Should I go with Win 8 or wait for Blue ("8.1")?


Recommended Posts

Hey y'all.

I've been thinking of upgrading to Win 8, but I have heard numerous reviews on here.

Then I heard about Blue, an update to Win 8, which would have an updated kernel - NT 6.3.

The problem is, I don't want to turn down a great deal of Win 8 Pro at 40 bucks (until the 31st of this month), but at the same time I keep wondering if Blue would be avail to Win 7 or Win 8 at a discounted price.

So, is Blue worth the wait? I have Win 7 Ultimate SP1 x64, btw.

You're better off paying the discount price for 8 right now. Blue will cost money or it won't as an upgrade.

If you don't: If "Blue" is going to cost money, you'll have to pay for Windows 8 + Blue, which will probably be the full retail price at whatever time Blue comes out. If "Blue" is free as an upgrade, you'll still have to pay the retail price at the time that it is released. In either case, you won't benefit from the upgrade pricing that exists now.

Also, this isn't very useful with N = 1, but as far as upgrade pricing goes:

http://camelegg.com/product/N82E16832116713

You're better off paying the discount price for 8 right now. Blue will cost money or it won't as an upgrade.

If you don't: If "Blue" is going to cost money, you'll have to pay for Windows 8 + Blue, which will probably be the full retail price at whatever time Blue comes out. If "Blue" is free as an upgrade, you'll still have to pay the retail price at the time that it is released. In either case, you won't benefit from the upgrade pricing that exists now.

Agree.

just download the upgrade from the web, and don't install it yet. Just 'park' or burn the ISO, so you have a cheap W8 DVD lying there for installation.

And when "Blue" comes out, you have an instant upgrade path!

The MS offer is too cheap to pass, get it! ;-)

  • Like 1

I haven't found much in 8 that justifies my upgrade, if anything it makes things harder (unless you're on a tablet, it works well with fingers, just not mice).

I can't imagine Blue doing much for the ui, ms have made their minds up and its touch all the way.

Basically I would say keep 7, if you don't have a tablet then wait for win 9 and hope ms change their direction a bit.

Take the plunge while the offer is still available! No one knows anything about the so called "Blue" release so don't let it get in the way of what you want. Windows 8 is a great OS and I strongly advise you upgrade on the fronts of security, stability, performance and many improvements to the UI including the new start screen, task manager and file explorer/copier!

I haven't found much in 8 that justifies my upgrade, if anything it makes things harder (unless you're on a tablet, it works well with fingers, just not mice).

I can't imagine Blue doing much for the ui, ms have made their minds up and its touch all the way.

Basically I would say keep 7, if you don't have a tablet then wait for win 9 and hope ms change their direction a bit.

well i don't have a touch screen and i like win8 over 7,I am an avid desk top user "power user" it is so much easier to get your fav programs with a mouse click than scrolling up to start button and and scrolling through programs that you don't use

  • Like 2

For all its faults (and it does have a lot of them, mostly small), Windows 8 is better than Windows 7 in every way. If you're a stickler for tradition you might object to the lack of the start menu, but hey, there's an app for that.

Windows 8 boots faster. The desktop mode is more functional. The compatibility troubleshooter works better. If Windows 8 didn't have Metro in it at all, and were just a classic UI, it would be well worth upgrading to for $40. As it is, Windows 8 is that plus more - if you don't like Metro, don't use it. If you like it for some things, and not others, switch between the two (it could be better integrated, but again, it's not a step back from Windows 7, so it's more an issue of imagining how Windows 8 could be better, rather than comparing it to something else).

I'd say just go for it.

As for the faults, I really don't want Microsoft thinking that we're fond of the walled garden.

well i don't have a touch screen and i like win8 over 7,I am an avid desk top user "power user" it is so much easier to get your fav programs with a mouse click than scrolling up to start button and and scrolling through programs that you don't use

I am more than happy to learn, how do you get to your fav programs in Win 8? and how do you get to the ones that you dont use all the time but know where they are.

I'd stick with 7. Theres no need to go to 8 at all unless you are on a tablet.

there's plenty of reasons. as I said, if windows 8 were only the legacy desktop, it would be worth upgrading to. people who say it's only for tablets simply don't know what they're talking about

I am more than happy to learn, how do you get to your fav programs in Win 8? and how do you get to the ones that you dont use all the time but know where they are.

Imagine if you had to launch all your applications from the desktop instead of your start menu, and you have a habit of running apps in full screen so you have to minimise first.

I upgraded to 8 the day it came out, and I've been very displeased with it on my desktop so far.

I think it says something when Windows 8 is on sale for a 1/3rd of what Vista was sold for, and yet has a slower adoption rate...

