Cape Town - Microsoft is offering South Africans who buy a new computer a discount to upgrade to its Windows 8 operating system.
"Microsoft has launched a
Windows Upgrade Offer, which will allow qualifying buyers the option to purchase a downloadable upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for around R125, which they can redeem when Windows 8 becomes generally available," the software giant told News24.
Microsoft is finalising the final testing phase of the new operating system that has been generally welcomed by users.
It is designed to position the company in the fast-growing tablet and mobile computing space.
"The Windows Upgrade Offer gives you the flexibility to purchase the new Windows PC you need today, with the knowledge that you can easily upgrade to Windows 8 when it’s available," Microsoft said.
SecurityA "consumer preview" version of Windows 8 was downloaded more than a million times in the 24 hours after its release in February, according to Microsoft.
The software company has seen a rebirth in its fortunes after the launch of the successful Windows 7 operating system and is looking to continue that momentum with the latest version of the software that runs the overall majority of the world's computers.
"It's really, in some senses, a dawning of the rebirth of MS Windows... It's certainly the most important piece of work we've done," said CEO Steve Ballmer in May.
The previous generation Windows 7 received the endorsement of cyber security firm Kaspersky Lab.
"What we recommend to all users is Windows 7 - it is the best Windows operating system as far as security is concerned," said Sergey Novikov, head of Kaspersky Lab Global Research and Analysis Team.
He warned though, that most users in Africa were still using the Windows XP operating system, making them vulnerable to hacking attacks.
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