Get Windows 8 Pro for $39.99 by January 31

Do you still have Windows XP on your computer? Unless you have plans to replace that computer within the next 15 months, now's a good time to upgrade your operating system.

Until January 31, 2013, Microsoft is offering upgrades to Windows 8 Pro for only $39.99 for all users of Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.

Given that Windows XP will only get security updates until April 2014 (only a year and 3 months from now), and given that the cost of the upgrade after this month will reportedly jump to $199, this is a great opportunity for PC users to move to a newer and more secure operating system without having to spend a lot of money.

And if you're a Mac user with an old version of Windows on a Boot Camp partition or in a virtual machine like Parallels Desktop, VMWare Fusion, or Oracle VirtualBox, Microsoft is offering the same upgrade pricing for you as well.

Before you make the jump to Windows 8, you'll have to ensure your system can handle it (in particular, you may need to buy a RAM upgrade first), and there are other considerations to keep in mind as well. Read more details in my article at The Mac Security Blog:

Upgrade to Windows 8 Pro on Your Mac

Then read the system requirements and download the upgrade from Microsoft:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/buy


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