Microsoft announced on Wednesday that the Windows 8 operating system is complete and it has wrapped up all development work on it and said that the OS has reached the “release to manufacturing” (RTM) stage. In a blog post, Stephen Sinofsky, the President of Microsoft’s Windows group said that the OS has been released to manufacturing partners. The move received praise from several analysts who congratulated the company and wished it the best for the future but several critics remained skeptical about the operating system.
The RTM milestone is significant for any software as it means that the code is tested and ready to be put onto the hardware. The packages can be sent to hardware partners and manufacturers who can get the drivers working for their devices and to developers who are looking to develop compatible programs. This announcement means that the work on Windows 8 is going as per schedule and it is going to be released for sale on October 26th. Moreover, starting August 15th, those who are subscribed to the Microsoft Developers Network will have access to the new operating system and even TechNet subscribers can download on the same day. Meanwhile, companies that have the Software Assurance from Microsoft will be able to get a hold of Windows 8 starting August 16th. This will be open to members of the Microsoft Partner network too, while those firms who only have a licensing deal can access the OS from September 1st.
Microsoft is going to offer updates to users running Windows 7, Vista and XP to Windows 8 pro for $39.99 on October 26th and those who have the older versions running on computers purchased between June 2012 and January 2013 can get Windows 8 for $14.99. Moreover, October 26th will also mark the launch of the Surface tablet that is going to be running the Windows RT OS.
There are still some missing details about the Windows 8 OS and the most important of those is the price of the operating system. Microsoft has also not revealed the price of “System Builder”, the licensing needed for running a Virtual Windows 8 Machine on a PC or Mac. Microsoft seems confident about Windows 8 and it is possible that the company will reveal more details soon, but the fact remains that pricing is going to be an important aspect and its success will be largely dependent on that.
