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Microsoft unveils 'screaming deals' for Windows 7

By | June 25, 2009, 6:00am PDT

Summary: Earlier this year, Microsoft promised aggressive offers to win over would-be Windows 7 buyers. Today, the company made it official, touting a “screaming deal” for anyone willing to order a Windows 7 upgrade more than three months before the software officially goes on sale. Is a 50% discount enough to get you to buy now?

Move over, Crazy Eddie. Step aside, Cal Worthington. Ron Popeil, you’ve been pre-empted.

Earlier this year, Microsoft promised “aggressive offers” to win over would-be Windows 7 buyers. Today, the company made it official, touting a “screaming deal” for anyone willing to order a Windows 7 upgrade more than three months before the software officially goes on sale.

First hints of the “special, time-limited offer” first surfaced several weeks ago when a memo from consumer electronics retail giant Best Buy was leaked to Engadget. The details in that memo were correct; in fact, the program is actually more widespread than it first appeared. Here are the details:

  • The program kicks off tomorrow, June 26, in the United States, Canada, and Japan. It’s scheduled to end July 11 in the U.S. and Canada and on July 5 in Japan—”or while supplies last,” Microsoft notes.
  • The discount is 50% or more over the normal estimated retail price (ERP) of the two mainstream consumer editions. In the United States, you’ll be able to buy a Windows 7 Home Premium upgrade for $50 or get Windows 7 Professional for $100. Outside the U.S., Microsoft says, “the special low pre-order price will vary by country.”
  • The offer is available online at Best Buy and Amazon.com. For the first time that I can remember, the online Microsoft Store will match these discounted prices instead of sticking with the full list price.
  • If you live in the United Kingdom, France, or Germany, the pre-order period will open on July 15 and close on August 15—or while supplies last.
  • Update 11AM PT: There’s a per-person limit of three copies of each edition, according to Microsoft’s FAQ. Also, you qualify for the upgrade pricing with any computer running any version of  Windows XP or Windows Vista. This is true even if you are not able to perform an upgrade installation.

So what happens to pricing when the promotion ends? As part of today’s announcement, Microsoft also unveiled its price list for retail copies of Windows 7 (upgrade and full packaged product). The bottom line? A modest price cut for the most popular Windows edition, Home Premium, compared to its predecessor, and no change for Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate editions. (My colleague Mary Jo Foley has an analysis of the impact of the new pricing on Microsoft’s bottom line.)

Estimated retail prices for packaged retail product in the United States are as follows:

Windows 7 Edition Upgrade Full license
Home Premium $120 (was $130) $200 (was $240)
Professional $200 $300
Ultimate $220 $320

The ERP for Windows 7 Home Premium is reduced by $10 (8%) for the upgrade and $40 (17%) for the full packaged product. Based on the newly unveiled prices, the limited-time early upgrade offers represent savings of at least 50% (for Professional edition) and as much as 58% (for Home Premium).

Mary Jo Foley: Is Windows 7 pricing too high, too low, or just right?

Microsoft’s announcement today left out several important details: There’s no hint of what price it plans to charge for its Windows Anytime Upgrade product, which allow a Windows user to move up from one edition of Windows 7 to another in a few minutes. Based on this price list, I would expect the upgrade from Home Premium to Professional edition to be $100 or so, with the upgrade to Ultimate edition adding another $20 or so.

Even more curiously, there’s no feature matrix to help you understand which features are in each edition. Microsoft has revealed some details about the differences between editions, but they’ve left it to bloggers like me to ferret out the longer, more detailed list. (See From Starter to Ultimate: What’s really in each Windows 7 Edition?)

Today’s announcement also confirmed details of Microsoft’s global 
Windows 7 Upgrade Option program, which allows PC makers and retailers to offer free upgrades to Windows 7 (fulfilled by Microsoft) for any PC purchased with a premium edition of Windows Vista. The program starts June 26 and ends January 31, 2010; PCs with Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, or Ultimate qualify for upgrades to the equivalent Windows 7 edition.