Windows Blue isn't guaranteed to be any better, either. Half the logic of this thread so far has been on the assumption that you will HAVE to buy a new Windows product eventually and a cost analysis. If Windows 8 continues to sell slowly, Windows Blue could be even cheaper as the Windows desktop market declines with time.

I am using Windows 8 RTM since MSDN availability. Frankly for me it's still very very buggy compared to Windows 7. Things like saving system image to network location does not work which did perfectly in Windows 7. The new task manager reports wrong CPU frequencies. My music stops playing when screen turns off. Also few other unwelcome changes like missing WiFi manager increase my frustration.

You will discover your own favourite set of annoying things. If you are prepared to live with them, upgrade.

You should wait for blue and see how that shapes up. If not then stay with your current OS till Windows 9 gets released and ask same questions :p

Pick up 8 before it's too late to get the savings. dual boot it with Win7. Personally, I really like 8. I like 7. But I've not used 7 hardly at all since I got 8 pro. You're choice. Make it. or don't, and that's still a choice made. lol

just download the upgrade from the web, and don't install it yet. Just 'park' or burn the ISO, so you have a cheap W8 DVD lying there for installation.

And when "Blue" comes out, you have an instant upgrade path!

The MS offer is too cheap to pass, get it! ;-)

Actually you not only have to buy it before January 31st 2013 but you also have to activate it by then too :p

Actually you not only have to buy it before January 31st 2013 but you also have to activate it by then too :p

May be I am wrong but as I interpret, once you buy the upgrade and you receive the key, it can be activated anytime in future and not limited to before 31st Jan. The $40 and $14 offers however do expire on that day.

I downloaded the Windows 8 Enterprise 90-day evaluation ISO and installed it on my Acer laptop, I have been using it for a few months now. I am NOT going to spend $40.00 to upgrade any of my computers to this Irritating mess called Windows 8.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/jj554510.aspx

I'd stick with 7. Theres no need to go to 8 at all unless you are on a tablet.

This. I decided to go against everything and upgraded. Surely those praising it for being the next best thing aren't all mental.

Well. They are. The OS is a friggin mess. Start 8 makes it usable.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Dbrand thought they could get away with this Steam Machine case, Valve disagreed by David Uzondu Image via Dbrand Dbrand has cancelled its highly anticipated Companion Cube enclosure for the Valve Steam Machine, which it teased back in November of last year with a concept render and sign-up page, because it did not ask Valve for permission first before manufacturing the case. According to Dbrand, it took the "backwards approach" of building the product first before asking for permission from the copyright holder. Seven months of work went into the project, requiring over a thousand engineering hours from the design team. Workers developed forty-four sets of injection molding tools, making a unique mold for each sub-component of the crate. When the Companion Cube went live on Monday last week, it, according to Dbrand, quickly became the second-fastest-selling product in the company's fifteen-year history, racking up orders for hundreds of thousands of units. Customers eagerly bought the $129.95 deluxe edition or the bare-bones $99.95 version, which the manufacturer cheekily branded as the "Poverty Cube". It was around this time that the legal eagles at Valve descended on the accessory maker with a formal demand. The developer pointed out that the iconic block design remains protected intellectual property from the game Portal, so unlicensed sales had to stop. Dbrand said that all its pleas to salvage the project with the Valve team, including proposals to run a properly licensed release under official terms "with their blessing", fell on deaf ears, so it had no choice but to obey and remove every trace of the product from the internet. If you bought the enclosure, the company said that banks will process your refund by the end of this week, but if it still hasn't arrived in your account by then, you should not hesitate to contact support. The Steam Machine itself is a high-performance console that Valve designed directly to bring PC gaming into the living room. It was announced on 12th November 2025 (the same day Dbrand announced the Cube) and runs on the Linux-based SteamOS, the same OS that powers the Steam Deck. As for the price, due to the shortage of memory and storage chips, the hardware cost landed much higher than people were expecting, starting at $1,049 for the 512 model (without a controller) or $1,128 with the new gamepad. The premium 2 TB model pushes those prices even higher, selling at $1,349 for the standalone console and hitting $1,428 if you want the bundle.
    • It's listed #399.99 on Amazon, per your link. It's not $299.99.
    • Wonder how much of this it related to them using something like Mythos. It seems everybody is releasing large numbers of updates in the last few weeks.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Rookie
      Almohandis went up a rank
      Rookie
    • Apprentice
      jahara21 went up a rank
      Apprentice
    • Reacting Well
      NovaEdgeX earned a badge
      Reacting Well
    • Week One Done
      NovaEdgeX earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Year In
      BA the Curmudgeon earned a badge
      One Year In
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      535
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      263
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      148
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      97
    5. 5
      macoman
      59
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!