Sound to me more like there charging for what is nothing more then service pack renamed.

Sounds to me like you are spreading FUD.

Sound to me more like there charging for what is nothing more then service pack renamed.

What are you talking about? First of all the source for this information comes from like some random nobody, stop talking like it's set in stone. The release for Update 2 is at least 3-5 months off. I highly doubt Microsoft has finalized any pricing for anything that's 5 months away. Second how/why the hell would Microsoft release a patch free to 8.1 Update 1 users and charge 8.1/8.0 users? Wut. You could just follow the update path and get the patch for free. It doesn't make any sense and there is no historical data to indicate that they would do that. It's seems pretty clear that WZOR, if he's even correct, meant that Microsoft would allow a cheaper upgrade option for users going from 7 to 8, when 8.1 Update 2 releases. Probably because Microsoft plans on closing some gaps that Windows 7 users were previously hesitate to upgrade about.

You could install VMWare Player or enable Hyper-V if you have 8.1 Pro or later and install Win7 in a VM!

by enabling hyper-v in windows 8.1 you turn your PC into a hypervisor and it significantly affects applications that use GPU's such as games i run a test lab on my home PC (trying to self-teach Windows Server operating systems for an MCITP cert) and i have found if i have hyper-v installed my framerates are crippled. If i want to play games even on the host OS i have to uninstall hyper-v, which as you can imagine is a pain in the ass if you use your PC for a home lab. the point im trying to make with this off-topic rant is that virtualizing just to get a start menu may affect users in ways they might not necessarily expect. and probably not a good idea just for a start menu

This rumour have already yesterday confirmed to be bad information... W9 is still happening early 2015.

Confirmed where? What about free W9 upgrade - is that confirmed to be misinformation as well?

If that happens, I'll keep Windows 7 on my main PC until the machine itself is being replaced. I had problems upgrading to Windows 8 on the PC, and reverted because of that. ... I'll try Windows 9, but only if it has an upgrade path preserving my installed programs. I certainly won't go over a complete reinstall, as long as Windows 7 works.

Yep, this is not really convenient that in order to keep your programs you have to perform an in-place upgrade to Windows 8, then an in-place upgrade to Windows 8.1 Update 1. I did it for my Windows 7 -> 8.1 upgrade and it took a few hours in total, but some programs and most device drivers were removed by the setup process. Maybe in Windows 9 Microsoft would bring back the Windows 7 upgrade path removed in Windows 8.1, in order to provide additional upgrade incentive for Windows 7 users. But honestly, I'd just perform a clean install, copy the documents and re-install most recent versions of my programs. That would be the most trouble-free procedure, and I'd get rid of application bloat from tons of unused apps and drivers/utilities that got installed over time. As for working Windows 7 to the death, good luck with that. Soon you will be running an outdated OS that doesn't support the latest tech like NVM Express (for SATA Express/M.2 SSDs), Direct3D 12 / WDDM 2.0, etc. I have absolutely no regrets for moving on to Windows 8.1 - everything is faster, the user interface of Windows File Explorer is more refined, and one of my applications even stopped crashing randomly as it did in Windows 7.

Other reason why i hated Win 8 was lack of start menu, Some people around here may hate it , but I love it and I use every day multiple times.

The Start Start screen actually is the enhanced version of the Start menu. It has the same familiar program groups and application shortcuts on the Apps screen, and you can also add named groups for your Desktop applications right on the Start Screen. These full-screen lists are far more useful than the XP-style Start Menu. You can also just type your app name to open the Search box (which is also more discoverable in Windows 8.1 Update 1), and that is far faster than navigating the narrow Start Menu pane with mouse. Having upgraded from Windows 7 to Windows 8.1, I was genuinely surprised to discover how much more useful the Start Screen is comparing to the Start menu, given all the negative opinions in the media. My only problem is the Start Screen's visual look as a mix-up of Metro and standard Windows Explorer look, and that some basic Windows Explorer features do not work anymore - for example you can no longer open application folder by inspecting the shortcut Properties. And the Charms bar popping out on the Desktop is a bad, BAD idea. Hopefully Microsoft will design the "new" Start Menu to integrate the best features of the Start Screen.

As already mentioned, Classic Shell. And I never looked back since. :thumbup:

have any of you read the post? "Popular Windows leaker WZOR reports that Update 2 will be free to Windows 8.1 Update 1 users, and sold to all other Windows customers at an "affordable price." Even If that a rumor that to me sounds like MS want to charge for what is service pack of win 8, Win 8.1, Update1, update 2 is nothing more then service pack to win 8. seeing there all the same OS. Nor do i like start screen with the whole metro title app stuff, again that to me is tablet/smart phone thing, that dont want.

have any of you read the post? "Popular Windows leaker WZOR reports that Update 2 will be free to Windows 8.1 Update 1 users, and sold to all other Windows customers at an "affordable price." If a rumoer that to me sounds like they want to charge for what is service pack of win 8, Win 8.1, Update1, update 2 is nothing more then service pack to win 8.

