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"Microsoft has announced that existing Windows customers will be able to upgrade to the new Windows 8 operating system for just $39.99 (\u00A325) later in the year. The software giant has said that anyone with a PC running Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7 will qualify for the cut-price upgrade to Windows 8 Pro in 131 markets.   These consumers are also able to add Windows Media Center for free via the &amp;quot;add features&amp;quot; option within Windows 8 after the upgrade. In a blog post, Microsoft said that a Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant at Windows.com will walk users through the upgrade process from download to installation.  The assistant will deal with any application or device compatibility issues, said Microsoft, and it will also ask users what they want to keep from their current Windows installation.  &amp;quot;You will be able to upgrade from any consumer edition of Windows 7 to Windows 8 Pro and bring everything along which includes your Windows settings, personal files, and apps,&amp;quot; said Microsoft.  &amp;quot;If you are upgrading from Windows Vista, you will be able to bring along your Windows settings and personal files, and if you are upgrading from Windows XP you will only be able to bring along your personal files.  &amp;quot;Of course, if you want to start fresh, you can choose to bring nothing along. Or if you prefer to format your hard drive as part of your upgrade experience, you can do so as long as you boot from media and then format your hard drive from within the setup experience for installing Windows 8, not prior to it.&amp;quot; After going through the download process, the upgrade assistant will offer the chance to create a bootable USB or .ISO file which can be burned onto a DVD for upgrade and backup purposes.   An official DVD backup of Windows 8 can also be purchased for $15 plus shipping and handling. &amp;quot;We believe that your upgrade experience in Windows 8 will be a breeze by offering a faster experience, a single upgrade path, and compatibility from prior versions of Windows,&amp;quot; said Microsoft. &amp;quot;We&amp;#039;ve continued to listen to our customers and have expanded the ability to download to over 100 countries and 37 languages. &amp;quot;We have simplified the Windows upgrade experience with the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant which supports you during your upgrade with everything from selecting your language to pausing your download to built-in compatibility checks - it&amp;#039;s seamless. And if you&amp;#039;re an enthusiast you will have the flexibility to download and control how you upgrade.&amp;quot; The upgrade promotion will run until January 2013. Consumers are also able to get their machine upgraded to Windows 8 Pro at a local store, but that will cost $69.99. Windows 8 is Microsoft&amp;#039;s great new hope to stimulate worldwide PC sales and also fend off growing competition from Apple&amp;#039;s range of Mac computers. Compatible with Intel and ARM chip-based machines, Windows 8 is also optimised for touch-screen devices, including Microsoft&amp;#039;s own new Surface range of tablets computers.  Windows 8 is currently in its consumer preview release phase, but is expected to go on sale in the autumn. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tech/news/a391230/microsoft-announces-cut-price-windows-8-upgrades/>