Windows 9 beta is just around the corner, as Microsoft is giving the final touches to the preview ahead of the first public demo on September 30 in front of a crowd of select journalists.
But even though Microsoft has until now struggled to keep all details away from us, people close to the matter have revealed quite a lot of information about the upcoming project, including some licensing plans that could make Windows 9 available either free of charge or with a very affordable price for existing Windows customers.
While it’s yet too early to confirm this, sources familiar with Microsoft’s development plans have suggested that Redmond could go as far as making Windows 9 free for everyone running a previous Windows version, including XP, Vista, and 7.
For Windows XP, however, such a plan would have multiple goals, especially because the company is still struggling to move people off the 13-year-old operating system that’s still the second most popular desktop platform in the entire world.
“Get off Windows XP already”
The most obvious purpose of a free Windows 9 upgrade for Windows XP users is to convince them to abandon the old operating system, buy new hardware and finally make the switch to a modern platform.
Microsoft tried the same thing with Windows 8, but people were very disappointed with the company’s approach towards the desktop and the increasing focus on touch-optimized features, so many actually decided to stick to Windows XP.
Windows 9, however, will bring back familiar features such as the Start menu, but also a lot of new options, including multiple desktops, Cortana, Internet Explorer 12, and a notification center.
Moving from Windows XP to Windows 9 would clearly require new hardware, so Microsoft could kill two birds with one stone: bring more people on its modern platform and, at the same time, help sell new PCs and thus lend a hand to this collapsing industry.
Why a free Windows 9 upgrade might not be offered
One of the reasons Microsoft might actually continue to offer Windows 9 at a price for Windows XP users is the appealing feature lineup of the new operating system. Windows 9 has lots of improvements, and Microsoft could consider them attractive enough to convince many XP users to upgrade without any special promo.
While such a price campaign would clearly boost the early adoption of Windows 9, there’s no doubt that Microsoft still wants to make the upcoming operating system a product that generates profit, so offering it free of charge might be against its internal policies.
Windows is no longer Microsoft’s main cash cow, but it’s still an important source of revenues, and with nearly 75 percent of desktops worldwide running Windows 7 and Windows XP, making Windows 9 free of charge for customers running previous versions might hurt its profits.
Even though Windows 9 might not be offered free of charge, one thing is for sure: the OS will still come with significant price cuts in the first months of availability, so prepare your wallets in spring 2015 to make sure that you buy it at a much more affordable price.
source:softpedia
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