It clearly says it will be free to Update 1 users, who is essentially everyone who clicks "Windows Update" on 8. He then says it will be sold to other Windows users (Windows 7, Vista, XP, ETC) for an "affordable price". So yeah, Windows 7 users who want to upgrade to 8.1 Update 2 will have to pay for it. That sounds normal to me. I understand the wording is terrible but it's really not that hard to understand.

have any of you read the post? "Popular Windows leaker WZOR reports that Update 2 will be free to Windows 8.1 Update 1 users, and sold to all other Windows customers at an "affordable price." Even If that a rumor that to me sounds like MS want to charge for what is service pack of win 8, Win 8.1, Update1, update 2 is nothing more then service pack to win 8. seeing there all the same OS

Sounds to me like he is saying that you can only do the update to update 2 from update 1. :3eyes: Meaning, if you have Windows 8 already, you will first have to make sure you have Windows 8.1 and the update one installed first.

It clearly says it will be free to Update 1 users, who is essentially everyone who clicks "Windows Update" on 8. He then says it will be sold to other Windows users (Windows 7, Vista, XP, ETC) for an "affordable price". So yeah, Windows 7 users who want to upgrade to 8.1 Update 2 will have to pay for it. That sounds normal to me. I understand the wording is terrible but it's really not that hard to understand.

No where in there does it say win7,vista,xp. It just says windows users, and seeing that all about win8 and its Update 2 that imply they talk about Win8 update 2 is to be sold at resonable price. It is word terrible and what i get from that is MS wants to charge for what are services packs for win8 not the normal charge for upgrading from older OS

No where in there does it say win7,vista,xp. It just says windows users, and seeing that all about win8 and its Update 2 that imply they talk about Win8 update 2 is to be sold at resonable price

Since that is what you want it to say, we will just leave it at that. :bang:

No where in there does it say win7,vista,xp. It just says windows users, and seeing that all about win8 and its Update 2 that imply they talk about Win8 update 2 is to be sold at resonable price

Are you serious right now? It says that 8 Update 2 will be free for 8.1 Update 1 users. Windows 8.1 Update 1 is free. Thus if you're on 8.0, you upgrade to 8.1 for free, then you upgrade to 8.1 Update 1 for free, then you upgrade to 8.1 Update 2 for free which would imply that it's free for Windows 8 users. Other windows users, on the other hand, will have to buy Windows 8 to use it. The wording is terrible but like I said it's really not hard to understand.

Are you serious right now? It says that 8 Update 2 will be free for 8.1 Update 1 users. Windows 8.1 Update 1 is free. Thus if you're on 8.0, you upgrade to 8.1 for free, then you upgrade to 8.1 Update 1 for free, then you upgrade to 8.1 Update 2 for free which would imply that it's free for Windows 8 users. Other windows users, on the other hand, will have to buy Windows 8 to use it. The wording is terrible but like I said it's really not hard to understand.

With the way that is word no.

Sounds to me like he is saying that you can only do the update to update 2 from update 1. :3eyes: Meaning, if you have Windows 8 already, you will first have to make sure you have Windows 8.1 and the update one installed first.

if you're on 8.0, you upgrade to 8.1 for free, then you upgrade to 8.1 Update 1 for free, then you upgrade to 8.1 Update 2 for free which would imply that it's free for Windows 8 users.

No, it's not that complex, because Microsoft updated the setup media. If you upgrade from 8.0 through the Windows Store today, you are actually doing an in-place upgrade directly to 8.1 Update 1, so you don't need to install the update separately. You can also download the integrated 8.1 Update 1 ISO media from Microsoft, upgrade using a generic installation key then activate it with your existing Windows 8.0 product key. There will be updated install media for 8.1 Update 2 and Update 3 as well, so in essence any Windows 8.0, 8.1, or 8.1u1/u2 user can upgrade at any time, for no charge and no intermediate steps. I'd imagine Windows 9 should have a similar direct upgrade path from any 8.x version (but probably not from Windows 7 or Vista), no matter if it would be a free upgrade or paid upgrade.

This isn't news, its not even hearsay

What the **** is a 'Start Menu' 😕

What the **** is a 'Start Menu' 😕

its what old people used to start programs........

Still skipping Win 8.1 all together. They get my money when Win 9 is out, untill then "Windows XP 2" works perfectly fine. (Win 7 i meant...)

oh cmon people has moved on already, I don't miss the useless start menu from w7 I hardly ever used, and this thing looks good on hdtv, now if only we could get Kinect support for modern ui....

:...will be distributed to Microsoft employees willing to take the new OS for a test drive. In turn this trial will help Microsoft track down the software leakers...". What else to say but: just like micro$oft. Confused, incapable, as micro as it gets and too soft to penetrate...:banana:

oh cmon people has moved on already, I don't miss the useless start menu from w7 I hardly ever used, and this thing looks good on hdtv, now if only we could get Kinect support for modern ui....

Just a small percentage of desktop users even like metro. The majority hate it for anything but touch. Most desktop users use a startbar solution of some kind. It's cool that you like it on desktop, but most people have not "moved on".