It is a known fact that Windows 8 finally went on sale a couple of months back, but even so, you cannot rule out a certain segment of computer users who might be running one of the three previously released free preview versions of Windows 8. If you happen to fall under that segment, then take note – the amount of time you will spend with Microsoft’s most recent operating system will soon come to an end, just like all good things in life. All three preview builds of Windows 8 (Developer, Consumer and Release) are set to expire on January 15th next year. Originally, the Developer Preview was meant to expire even earlier – specifically on April 8th this year, but Microsoft’s patch that rolled out prior helped extend its date to January 15th in 2013.
Once the calendar hits January 16th, the preview versions will inform users by sending a message that says it will restart Windows each hour until a new product activation key is entered. Definitely one way to “force” an upgrade by being annoying, don’t you think so? Well, as long as it gets the job done, I suppose.