Want to buy a full version of Windows 8 to install on a new machine? You’re out of luck. Microsoft just confirmed at its Australian Windows 8 launch that the only offers on sale today are an upgrade for existing Windows machines to Windows 8 Pro.
We already knew that Windows 8 Pro upgrades cost $39.99 online or an easily-discounted $69.99 for a boxed copy. But many readers have been asking what they’ll have to pay for a copy that can be installed on new hardware.
Microsoft’s official answer at its launch event: you can’t do that yet. There’s no official local price for a full copy of Windows 8 Pro, or for any regular version of Windows 8. I couldn’t quite believe this when I asked, so I got MD Pip Marlow to confirm it. Twice.
That won’t stop people ordering from overseas. But it seems like a very backward move in terms of getting geeks enthused about Windows 8. What do you think?