Several retailers have started taking pre-orders for Windows 10. If you’re currently running Windows 7 or later you’re probably eligible for a free upgrade (unless you’re an enterprise customer). But if you’re looking for a retail copy, prices start at about $100 for an OEM version of Windows 10 or $120 for a full version.
You can either pay for a downloadable version of Windows 10 or opt for a boxed copy… and if you opt for the latter, it looks like there won’t be any DVDs inside the box.
Instead, Microsoft will be provide you with a bootable USB flash drive which you can use to install Windows 10.
We’d heard a few weeks ago that Microsoft might offer Windows 10 on flash drives. Now Amazon is taking pre-orders for Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro on flash drives.
Newegg, meanwhile, is also taking pre-orders for a range of Windows 10 flavors including Home, Pro, OEM, and Full versions, as well as downloadable versions of the operating system.
If you’ve registered fro a free upgrade from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, all you need to do is wait for Microsoft to deliver Windows 10 through the Windows Update service. But if you’re installing a clean copy of Windows 10 on a system that has no OS, or which is running Windows XP or another operating system, it looks like you won’t need to find a DVD drive to use the installation media.
via Betanews
I think this makes sense since so few computers have an optical drive and so much can be stored on a flash drive. It is not easy to even find an USB optical drive. Flash drives are available almost everywhere.
Okay, not a bad idea!