Intel Corp (INTC)

[mmoy]

There are a lot of rumors out about pricing including some comments from Microsoft execs but things are somewhat unclear still. The rumors are that upgrades may be free or in the range of $20 - $30. Microsoft just stated that their free Windows licenses to devices under $300 has been very successful so maybe Microsoft will go with the flow of Chrome and Mac OS X and make Windows 10 cheap/free for a release and make it up on OneDrive services. This is just for the consumer side. I don't expect any discounts for businesses.

I have a few old Windows XP systems and I'd love to upgrade them to Windows 10 so that I could sell them. I don't think that it's proper to sell them with Windows XP. Windows 10 is a lot more efficient than Windows XP so those old machines may actually be decent performers.

I'm also considering upgrading to Broadwell next year for my desktop. My desktop is a 2008 Nehalem - performance is actually fine on it - I want to save power though. The New England states are getting hit with big price increases for electricity, on the order of 30 - 40 percent. The reason for the hikes are the loss of nuclear and coal generation and natural gas pipeline capacity. Basically, cheap natural gas is available nearby from the Marcellus Shale but we can't get it to the power plants. Kinder Morgan is working on adding pipelines but it's a relatively slow process and nobody wants a pipeline running through their property. I imagine that the pipeline will be built in the next two to three years but we're trying to make our home more efficient to reduce consumption and Broadwell should be a huge win over Nehalem.