Free Upgrade to Windows 8?

When do you guys reckon this offer will start up?

If the soon to be released Thinkpads dont come with the free upgrade, i'll be forced to wait til they do. Based on previous Windows releases, how soon before an OS release do manufacturers make this offer?

Thanks.

 

June 2, 2009 Microsoft announced Windows 7 would be in stores October 22, 2009.

On June 25, 2009, Microsoft announced Windows Vista purchases starting June 26, 2009 would get the equivalent Windows 7 version at little or no cost.

See The Date for General Availability (GA) of Windows 7 is?

Microsoft Outlines Revenue Recognition for the Windows 7 Upgrade Option Program

With that in mind, I wouldn't expect to hear anything on the upgrades until the announcement comes for the retail store availability of Windows 8. Who knows when that will be. Maybe June.

 

I'm not sure why do you see it as an "upgrade". I hope that they'll still offer either Win7 or OS-less systems.

 

Maybe thinkpad will actually become think pads , by that time , windows 8 may work flawlessly.

 

I'm perfectly fine with Windows 7.I probably wouldn't upgrade is Lenovo sends me a Windows 8 disc in the mail. Don't like Metro and I wouldn't be bothers to mod it to look like Win7.

 

Have you guys even used Windows 8 yet? If not download the consumer preview. That OS is GARBAGE! They completely ruined that made Windows 7 the great OS that it was. And the lack of a start orb is horrible.

It feels like a garbage tablet OS if you ask me. If you are a laptop or desktop user you will more likely than not dislike the OS.

 

I am waiting to reserve judgement until the final product. The coming June Preview should be a good look at what the final form will be. Then you can rip them a new one.

 

Is a free upgrade to Windows 8 a make or break deal? It's not like Windows 7 is rubbish, so you shouldn't make your computer buying decisions based off if it will have a free upgrade to Windows 8.

 

My point exactly. The entire OS (Win8) looks like one of the bad GUI mods for Windows 7, except that it completely removes Start Menu. Not to mention that EVERYTHING is integrated with your Live account (which is pretty much required to use 90% of their services) and ofc your dear SOPA-PIPA-CISPA-supporting company (Microsoft) can do whatever it wants with that data, even if it suspects you have something that infiges copyright.

The only way Win8 could EVER be an upgrade over Win7 is if they completely recode it from scratch. Yeah, right.

 

You don't have to use the new interface as it has a classic mode. Also their virtualization will be intersting to try out.

Assuming the reviews of the new models are decent, then i'll be waiting to see if this offer happens, could save a few hundred down the road by waiting a month or 2 and having win 7 as a safe bet with the possibility to use 8 is a plus.

 

I am pretty sure you do? There is no classic Start Button by default, at least there wasn't in the consumer preview. Many new things I've tried, especially new mouse gestures activated by moving mouse all the way in the corners of the screen seem a bit annoying (not to mention many many other things).

I can see this Win8 work fine on iPad-style tablets and cell phones tho. Even though either iOS and Android to me look much better visually.

 

yes it is a make or break deal. i think i pointed that out in the OP.

like most, i have no problems with windows 7, but win 8 is win 7 + more, so why not get windows 8? it'll be another 4 or 5 years til i upgrade this next laptop, so why not future proof if i can?

 

You wouldn't have to redo it from scratch. The bulk of the underlaying OS is still the same as Windows 7 (it is Windows 6.2, after all, Windows 7 being Windows 6.1 and Vista being Windows 6.0 .. ). What they have recreated is the shell, or the UI of the OS. There is really no reason they should not be able to provide the Windows 7 shell as well for us, so everyone could choose and be happy

The one size fits all (phone, tablet, desktop) mentality is really-really naive. The entire way people use these devices differs so much, I highly doubt there could be one user interface to fit them all - certainly Windows 8 does a horrible job at the desktop. The interface makes a lots of sense when you use it on a tablet or maybe a phone, but frankly, why forget the desktop/notebook market?

 

Future proof and laptops cannot really go together in the same sentence. With the current Intel roadmap, 2013 Haswell launch, 2014 Broadwell, 2015 Skylake, 2016 Skymont, you are telling me that you are still going to use Ivy Bridge/Sandy Bridge til 2016? Future proof would be investing in an SSD, warranty and that is as much as I would put into it. Lenovo might offer some kind of upgrade til Windows 8, but if you can wait until then, then wait. But if your notebook is dead, if you want to wait to buy a notebook, then so be it. I'm just saying you shouldn't hold off a notebook purchase if you NEED a new notebook.

 

IMO, future-proofing won't really work anymore.

We're kind of at that point on the exponential growth curve where next-gen low-end is faster than last-gen high-end. At least in certain respects.

 

You mean, it actually worked at some point before?

I'd say that actually nowadays it would work better than before. You can still get around with an old dual core laptop with Intel HD graphics and an SSD for any office work, watching movies, even some light coding, etc. For anything other than gaming, I find the old X200t quite sufficient (and it was released what 3 or 4 years ago?).

 

Yea, I pretty much agree with this. For the vast majority of users, there is no use chasing performance. Most people buy more processing power, ram, gpu power, disk, etc. than they need or use.

I am always surprised when I use an older machine like a X301 or T60p at how well they run with a modern OS, browser, apps, etc.

Future proofing in my mind is picking a machine you think will hold up for 3-6 years and not fall apart due to poor materials and engineering. That and a solid support and service channel, AFTER the sale. That is Samsung's biggest problem. Do you really want to rely on SquareTrade?

 

I thought (or assumed) Samsung offers their own warranty?

What I like about Thinkpads, at least X200/X200t, is that it is generally relatively easy to replace parts (compared to say... Dell XPS or Alienware) by simply purchasing it pretty cheap off eBay and swapping it yourself. In my book, that is a big convenience. And if you browse eBay a little, you can find literally ANY new replacement part for non-exotic Thinkpad models.

Just as a general example, I recently tried to purchase a replacement battery for Alienware M11x off eBay and the price range was ~$100. A standard 6-cell for Thinkpad X200 is about $25 in comparison.

 

They do, but only for one year. You have to buy third party for year 2 and beyond.

 

Hmm. If i can cut the thinkpad screen\logo part when you first hit the power button, it would cut my boot time by a good 10seconds. How are you guys getting around this?

 

Wrong thread.

 

I don't think there is much you can do. Some newer Sandy Bridge laptops might use UEFI instead of classical BIOS which cuts down the time there. The only thing I am aware is to turn off an Extended Memory Test which is usually disabled by default anyway.