Upgrading to Windows 8

Upgrading to Windows 8(faq)

 From which older versions of Windows can I upgrade to Windows 8?

A: According to this official Microsoft blog post, if you own a Windows XP, Windows Vista, or aWindows 7 PC, you are eligible for a downloadable upgrade to Windows 8 Pro.

Q: How much will the upgrade cost?

For PCs with the above operating systems purchased prior to June 2, 2012, you can download the upgrade from Microsoft for $39.99. For new, non-Windows 8 PCs purchased between June 2 and January 31, 2013, Microsoft will offer the Windows 8 Pro upgrade download for $14.99 

 Is there an option to purchase the upgrade on a DVD or other physical media?

A: You can buy the boxed version of the Windows 8 Pro upgrade for $69.99. If you purchase the downloadable upgrade, Microsoft will offer you the option to purchase a DVD version for an additional $15. The upgrade installation process will also offer you the ability to burn a DVD or make a bootable USB key using your own media, for no charge.

Q: What about other versions of Windows 8?

A: Microsoft has announced four versions of Windows 8. You can only upgrade to two of them as a consumer, Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro. Windows RT will only come with tablets, and an Enterprise version will be sold with large-volume corporate PC purchases. Windows 8, Windows Pro, and Windows 8 Enterprise will be available in both 32-bit and 64-bit editions, with 64-bit being most common. Microsoft has not yet announced pricing for the vanilla Windows 8 upgrade.

Q: What are the differences between Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro?

A: In this blog post, Microsoft says, "For many consumers, Windows 8 will be the right choice," while it designed Windows 8 Pro "to help tech enthusiasts and business/technical professionals obtain a broader set of Windows 8 technologies."

Basically what that means is that Windows 8 Pro comes with features Microsoft believes most consumers won't care about. For the most part this is probably true. Most people won't miss Pro's extras like the Client Hyper-V virtualization software and BitLocker disk encryption tool.

Q: What are the hardware requirements for Windows 8?

A: Here are the basics as outlined by Microsoft in a blog post:

• 1GHz or faster processor
• 1GB RAM (32-bit) or 2GB RAM (64-bit)
• 16GB available hard-disk space (32-bit) or 20GB (64-bit)
• DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

Microsoft also says, "Metro style applications have a minimum of 1,024x768 screen resolution, and 1,366x768 for the snap feature." "Snap" refers to Windows 8's feature of automatically resizing and positioning application Windows when you drag them to the side of the screen. And "Metro" is the now-abandoned nomenclature for Windows 8's distinct touch-oriented software interface design.

i phone same price

iPhone to cost the same as last iPhone- happy or sad news 

Those hoping for a cheaper iPhone -- or dreading the possibility of a price hike -- can stand down, according to a new report that claims Apple will stick to its tried and true pricing structure.

In a report today, 9to5Mac posts a "parts code matrix" for the upcoming handset that sports the same $199 to $399 prices that have been in place since the iPhone 4S last year. The outlet says these prices and storage capacities will stay the same in the jump to the next iPhone, which is dubbed the N42.

The cost of a carrier-subsidized iPhone 4S has gone down a bit since its release. Retailers, most notably Target, trimmed the price by $25 back in March. Sprint upped the ante last month, cutting the price by $50 at first, then doubling that to a $100 gift card a few weeks later. Apple itself was also rumored to be matching prices with Sprint and any other carrier partners at its own retail stores.

The pricing rumor comes at a time when Apple's competitors have become more aggressive with the pricing of their flagship smartphones. That includes Motorola, which this week debuteda high-end $99 Android-based smartphone that buyers can get for free under certain circumstances. There's also Nokia's Lumia 900, which debuted at $100, a price Nokia halved to $50 in mid-July.