Posted on 03/01/2014 9:27:01 AM PST by dayglored
Microsoft is currently experimenting with a free version of Windows 8.1 that could boost the number of people using the operating system. Sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans tell The Verge that the company is building "Windows 8.1 with Bing," a version that will bundle key Microsoft apps and services. While early versions of the software have leaked online, we understand that Windows 8.1 with Bing is an experimental project that aims to bring a low-cost version of Windows to consumers...
We’re told that Microsoft is aiming to position Windows 8.1 with Bing as a free or low-cost upgrade for Windows 7 users...
(Excerpt) Read more at theverge.com ...
The operating system of a computer used to be the first major piece of software you bought with a computer, followed by whatever major applications you wanted to run to actually do something other than adjust your desktop background.
In that environment, Microsoft was extraordinarily successful at selling the Windows OS because so many mission critical or popular applications ran only on Windows. That stopped being the case years ago with the rise of the web browser as the cross-platform application delivery system.
Which operating system one uses has become largely a "who cares?" issue -- it's nearly immaterial which operating system you use, as long as it has a browser.
Hence, Microsoft is at last noticing that Windows has become, not irrelevant, but at least unnecessary, for the majority of computer users. They hardly notice whether they're running on Windows, Mac OS-X, Linux, or some mobile platform -- all they notice is "Can I get to Facebook, eBay, and do my online banking?"
It's a whole new day for Windows, as it becomes free.
tech ping?
Upgrade Windows XP and Microsoft will have a winner.
Goes right in with no wait. Uses a blue tooth keyboard and has access to tons of apps of which most are free.
Had to buy a second one because my son keeps taking mine over even the Ipad.
I say all this because I grew up with Dbase 2, 5.25 floppy disks without hard drives and all forms of Windows.
Unless Microsoft competes and gets better it is over IMO.
>>It’s a whole new day for Windows, as it becomes free.
Yeah. Riiiiiiight.
Windows with Bing will be free. Just watch a few ads or be locked out of other browsers. Then, the sidebars start getting filled up with ads. Eventually, your computer slows to a crawl to load all the advertising.
Then, they offer an “upgrade” to get rid of all that and it only costs the same as regular Win 8.1.
I’ll stick with 7.
Not even if they paid me to use it.
I recently upgraded from Windows XP to Windows 7. Don’t see any reason I would want to upgrade to a feature limited Windows 8. My wife might be a candidate. All she uses her computer for is browsing the Internet.
This would be sort of like getting free Obamacare, bundled with free cancer.
Ooops, don’t want to give away my genius ideas for free.
Oh, me too. I really like Win 7. Works great. I see no advantage to 8 for what I do.
LOL. I find this totally amusing. Microsoft now wants to have a “free to play” operating system, a la mobile device apps. They will make the user pay per hour, or buy “credits” to use the software unless the user wants to “upgrade” to the “unlocked” version.
Microsoft always looks towards Apple for ideas, then completely screws it up.
They should get out of the software business and concentrate on their silly acquisitions and THEN go out of business trying as they try to become a SAP or Oracle unsuccessfully.
> I wouldn't switch to Win 8 if they paid me.
Seems we have a growing consensus. :)
Wanna bet that at some point Microsoft starts offering money (rebates, etc.) to get people to switch to Win 8?
I haven't seen an OS so unloved since Vista. Which is a shame, because under the hood, Win 8 is a terrific OS. It's just that people use the GUI, and while it's fine for a hand-held mobile device, it's simply not suitable for the desktop.
midrosoft produced oerating systemsall the way from windows
3.0 to XP and they got better and better up to XP, XP is great and what do we need any thing better for. Recently they
publiched an ultimatum to scrap XP and buy the next verssion. So yesterday I started switching to Linux.
When are they going to fix windows 8 so it does not lock up and the mouse works properly?
I’ll stick with Windows 7 too.
Now if they “upgrade” Windows 7 with new “old” file structure like Windows XP, that would be a great improvement!
The file structure they had in XP is exactly like a file cabinet. Why would they think of “improving” it?
They plan on doubling down on the metro interface with metro 2.0 in the next version of windows.
At least, hat’s what they stated two months back or so.
*groan*
“Let’s do something the customers hate, faster and with more enthusiasm!”
Not sure what you mean -- both XP and Win 7 use the NTFS file system.
If you mean the Windows Explorer -- the file manager application you use to browse among the folders -- yes, they screwed that up in Vista and 7 didn't fix it.
However, there are decent third-party Explorer "replacements" that give you the XP-style explorer view, and in some cases, some advanced and very useful additional functions.
Google will give you a list, if you wish to explore that option...
I think this is to help their app developer community now that they are going back to the desktop by default. The interface of 8 was such a pain in the first place, because they were thinking of the app developers, not the users.
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