Groupon back-pedals on Windows 8 Pro deal

[diabolus]

Groupon is a scam most of the time, will never deal with them, the fine print is just not worth it and IMHO they are worse than the verimark scams.

Well i've had actually good deals from there before, like the Takealot vouchers and items that are sold directly by the manufacturer/reseller (not groupon themselves). But yea, i've more often than not see deceptive and misleading marketing going on and once you feel you need to go through every little bit of fine print before buying anything then it starts to become a very negative shopping experience. Groupon is also extremely spammy and love to "resubsribe" you randomly without your permission.

We're all suckers for a good deal, but i certainly won't be using Groupon in the future without direct contact with the supplier of the item.

 

[HdB]

Great stuff! First and last time I buy from them then.

Luckily I also have an old legal XP 64-bit that I can use to install this over (in VirtualBox, mind), to test.
No way I will be installing this over my Windows 7 installation just yet.

 

[Digilus]

Not even Microsoft is playing fair here ... Anyone tried to follow that R299 thing? Run Upgrade Advisor and .. bang $39.99 please .. which is not R299 (heck .. it isn't even in my local currency) .. *scratch.head*

 

[Bryn]

Some help would be appreciated. Does this product look like a standalone version of Windows 8?

http://www.prophecy.co.za/microsoft-windows-consumer-64bit-english-only-p-139652.html#!tab2

 

[Roadrunner]

Not even Microsoft is playing fair here ... Anyone tried to follow that R299 thing? Run Upgrade Advisor and .. bang $39.99 please .. which is not R299 (heck .. it isn't even in my local currency) .. *scratch.head*

Depends on what the exchange rate is when you buy it.

At the moment you will pay R350 for it.

http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert/?Amount=39.99&From=USD&To=ZAR

 

[Digilus]

Depends on what the exchange rate is when you buy it.

At the moment you will pay R350 for it.

Yeah - but why advertise it in Rands .. with a fixed price .. and then when you go through the process it switches to dollars? If they aren't selling it in ZA in Rands .. why advertise it as such. - minor gripe - sure it is R50 .. but what's stopping them saying .. new Tablet for R800 .. no wait we meant $100 instead (figured are purely for example purposes)

 

[Roadrunner]

Yeah - but why advertise it in Rands .. with a fixed price .. and then when you go through the process it switches to dollars? If they aren't selling it in ZA in Rands .. why advertise it as such. - minor gripe - sure it is R50 .. but what's stopping them saying .. new Tablet for R800 .. no wait we meant $100 instead (figured are purely for example purposes)

It is because you are buying it from Microsoft USA and not the SA branch.

Update: I see what you mean. Just tried it myself. They are checking your IP's region and then switching the currency displayed accordingly.

Rather use this URL and save yourself frustration:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/buy?ocid=GA8_O_WOL_DIS_ShopHP_FPP_Light

 

[diabolus]

Some help would be appreciated. Does this product look like a standalone version of Windows 8?

http://www.prophecy.co.za/microsoft-windows-consumer-64bit-english-only-p-139652.html#!tab2

As far as i know DSP software is always full versions because it's meant to be installed with a new PC and doesn't come with any support from Microsoft (hence it being cheaper). It wouldn't make sense to have an "upgrade" DSP [Delivery Service Partner] version when you are building a brand new PC which obviously won't have an OS on it to upgrade.

It's similar to the OEM versions you get when you buy a new laptop from some shop with windows already on it.

 

[MickZA]

Some help would be appreciated. Does this product look like a standalone version of Windows 8?

http://www.prophecy.co.za/microsoft-windows-consumer-64bit-english-only-p-139652.html#!tab2

Yes, but be warned it's the not the Pro version.

 

[diabolus]

Yes, but be warned it's the not the Pro version.

Good catch, here's the pro version, costing R1730 , and suddenly Windows 8 is not exactly that much cheaper than Windows 7 :

http://www.prophecy.co.za/microsoft-windows-professional-64bit-p-139648.html

 

[Bryn]

Re: Groupon back-peddles on Windows 8 Pro deal

As far as i know DSP software is always full versions because it's meant to be installed with a new PC and doesn't come with any support from Microsoft (hence it being cheaper). It wouldn't make sense to have an "upgrade" DSP [Delivery Service Partner] version when you are building a brand new PC which obviously won't have an OS on it to upgrade.

