidden in Windows 8. I'm sort of unsure whether I would recommend it, and to whom, however I think I will still withhold final judgement for a while yet.

I want a mouse / touchpad type thing where you can use gestures and swipes. Then I actually can see myself using it even faster or in a more powerful way then 7.

I've found myself using the Windows key a bit more.

The final point. Windows 8 is starting off a lot better with a little lower price which reflects more of an upgrade then a whole new OS purchase. $40 is cheap, however I still don't think the money should have the most effect on your purchase, the OS is radically different to the average user who only knows how to use a computer by steps.
(Push power button, Click little blue E, the voila you are Internet. They probably don't even know how to change the browser size much less consider the UI has changed.)
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
odditory said:
The best deal is not buying at all and boycotting this POS because Windows 8 offers nothing new besides a 3-5% performance bump in some areas and a new fischer-price user interface. Windows Vista II.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the super informative advice. I had not heard anything negative like that about the new windows 8 interface. I too dislike fischer price, and would have been fooled into buying it if not for your post.
 
StormUP said:
No. From what I can tell Pro Pack is just a license to upgrade from normal Windows 8 to Windows 8 Pro. I have no idea who would buy such a thing as a pre-order.
Click to expand...
From descriptions, it seems the Pro Pack is as you said, a license to upgrade from Win8 to Win8 Pro, and also includes the Media Center (which apparently doesn't come in basic Win8). Although the description says there is no disc included. (?)

But I read somewhere that MS is offering the Pro Pack for free in some introductory promotion??
 
Additional info I have found:

From a blog @ Windows.com
And if you want, you can add Windows Media Center for free through the “add features” option within Windows 8 Pro after your upgrade.
Click to expand...
But description on Amazon states:
Windows Media Center license sold separately
Click to expand...

From ZDNet
A limited-time upgrade promo allows users of any currently supported Windows version to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for $40, with the Media Center Pack thrown in free. That promotion starts on October 26 and ends on January 31, 2013.
Click to expand...

From the Amazon description for the Pro Pack
Only if you currently have a device running Windows 8 ("Core") operating system can you upgrade to Windows 8 Pro (Professional) using this Windows 8 Pro Pack (upgrade) product
Click to expand...
So, if you buy Win8Pro, you shouldn't need this pack. (seems obvious, but I have read a lot of speculation that we need to buy both items)
 
Last edited:
Waited til just now, but did end up ordering. I have PLENTY of old full version licenses to upgrade from and think having this DVD show up in the mail will be more convenient than downloading and burning my own copy for the same price. Especially considering I don't have any blank media left (and haven't had in over a year) and would have to go buy some.
 
Is the Media Center add-on free only during the introductory offer period? So if I want to say grab a copy and sand bag it until I'm forced to upgrade, do I need to install it first, grab the MC add on and then revert? Does this apply to the digital download copy?
 
Guess I'll pick it up, not really super excited for it but some of the more minor tweaks are very nice... Most of the new multi monitor stuff is ripped off apps like Display Fusion but the hard corners that make it harder to overshoot from one display to the other seem very slick and long overdue, I'm surprised the DF guy never thought of it.

The new copy/move dialogs and task manager are nice too, and the difference between a Start menu or tile screen seems really really inconsequential to me.. I'm not gonna spend more than a couple of minutes staring at either one on a daily basis, the outrage over that is so overblown...

So yeah, I'll bite, I'm annoyed that we still have almost no info regarding the upgrade/clean install process with upgrade keys; but seeing as Amazon credit is fine by me this will be as good as the download price anyway. Anyone know if the IEEE will be giving out Win 8 keys after the Win 7 fiasco? Or if academic MSDNAA programs are already distributing it?
 
Office Max is running the same promo btw, if anyone prefers $30 credit there rather than Amazon.
 
I think I'll grab a copy soon, when I get some extra money that is. It seems its a real love or hate situation with Win8... not sure where I'll fit in yet.
 