Finally, another detail slipped into today’s announcements has a major impact on European customers planning to purchase a retail copy of Windows. I’ve got those details in a follow-up post.

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More from “The Ed Bott Report”

Topics

Microsoft Corp., Edition, Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Software, Ed Bott

Ed Bott is an award-winning technology writer with more than two decades' experience writing for mainstream media outlets and online publications.

Disclosure

Ed Bott

Ed Bott is a freelance technical journalist and book author. All work that Ed does is on a contractual basis.

Since 1994, Ed has written more than 25 books about Microsoft Windows and Office. Along with various co-authors, Ed is completely responsible for the content of the books he writes. As a key part of his contractual relationship with publishers, he gives them permission to print and distribute the content he writes and to pay him a royalty based on the actual sales of those books. Ed's books written prior to fall 2011 have been distributed by Que Publishing (a division of Pearson Education) and by Microsoft Press. As of November 2011, Ed is a partner in the independent publishing company Fair Trade Digital Exchange, which exclusively publishes his books.

On occasion, Ed accepts consulting assignments. In recent years, he has worked as an expert witness in cases where his experience and knowledge of Microsoft and Microsoft Windows have been useful. In each such case, his compensation is on an hourly basis, and he is hired as a witness, not an advocate.

Ed does not own stock or have any other financial interest in Microsoft or any other software company. He owns 500 shares of stock in EMC Corporation, which was purchased before the company's acquisition of VMware. In addition, he owns 350 shares of stock in Intel Corporation, purchased more than two years ago. All stocks are held in retirement accounts for long-term growth.

Ed does not accept gifts from companies he covers. All hardware products he writes about are purchased with his own funds or are review units covered under formal loan agreements and are returned after the review is complete.

Biography

Ed Bott

Ed Bott is an award-winning technology writer with more than two decades' experience writing for mainstream media outlets and online publications. He's served as editor of the U.S. edition of PC Computing and managing editor of PC World; both publications had monthly paid circulation in excess of 1 million during his tenure. He is the author of more than 25 books on Microsoft Windows and Office, including the recently released Windows 7 Inside Out.

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RE: Microsoft unveils 'screaming deals' for Windows 7
FAULKNE 13th Oct
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add at least 60% if you are outside the US! (nt)
pico_D 25th Jun 2009
nt
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Who is the idiot.....
Economister 17th Aug 2009
at ZDNet who puts this on the front page again weeks after the offer expired?
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RE: Microsoft unveils 'screaming deals' for Windows 7
lorisinclair 8th Sep
@pico_D I really appreciate your work, you have been a great contributor and always share news that I can?t find on other resources.
Multimedia Design |
E Training Design |
Large Scale Design |
Menu Design
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@pico_D: It cost that much to remove the browser? (nt)
GuidingLight Updated - 25th Jun 2009
happy

(Meant to be a reply to message, not user)
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Your Sarcasm More True than You Realize
cgarrett 25th Jun 2009
It makes sense. The cost of doing business in the EU is high - especially
with all the legal battles they've been in.
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Pre-emptive Price Cuts; Result of Win 7 RC BSOD Feature! ;)!
i2fun@... 26th Jun 2009
The three greatest features of all Windows versions,just keep getting Better n Better. To keep those losses coming in the next generation of Winblows. :P

They are, in no unnecessary order; M$ Mal&Spyware, Corporate Religious Doctrine (Embrace, Extend, Extinquish)and of course, where would we be w/o BSODS??? xD

But perhaps the BSODS are Microsoft's sure fire way of us being sure it's a Microsoft Product. Now that they've completely reheated (Microslaved) Win 7 RC (from Old Vista), the BSOD's have become even more frequent than any RC release to date. (search the web or attempt to install Win 7 RC for proof)... LMFAO

Now, not just Installing Windoze 7 causes BSOD's, but ""Security"" Updates cause BSOD's as well! ha ha ....as if Windows has ever been or ever will be Secure!

