The Fate of Windows 8

Now that Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) has released Windows 8, the guessing games have begun. First is whether mixed reviews of the product will slow its adoption. The pricing of Windows may offset negative press. Upgrades to Windows 8 cost…

Published October 29, 2012, 7:00am ET · 1 min read

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Now that Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) has released Windows 8, the guessing games have begun. First is whether mixed reviews of the product will slow its adoption. The pricing of Windows may offset negative press. Upgrades to Windows 8 cost as little as $39. Some PC owners will make the upgrade just to see what the new product is like.

Microsoft’s larger hurdle may be businesses that worry about training employees and setting up IT support for more than one operating system. Analysts also will watch whether sales of Windows 8-enabled portable devices will do well. This begins with Microsoft’s own Surface tablet but will soon spread to Microsoft partner product sales. The first of those will be Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK).

Sales data about Windows 8 will not be uniform around the world. Data about activity in places like Africa and India already have begun to reach the media. Since sales data for the United States are not yet available, any straw of information will increase the speculation about the eventual fate of the new Microsoft product.

Douglas A. McIntyre

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Trey Thoelcke

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.
Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community.
Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.
Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions.

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