Goodbye DVDs, hello USB drives: Microsoft said it’s going to sell Windows 10 on USB memory sticks, and mega-etailer Amazon has officially listed it on its site for pre-order: a USB stick version of the operating system that will begin shipping on the 30th of August.
Being able to buy Windows 10 on something other than a DVD provides more options for people whose laptops/tablets/PCs don’t have DVD drives, or the knowledge of how to make a bootable installation USB stick themselves.
The prices for these USB-based retail packages are the same as for Windows 8.1 and the DVD versions of Windows 10:
Windows 10 Home: $119.99 (around R1 480)
Windows 10 Professional: $199.99 (around R2 470)
Quite frankly, the move is long overdue as DVD drives have been slowly fading into obscurity thanks to the rise of digital content delivery services and ultra thin laptops and tablets that render them unnecessary, not to mention the slow but sure decline in the popularity of desktop PCs.
Besides that, techie types have been installing Windows since 7 with bootable USB drives, ISO files and Microsoft’s own Windows 7 USB DVD Download Tool since 2009, so it’s nice to see Microsoft coming to the party, even if they’re a bit on the late side.
Windows 10 is out officially in less than two weeks, on the 29th of July, and will be free for all owners of Windows 7 and 8.1 licenses for a year.
[Source – Amazon]