So fearing the worst, M$'s only alternative is Pre-Emptive PRICE CUTS! grin
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Hey genius
j-mccurdy@... 27th Jun 2009
I have been running it since the first version became available. Not one single bsod. Not one crash of any kind. And I even overclock my cpu and graphics card.And run Crysis. So guess what that means? Those people having problems. Have piece of $hit computers or they don't know what they are doing. I also put it on an old 1.5 gig pentium 4 with 768 mb pc133 ram. It ran perfectly. How do you explain that? I can explain it. You don't know what you're talking about. You should stay with mac. Perfect for people, with a lack of computer skills.
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Genius? this lad is more useless than the computer game he is playing
MetaPhaze 28th Jun 2009
[OS] Gentoo Base System release 1.12.11.1 (2.6.29-gentoo-r5-MetaPhaze-KVM-R1) :: [Uptime] 1 day, 5:51 :: [CPU] 4-Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz @ 2403MHz (4096 KB/2% load) :: [Memory] 595M Used, 4037M Total (85% Free) :: [Video] nVidia Corporation NV41GL [Quadro FX 1400] :: [Disk] 1112.69G Used, 1629.54G Total (32% Free) :: [Network] nVidia MCP55 Ethernet (eth0: 1.70G In, 950.99M Out)

you my friend, have a lack of computer skills... if you knew anything about computers you would run *nix... not windows...
genius...
You are just as stupid as the person your trying to insult, and probably know even less.
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genius
j-mccurdy@... 28th Jun 2009
Well ,I can assure you, People who are many times smarter than you. Use Windows as well. And I didn't try to insult him. I did insult him. And now I'm insulting you DIP $hit. Your computer sucks.Why would You even want to use a sig with that old school crap.You display it on there like it's some amazing machine. I really don't have some high level of computer training. But I have built a lot of high end windows computers. And guess what genius. they work perfectly all the time. As I said genius, it's not that hard to keep one running well. I build a lot computers for people. I fix a lot computers for people after they screw them up. And it's easy... usually. I personally have no use for Linux. If I did I would use it. And if I were use it. Within a few months. I would Know it much better than you. And it would run much better for me, with my far superior machine. FX 1400? Q6600? LOL

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regular pricing similar to that of
xXSpeedzXx 25th Jun 2009
Vista, Although I can get a better price buying OEM
release of the software $190 for Ultimate than for what
they have listed there with discount for retail.
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$199.00 - $320.00 for bug maintenance...AGAIN?!!
emcauley 25th Jun 2009
"Screaming Deals?!" Jeez! This is bug maintenance! These basic OS upgrades are getting ridiculously expensive, don't you think?!

I've run Windows 7 for months; it's a bug fix of Vista; that's all. Nothing more. It should be given to all Vista owners at no cost AS AN APOLOGY!, or at least offered as a maintenance upgrade for a $10.00 CD shipping fee.

What's with the "Fanboy" stuff from Ziff Davis? Are you guys journalists or cheerleaders? You better go look in the mirror and clean that stuff off of the tips of your noses, lest the obvious become even more obvious.

These "deals" scream of Microsoft's hubris and the common user's ignorance; and I include corporate IT departments who continuously pay for these "bug fixes" masquerading as "x.0" platform upgrades in that assessment of ignorance.

How much as_ can you guys kiss? I cannot believe you are jumping on this insult from Microsoft and trumpeting it as something special!

Are you men or mice?
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Try to be rational; people won't listen.
HypnoToad72 25th Jun 2009
Even linux owners bash OS X owners and won't be listened to, about hardware compatibility, app compatibility... been there, done that...

Linux, especially Ubuntu 8.x and 9.x, are great, but OS X is indeed more refined, loads quicker, supports hardware Linux never will...

10.6 will be a dream, given what 10.5.x already does.

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do you even know tech?
tmsbrdrs 25th Jun 2009
OS X is built for a specific platform only. Linux is built to be able to go onto anything, that means better compatibility for a wider range of hardware.

