If you’re looking to purchase a new PC before Microsoft’s Windows 8 becomes available, you might want to reconsider your decision. As it turns out, Microsoft may not offer you a free Windows 8 upgrade if you buy a new PC during the short period before Windows 8 is launched.
Rather, Microsoft will charge you a fee for the “Windows 8 Offer. According to sources, any customer who happens to buy a new Windows 7 PC after June 2 will be entitled to a discounted upgrade to the upcoming Windows 8 Pro. However, we do not know what will be the cost of the upgrade.
Earlier, Microsoft and PC makers used to offer free upgrades to the new operating system once it is launched, in order to prevent sales from dropping off before the launch. The customers would be entitled to a free upgrade to the corresponding version of the Windows they are running, to the new version. For instance, if you bought a PC running Windows Vista Ultimate, you would get a free upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate.
However, in this case, even if your new PC happens to be running a low-end version of Windows 7 (like Home Basic or Home Premium), you will only be able to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro. Windows 8 Pro offers several new features like BitLocker support, an encrypting file system, remote desktop hosting, and more.
Microsoft is yet to announce the prices of different editions of the upcoming Windows 8 operating system.
Before you moan about the apparent fee for a Windows 8 upgrade, remember that 2 years ago, certain PC makers used to charges around $17 in line of shipping and handling charges for upgrading to Windows 7. Microsoft may now be looking to centralise the upgrade operation and charge a consistent fee to avoid differences in service.
Microsoft is expected to reveal more information about the program on windowsupgradeoffer.com around June 2 and will offer the upgrades through January next year.