Can anyone confirm if the upgrades work for family editions or oem editions?
 
jpm100 said:
Is the Media Center add-on free only during the introductory offer period? So if I want to say grab a copy and sand bag it until I'm forced to upgrade, do I need to install it first, grab the MC add on and then revert? Does this apply to the digital download copy?
Click to expand...
You have to install Win8, and then there is a utility to add additional apps. You type in a product key which tells the app to install Media Center. It does a live install and activates the application. There is no download that you can just file away for later use.

But, I imagine that they just give you a free product license during the promo period.
If so, you should feasibly be able to save both for a later date. (??)
 
wjogert said:
You have to install Win8, and then there is a utility to add additional apps. You type in a product key which tells the app to install Media Center. It does a live install and activates the application. There is no download that you can just file away for later use.

But, I imagine that they just give you a free product license during the promo period.
If so, you should feasibly be able to save both for a later date. (??)
Click to expand...

My suspicion is that it is like Xbox. Once you 'purchase' it, it becomes associated with your account (or that Win8 install, idk). Even if its free, you can download it as often as you want as long as they host it. They'll host stuff for Xbox for a long time, but I believe they will discontinue at some point.

I could have sworn, though, that the Microsoft Download of Win8 Pro Upgrade already had it in there alive and kicking. But if its not enabled, I would be concerned that there may be an expiration on the free WMC. I guess I would install, enable WMC, then revert and save Windows 8 for when upgrading become necessary. I may do this with one copy.
 
Blind Man said:
They are. I've been able to get it through msdnaa since it went RTM
Click to expand...

Nice, I'll have to figure out where I saved the address and password later... They still doing it so that you can get two keys? (x86 / x64) If I can score two for free I probably won't buy any, if I only get one thru MSDNAA I might still pre order one copy. I have a feeling I'm gonna be lugging my netbook around for at least another year before upgrading.

Edit: Got four free keys thru my college and four more thru ACM, yipee... I figured ACM/IEEE wouldn't be doling out keys after the Win 7 fiasco (non students were joining up left and right with bogus creds), but I guess MS really wants to get Win 8 out there. I'll probably install it over Thanksgiving. Hopefully they add a few more language versions so I can mooch even more licenses, heh (they give you a key for each language and x86/x64 variant).
 
Last edited:
Deal extended until October 27. The original deal expired October 20. Price has also been lowered to 68.88. So now it's essentially 38.88.
 
xomegax said:
Does anybody know if this is the full version or an upgrade? I can't tell based on the description, but its saying it normally costs $199.99 which makes me think its a full install. If this is the case, this would be a hot deal! Only $39.99 for Windows 8 Pro full install.
Click to expand...

From what I can tell the only "full installation" version is the 'Windows 8 System Builder'

http://www.amazon.com/Windows-System-Builder-DVD-64-Bit/dp/B0094NY3R0/ref=sr_1_3?s=software&ie=UTF8&qid=1351002409&sr=1-3

I guess they assume that anyone installing their own copy of Win8 already has a copy of something newer that ME or 98.

What I have yet to see clearly explained is how the upgrade versions behave when doing clean installs; whether or you need to do some double install nonsense, or you just need a serial number.
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
MIcrocenter has the preorder for Windows 8 Professional for $38 and you pick up the physical copy in store on the 26th.

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.aspx?sku=077859

I'm not really jazzed about 8, but considering getting a legit one for half price.

Edit - I've been doing some reading and MS appears to have fixed the double install trick from 7. So it has to have an OS on the drive. But they are speculating that it could be anything, including the Win 8 RP or even an unactivated 7.

http://social.technet.microsoft.com...l/thread/b74f24cf-84ca-4acc-890d-149f87825b2f
 
Last edited:
I'm pretty sure they said there wouldn't be an upgrade path from the RP, someone already found an INI edit around it tho. I'd be surprised if they didn't include some sort of option to provide a key or disc for verification of previous OS ownership... That'd suck balls, and they've never been that strict about it (tho maybe the new pricing has something to do with it?), plus there'll surely be a way around it since XP upgrades require a clean install. Guess we just won't know until the upgrade discs go out.

