Is Free Version of Windows Coming?

[Turk.]

It seems that a free version of windows 8.1will be free according to a news by Ryan Tate of Wired on which published
 03.03.14 with title of "With Free Version of Windows, Microsoft Gives In to the Google Way"

Microsoft is slowly transforming itself into something that looks a lot like Google.

It?s not just that Microsoft is very much a player in web search, after five years at the helm of Bing. It?s not just that the tech giant is betting big on cloud computing with services like Office 365 and Windows Azure. Microsoft, it seems, is also following in the footsteps of Google operating systems such as Android and Chrome OS. Last week, The Verge reported that Redmond is preparing a free version of Windows 8.1, its latest operating system for desktop and laptop PCs.

Google offers free OSes to computer and phone makers as a way of driving the use of its search engine and countless other web services, and now, Microsoft is at least experimenting with the idea of doing much the same thing. According to the report, its free operating system is known as Windows 8.1 With Bing. As the name implies, the OS is meant to feed the use of Microsoft?s own search engine, as well as other Microsoft cloud services and software applications
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[drakenhuli]

a free windows 8 is still not worth it

[Sadelwo]

This would be good to upgrade regular folks computers still running XP but that can handle Windows 8. Cost would no longer be an excuse. I show them how the interface works (when I do that people warm up to it) and for those who absolutely cannot change, install classic shell, disable the corners in taskbar properties and they are on their way.

[Raa]

Won't happen.

[Bamsebjørn]

This is the only way to go, eventually... if it doesn't happen now, it will happen in 2-3 years.

[shifts]

I was really surprised when they released windows 8 at that low price of something like $19.99 and then hiked it waayyyyyy up not so long after.  I wonder what companies or the public think the perceived price of an OS should be.  What I mean by that is take the app / google store, before that came along we were more used to the higher priced software and these days developers on platforms almost have to keep prices low to get any traction

 

Selling an OS for free woudnt be easy given that OEMs and MS partners have to stump up each time they sell a PC with it on, granted that price has come down for the lower hardware but do we really want to have loads of underpowered hardware running windows 8?

 

The only way MS would give away windows would be if they had a plan B that backed up the money lost from windows 8 potential revenue.  I'm not sure but i'd gather their own app store wouldnt support that?

[Bamsebjørn]

Well... the free version of Windows would come with a lot of DLC of course.

[Jack 0Neill]

a free windows 8 is still not worth it

Unless you're one of those who still stubbornly is using Windows 98. Those people need to realize they put the net and themselves at more risk than getting a modern pc and os. Even a Linux distro would be better off than an outdated unsupported Windows.