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Preston Gralla's picture
Preston Gralla

Seeing Through Windows

Don't believe the $120 Windows 7 pricetag

Yesterday Microsoft announced that it will charge $120 for upgrades to Windows 7 when it ships. But don't believe that price; I expect that permanent discounts will ensure consumers will always pay less.

Stephen Baker, an analyst with the NPD Group, told Computerworld that the $120 pricetag is simply too high, especially considering that upgrades to Mac OS X 10.6, known as Snow Leopard, will only be $29 in certain instances. Apple is also offering a five-license pack for $49.

He told Computerworld:

"Apple's Snow Leopard pricing model is much more appropriate to driving adoption and raising customer satisfaction levels. This is a direction I would have much preferred to see Microsoft head."

Microsoft's two-week deal to pre-sell Windows 7 Home Premium for $50 has been a raging success, even taking the top spot at Amazon's best-seller list. I'm betting that Microsoft will use that success as a model. I would expect there to be constant special deals like that --- a similar deal upon product launch, for example --- so that the operating system will always be available at a marked-down price. If not, I don't think Windows 7 will be as much as a success as it should be.

What People Are Saying

MS>MAC

As with all things, first you must admit you have aprobelm: At home, I am the proud owner of Vista Ult, however I run XP (ouch$$). I run Vista at work...I long for XP. Now I'm supposed to fork over full price for the U/G to W7? YGTBKM(ROTFL). Microsoft is making MAC look very affordable; affordable enough to switch. I'll run XP into the ground and when my HW and XP are due for a change, it's time to bite the apple...no more kool aid for me.

Cheap Snow Leopard? Nawwww....

Apple can sell snow leopard cheap and may just garner kudos for it from PHHNB's (people who have no brains) because they don't look at the big picture.

In order to make use of that great deal on software you need to buy Apples WAY overpriced hardware. If you want to get upset about paying too much, go price a Base Mac, then look at the upgrade pricing; they charge you double or triple retail for more RAM bigger HDD or faster CPU.

Yet the PHHNB's still praise Apples seemingly cheap OS Prices.

Now consider the opposite; Microsoft doesn't just have to make their OS work with their Hardware, they have to make it work with whatever system you have purchased and support a gazillion different configurations so that you have the freedom to buy cheaper hardware.

Since I know the PHHNB's still don't understand let me sum it up;

You can buy Apples seemingly cheap OS but now you’re stuck with their overpriced, limited configuration hardware.
OR
You can buy Windows at a reasonable price and put it on any mix and match of hardware you can dream up that you paid very reasonable prices for.

Why pay for bloat-slopware?

Time to wake up. Ubuntu / Linux is free, works very well, is a fast install, has quick updates and a multitude of quality freeware.

Microslop couldnt get Office 2007 right, Vista now gee we can pay even more and hope V7 is good?

Try UBUNTU risk free and see what a clean fast OS is like. (I have no affiliation with them), or just keep paying a few $100 every two years for more crapware.

I don't know what you base

I don't know what you base your comments on. First if there were enough apps out there to support Ubuntu and Linux people would be using them, It's that simple. Secondly I've used and taught Office 2007 products since they came out with very little problems other than the learning curve. Third how can you be using Ubuntu / Linux and still be paying 100 a year for an os? I think you just like to jump on the bash MS bandwagon.

What about the $219 Ultimate Upgrade?

Microsoft is thanking me for purchasing Vista Ultimate by not giving any discounts for upgrading, charging $219 instead. No incentive whatsoever for me to upgrade.

$Soft

Ditto... I don't have anything nice to say about $Soft, so I'll just have to use my MAC more after my $29.00 Upgrade...

I see the marked down price

I see the marked down price is only North Americans. Gee, thanks Microsoft!

p.s - I see they're "upgrade" versions, so no thanks anyway. Full version all the way!

$29 Snow Leopard Upgrade Myth

As Ed Bott details, many Mac owners don't qualify for the $29 Snow Leopard upgrade.

FMI, see:

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=1114

Whatever

That article is strictly flame bait.

Anyone running leopard is eligible for the $29 Upgrade. If you are running Tiger then most likely $129 or less. I say less since the Snow Leopard box set is $169 and includes snow leopard, iLife 09, and iWork 09.

So how is $29 upgrade from Leopard to Snow Leopard a myth? Just more Windows Fan Boi's trying to seem smart.

Not near as many as Ed would have you believe

Take a look at what his colleague Adrian Kingsley-Hughes had to say:

http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=4800

Be sure to read page 2 where he shows where the majority of Mac owners will be eligible. Ed was confused according to Adrian.

BTW, isn't this two version coverage for the upgrade offer a new thing for Microsoft? Anybody know?