Microsoft confirms Windows 8 RTM upgrade path from Windows 8 Release Preview

Computerworld has confirmed the upgrade offer with Microsoft officials who said testers would be able to get the $40 price through Windows.com once Windows 8 is generally available . In addition, Mary Jo Foley confirmed that with Microsoft. Their response:

“Computerworld got it right. Assuming the customer had a previous version of Windows installed before Release Preview, they’ll be able to upgrade from the Release Preview. They won’t need to reinstall the previous version to do the upgrade; they can just upgrade on top of the Release Preview.”

That little caveat is interesting since a lot of people did fresh installs on blank hard drives. In addition, Windows Communication Manager Brandon Leblanc added:

“(P)eople can move from the Windows 8 Release Preview to Windows 8 Pro using the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant and will only have the options to migrate their personal files or keep nothing at all when upgrading. People moving from the Windows 8 Release Preview will need to make sure you have an underlying license for either Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7.”

This is a pretty cool move that gets a thumbs up from me. It does several things:

• Takes price off the table for a lot of Windows 8 dissenters
• Reduces piracy in many countries
• Makes it easier for testers to go straight to RTM

Well played. Mary Jo Foley does point out that we don’t know what the final non-upgrade price will be but based on this first step, it seems to me that Microsoft is going to give this puppy away almost for free. To be continued… Source]]>