Windows 8.1 Pre-Orders Open Before October 18th Launch

<p>For those whose computers are running Windows 7&comma; Microsoft is now taking pre-orders for Windows 8&period;1&period; Windows 8 machines will be automatically upgraded to Windows 8&period;1 free of charge&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Anyone looking to upgrade from Windows XP or Vista will first need to purchase a copy of Windows 8 before upgrading&comma; as alluded to by Microsoft&colon; &&num;8220&semi;Windows 8&period;1 is not designed for installation on devices running Windows XP or Windows Vista&period; Windows 7 users will have to cough up &dollar;120 for Windows 8&period;1 for an upgrade DVD or a digital download&comma; while Windows 8&period;1 Pro will go for &dollar;199&period; These prices are for the full version of the OS and not just the upgrades&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The automatic upgrade will go live on October 17th&comma; while Windows 8&period;1 will be available in stores on October 18th&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&lbrack;Source&colon; <a title&equals;"Windows" href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;theverge&period;com&sol;2013&sol;10&sol;2&sol;4794304&sol;windows-8-1-pre-order-price-release-date" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener noreferrer">The Verge<&sol;a>&rsqb;<&sol;p>&NewLine;