It's similar to the OEM versions you get when you buy a new laptop from some shop with windows already on it.

Thanks for the info.

Yes, but be warned it's the not the Pro version.

Good catch, here's the pro version, costing R1730 , and suddenly Windows 8 is not exactly that much cheaper than Windows 7 :

http://www.prophecy.co.za/microsoft-windows-professional-64bit-p-139648.html

What benefit is there to having the pro version? Isn't it like Win 7 Home Premium, which was perfectly fine for 99% of home users?

 

[Joker]

Thanks for the info.
What benefit is there to having the pro version? Isn't it like Win 7 Home Premium, which was perfectly fine for 99% of home users?

Windows 8 is the basic edition of Windows for the x86 and x86-64 architectures. This edition contains features aimed at the home market segment and provides all of the basic new Windows 8 features including the Start screen with semantic zoom, live tiles, Windows Store, Internet Explorer 10, connected standby, Microsoft account integration, the Windows desktop and more.

Windows 8 Pro is comparable to Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate[2][3] and is targeted towards enthusiasts and business users; it includes all the features of Windows 8. Additional features include operating as a Remote Desktop server, the ability to participate in a Windows Server domain, Encrypting File System, Hyper-V, and Virtual Hard Disk Booting, Group Policy as well as BitLocker and BitLocker To Go. Windows Media Center functionality will be available only for Windows 8 Pro as a free "add-on."[4]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_8_editions

 

[MickZA]

What benefit is there to having the pro version? Isn't it like Win 7 Home Premium, which was perfectly fine for 99% of home users?

Not too sure about the Basic versus Pro differences but I believe you must have Pro to install Media Centre (which doesn't come with either and is a, wait for it, another ? Rands ).

... Media Centre is only a "free" addon for a limited time.

 

[igeorge]

Not even Microsoft is playing fair here ... Anyone tried to follow that R299 thing? Run Upgrade Advisor and .. bang $39.99 please .. which is not R299 (heck .. it isn't even in my local currency) .. *scratch.head*

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-za/windows/buy R299!!

 

[diabolus]

What benefit is there to having the pro version? Isn't it like Win 7 Home Premium, which was perfectly fine for 99% of home users?

Well see for yourself : http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/compare


But yes quick scan tells me , Windows 8 [without Pro] = similar to Windows 7 Home Premium . Windows 8 Pro = Windows 7 Pro . Main things being Remote Desktop (which is easily bypassed with VNC/Teamviewer etc) and Domain Logon (which home users don't normally use).

 

[Roadrunner]

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-za/windows/buy R299!!

Change the URL to http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/buy?ocid=GA8_O_WOL_DIS_ShopHP_FPP_Light

They are not doing realtime currency conversions on the non-US websites, hence the price. It probably was R299 when they published it.

 

[Digilus]

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-za/windows/buy R299!!

But if you click through the entire upgrade adviser - it then says .. $39.99 - that is what I was having an issue with ..

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

Not even Microsoft is playing fair here ... Anyone tried to follow that R299 thing? Run Upgrade Advisor and .. bang $39.99 please .. which is not R299 (heck .. it isn't even in my local currency) .. *scratch.head*

Agree

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

Change the URL to http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/buy?ocid=GA8_O_WOL_DIS_ShopHP_FPP_Light

They are not doing realtime currency conversions on the non-US websites, hence the price. It probably was R299 when they published it.

Does not matter, they say R299 so they must charge us R299. We can use the CPA here.

 

[Roadrunner]

But if you click through the entire upgrade adviser - it then says .. $39.99 - that is what I was having an issue with ..

Yes, that is misleading.

Most of the items that you buy from overseas do get switched to USD at some stage though. The USD is a constant to which other currencies are being matched against in international trade.

To advertise it for R299 and do the final payment in this currency, would have meant that they would either lose money if the Rand continued to nosedive, or they had to find a way to keep up with the fluctuating currencies worldwide in order to get the equivalent of $39.99 per licence that they sold.

By only accepting payments in USD from international customers, they shift this responsibility to the banks.