Worse comes to worst, you can always get a buddy with MSDNAA/Technet to burn you full install media that you can use with your key.
 
Impulse said:
I'm pretty sure they said there wouldn't be an upgrade path from the RP, someone already found an INI edit around it tho. I'd be surprised if they didn't include some sort of option to provide a key or disc for verification of previous OS ownership... That'd suck balls, and they've never been that strict about it (tho maybe the new pricing has something to do with it?), plus there'll surely be a way around it since XP upgrades require a clean install. Guess we just won't know until the upgrade discs go out.

Worse comes to worst, you can always get a buddy with MSDNAA/Technet to burn you full install media that you can use with your key.
Click to expand...

There definitely is. People with the RP installed will be able to do the $30 digital download.
 
I pre ordered it for my main computer. I don't like W8 but still gonna give it a try because the price is good I think.
I would buy 2 more but my family didn't like it so we are moving almost all the PC's to Macs now. Only my PC and my HTPC will remain with MS until I get my Macbook Pro.
Don't know if I want to upgrade my HTPC to Windows 8... my worry is that remotes controls won't work anymore and I can't startup my HTPC directly to Windown Media Center.
 
The most compelling reason for me to move to Mac now is always the one that prevented me from moving before. In the past it was difficult to get high res screens on their portables. It appears they've fixed that now that they want everything to be "Retina". Seriously, try getting a high res screen from any manufacturer in the windows portable world. It's getting HARD to do.
 
Burticus said:
Edit - I've been doing some reading and MS appears to have fixed the double install trick from 7. So it has to have an OS on the drive. But they are speculating that it could be anything, including the Win 8 RP or even an unactivated 7.
Click to expand...

Okay say you install buy the W8 upgrade and install it. Later on you want to upgrade your OS hard drive. Will you need to reinstall W7 and then install the W8 upgrade?
 
The upgrade is still a new version.. I am fairly confident that you can do a clear install with it just as you could with all previous upgrade copies of windows for as long as I can remember.. The worst required copying a couple extra files over to a formatted drive or popping in the CD from another version of windows.
 
Taken from Microsoft forum
Q: Will I be able to upgrade from pre-release versions of Windows 8 to the final release?

No.

For those of you who have already been running the Windows 8 Developer Preview or Consumer Preview, you can install the Windows 8 Release Preview using the migrate option (just keep personal files), but not the upgrade option (keep personal files, apps, and settings). Or if you prefer, you can of course do a clean installation (keep nothing). The Consumer Preview release does permit upgrading from Windows 7, and will run the integrated upgrade advisor to check on any things you might need to look into. Please keep in mind that there is no rollback after an upgrade installation. We also strongly recommend that you perform a system backup prior to an upgrade, migrate, or clean install of Windows 8 Consumer Preview.

Also note that the final release of Windows 8 will not support upgrading from any prior Windows 8 "Preview" release, though the migrate option will still be supported. In any upgrade scenario, you can run the Disk Cleanup Wizard to remove the previous installation in order to free up disk space. The download will also support boot from USB for a completely clean installation as well.
Click to expand...
 
StormUP said:
The most compelling reason for me to move to Mac now is always the one that prevented me from moving before. In the past it was difficult to get high res screens on their portables. It appears they've fixed that now that they want everything to be "Retina". Seriously, try getting a high res screen from any manufacturer in the windows portable world. It's getting HARD to do.
Click to expand...

There other places to buy high performance laptops with great sceens. Try malibal.com or xoticpc.com. They would be comparable in price to the macbooks.
 
When performing an upgrade from W7, does anyone know if it just checks that you're in a W7 environment, or does it actually try and verify your key online before proceeding?
 
Ducman69 said:
When performing an upgrade from W7, does anyone know if it just checks that you're in a W7 environment, or does it actually try and verify your key online before proceeding?
Click to expand...

since its not technically out for 2 more days that could be hard to answer


I ordered one from amazon for a laptop that technically is vista basic, but has been 8 since the RC/beta was out


as far as cant upgrade from the beta....'they' will fix that, wait a few days
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top