Microsoft site loophole lets anyone buy Windows 8 Pro for just NZ$19.99

Forums › Microsoft Windows › Microsoft site loophole lets anyone buy Windows 8 Pro for just NZ$19.99

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macuser

2120 posts

Uber Geek

#710143 31-Oct-2012 23:42

I'm unsure why the bandwagon says that windows 8 is terrible, everything about windows 8 is really just windows 7 with a slap of well designed paint on it from my use so far, the compatibility is incredible and the flexibility is just fantastic. 'Metro' is a great addition to the OS, it gives you quick glance-able information quickly and the apps work as planned. Mail, messaging and calendar are especially helpful and with information being integrated in the lock screen it means I can do other things in the office and still see if there is anything important going on - you don't need a touch screen, mice/touch pads work great, just remember a couple of simple shortcuts.

for $50 for an upgrade to Win8 pro I gotta say that it is a steal.

Microsoft didn't make a mistake with this OS I don't think, they did something different

Windows 8 is simple when you want it to be, and very complex when you need it.

Talkiet

4793 posts

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#710147 31-Oct-2012 23:56

$50 is a bargain... I too knew about the 'loophole', (or 'exploitable discount by committing fraud') but paid the $50 to upgrade...

I did an in-place upgrade from Windows 7 Ultimate, and I installed Start8 as a start menu replacement.

Honestly, except for the fact the whole machine is snappier, I have forgotten I'm not using Windows 7. Everything is the same except Aero transparency, the icon for the Start menu and things like Task manager. For daily use I don't ever even see the tile screen.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

mattwnz

20164 posts

Uber Geek

#710152 1-Nov-2012 00:19

Talkiet: $50 is a bargain... I too knew about the 'loophole', (or 'exploitable discount by committing fraud') but paid the $50 to upgrade...

I did an in-place upgrade from Windows 7 Ultimate, and I installed Start8 as a start menu replacement.

Honestly, except for the fact the whole machine is snappier, I have forgotten I'm not using Windows 7. Everything is the same except Aero transparency, the icon for the Start menu and things like Task manager. For daily use I don't ever even see the tile screen.

Cheers - N

Also no widgets or flip 3d, both of which I use.

MaxLV

656 posts

Ultimate Geek

#710158 1-Nov-2012 01:10

lucky015:
Regs:
tardtasticx: Yeh I wondered how they would prove you purchased it when you did, as soon as I heard about the upgrade discount thing. At last a way to get windows at a reasonable price.

so $50 online or $88 instore is not a 'reasonable price' for an upgrade? if you want free stuff, switch to Linux, Chrome OS, (or something else).

I would be inclined to think it is less about not being free and more about a horrid and ugly enforced UI.

Personally I wouldn't switch from Windows 7 to Windows 8 if they paid me the whole full retail price to do so.

Put simply: I don't have or ever intend to buy a touch screen PC.

Well, I installed Win 8 pro last Friday, and more I use the 'ugly UI' the more I want to get rid of the ^&%$#@ desktop it switches to every time I click on a tile.....

Why cant it just do what it's supposed to do straight from the 'ugly UI'

Why does it have to switch to the desk top?????

Ruphus

465 posts

Ultimate Geek

#710385 1-Nov-2012 13:29

MaxLV:
lucky015:
Regs:
tardtasticx: Yeh I wondered how they would prove you purchased it when you did, as soon as I heard about the upgrade discount thing. At last a way to get windows at a reasonable price.

so $50 online or $88 instore is not a 'reasonable price' for an upgrade? if you want free stuff, switch to Linux, Chrome OS, (or something else).

I would be inclined to think it is less about not being free and more about a horrid and ugly enforced UI.

Personally I wouldn't switch from Windows 7 to Windows 8 if they paid me the whole full retail price to do so.

Put simply: I don't have or ever intend to buy a touch screen PC.

Well, I installed Win 8 pro last Friday, and more I use the 'ugly UI' the more I want to get rid of the ^&%$#@ desktop it switches to every time I click on a tile.....

Why cant it just do what it's supposed to do straight from the 'ugly UI'

Why does it have to switch to the desk top?????

The tile that you are clicking on probably isn't designed to run in the Windows UI. Firefox and Chrome are two apps that I can think of that are designed to run from the desktop.

What tiles are you clicking on?

Regs

4066 posts

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Snowflake

#710680 1-Nov-2012 21:32

mattwnz:
Elpie:
lucky015:
Regs:
tardtasticx: Yeh I wondered how they would prove you purchased it when you did, as soon as I heard about the upgrade discount thing. At last a way to get windows at a reasonable price.

so $50 online or $88 instore is not a 'reasonable price' for an upgrade? if you want free stuff, switch to Linux, Chrome OS, (or something else).

I would be inclined to think it is less about not being free and more about a horrid and ugly enforced UI.

Personally I wouldn't switch from Windows 7 to Windows 8 if they paid me the whole full retail price to do so.

Put simply: I don't have or ever intend to buy a touch screen PC.

Exactly my sentiments. I had a good play with Windows 8 and let my Microsoft-employed mates try to explain all the reasons I should consider upgrading. I can see why some people would love it but I don't. I'm happy with what I have and am sticking with it.

If I had a touch screen computer, I would use windows 8, but it doesn't make sense for a normal desktop with a mouse. A mono windowed environment for 'apps' is like going back to DOS, where programs ran on a single windowed screen. Windows is called windows for a reason, you can use multiple apps at once in their own window in the screen.

It makes a lot of desktop sense when you have three screens - two large desktop screens, plus a smaller always-showing-metro third screen.. you can carry on working in full screen desktop apps while keeping an eye on email, twitter, instant messages, news and even games without needing popover alerts

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mattwnz

20164 posts

Uber Geek

#710686 1-Nov-2012 21:37

Regs: It makes a lot of desktop sense when you have three screens - two large desktop screens, plus a smaller always-showing-metro third screen.. you can carry on working in full screen desktop apps while keeping an eye on email, twitter, instant messages, news and even games without needing popover alerts

I haven't tried it on a multi screen environment, and didn't think that you could have the metro screen on one screen and the desktop stretched across all screens too. Or does it restrict the number of screens you can then stretch the desktop across? You could do the same thing with widgets in windows 7 though, with twitter, email, news widgets

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lchiu7

6476 posts

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Trusted

#711141 2-Nov-2012 20:31

mattwnz:
Regs: It makes a lot of desktop sense when you have three screens - two large desktop screens, plus a smaller always-showing-metro third screen.. you can carry on working in full screen desktop apps while keeping an eye on email, twitter, instant messages, news and even games without needing popover alerts

I haven't tried it on a multi screen environment, and didn't think that you could have the metro screen on one screen and the desktop stretched across all screens too. Or does it restrict the number of screens you can then stretch the desktop across? You could do the same thing with widgets in windows 7 though, with twitter, email, news widgets

I had it on my work machine which is a Lenovo tablet with touch and pen. I had Metro displaying on the tablet screen and the standard desktop running on my 1920x1024 24" external monitor. It worked with mouse and finger but I had to stop using it because of incompatibilities with the documentation management system. Otherwise it seemed fine.

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