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15 Oct 2012
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Microsoft has revealed the pricing details of its new operating system (OS) Windows 8, due to be released on the 26th of this month.
An upgrade edition of Windows 8 Pro is now available for $69.99 in the US, or £49.99 in the UK.
The firm also showed the new box design that the full upgrade will ship with on its Facebook page. It claims the new boxes are more environmentally friendly because they use more biodegradeable materials, and are lighter than previous OS packages.
Alternatively, customers will be able to upgrade online for a slightly cheaper price during a promotional period which is set to run through to the end of January 2013.
Those who have purchased a new system running Windows 7 since June this year will be eligible to upgrade to Windows 8 online for the further discounted rate of £14.99.
All of the versions listed so far are 'upgrade' editions, which assume that the user is already running a Microsoft OS, most likely Windows 7. Full retail versions of Windows 8, or 'System Builder' editions, as Microsoft is terming them, are available for $99.99, or $139.999 for the full System Builder edition of Windows 8 Pro.
UK and international pricing has yet to be announced.
Meanwhile, the software giant has also announced XBox Music, a service designed to offer free streaming music to XBox games consoles, and systems running the full version of Windows 8 and the 'RT' edition designed for tablets.
It will begin rolling out to the consoles on the 16th October, and to Windows 8 systems on October 26th, the same day that both the new OS and Microsoft's own tablet 'Surface' is due for release.
In a blog, Microsoft revealed that the service is designed to compete with Apple's popular 'iTunes' application.
"Xbox Music has a music catalog on par with iTunes and will give you access to millions of songs and albums that you can subscribe to or purchase through the Xbox Music Store."
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