The fact that you think OS X loads quicker means you haven't been using Linux on a comparable system. Linux will run on lesser hardware, it just takes more time to boot up when doing so depending on your distro.

Some will boot in a few seconds (no more than 5), some take 30 seconds. Any that take more than that either call for modern hardware (made in the last 5 years) or were just not not programmed right and shouldn't be used.

I'm currently using Ubuntu 9.04, it boots on a 1.87 GHz Pentium IV machine with 1GB DDR RAM in 30 seconds or less. With a dual processor, it would boot in less time. With a faster Pentium IV it would still boot in less time.

You really might want to back up your statements or do some research before making comments.
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Today's computer is like....
arminw 25th Jun 2009
a television. Nobody thinks of it in terms of hardware and software. Apple
is the only one that has grasped that of all the manufacturers. A
computer is nothing more than a machine that processes data where only
the techies of this forum care about what is happening inside. That is why
there is this continual banter about hardware and software rather than
whole complete computers. Who cares what software runs inside of a
computer, what counts is that it works well, it is reliable and doesn't get
messed up by Trojans and viruses easily. Apple is still the only computer
company that makes whole complete computers and does not buy their
software from a third party.
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@arminw
Chrissd 9th Jul 2009
"Who cares what software runs inside of a
computer, what counts is that it works well, it is reliable and doesn't get messed up by Trojans and viruses easily. Apple is still the only computer company that makes whole complete computers and does not buy their software from a third party."

Apple has patched so many security bugs this year it's pathetic. It gets messed up as easy, if not more easy, than a windows machine. I say more easy because securit wasn't something Apple concentrated on. It wasn't a big deal up to recently. All of a sudden, iPhone is the sexy new tech to have and there's vulnerabilites popping up all over the place.

Also, they use Acrobat for pdf readers, etc. No, Apple doesn't buy their software from other companies, but they still use it. Flash, Adobe, etc. All these are well known and widely used systems that can be hacked just as easy on a Mac as on a Windows pc.

When it comes to viruses, all computers are equal. :P
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Jeez
LeeC 25th Jun 2009
When someone asked, do you want wine with that, I think you misheard it for "do you want to whine with that". Could you seriously cry a bigger river?

I can only imagine how hard it was to type whilst flailing your arms and stamping your feet.

Clearly, you don't buy any sort of serious software as part of your profession, (assuming of course that you are old enough to have a profession, which I doubt) if you did, you would see very little difference between what Microsoft is doing to any other major software company... especially companies like Adobe. You want to look at their annual upgrade prices and feature list, when you have to pay for them, then you can feel justified in the tantrums.
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Jeez, indeed!
emcauley 25th Jun 2009
I stand by my points; they are valid and you have raised nothing of substance upon which any of them may be successfully refuted.

And, for the record...

1. Among decent people, name calling and disparaging people with whom one takes exception is considered the last refuge of the lowest of scoundrels who, when they have nothing intelligent to offer (which is almost always), must dig down (not very far) within themselves to grab for that most visceral of guttural utterances: "Ugg," or they'll lose their emotional composure in that very moment. I am sure you do not want to be seen this way so, you may want to think through your approach. You are wrong in your approach to your argument, displaying both immaturity and a lack of articulate reasoning.

2. I've been working in this industry for over 20 years (DOS 2.2 forward on the Windows side -I don't expect you'd understand other OS/NOS platform references). So, you are simply wrong in your assumption.

3. I own a small company in which I house a substantial lab with 40+ servers and I run environment simulations for companies who deploy specialized software on multiple operating systems in cross-platform production environments (UNIX, Linux, Windows, etc). I use, purchase and deploy a large catalog of software titles. So, you are wrong again.

It looks like you are simply wrong on all counts.

Now do you see how polite people converse? Not once did I resort to name-calling or rude comments. Good luck in your next debate.
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Well stand by the outhouse then....
Cayble 25th Jun 2009
...because thats where your points emanate from. Seriously, are you out of your mind? You know that people actually use Vista, out there in the real world, not where you reside obviously. Anyone with a brain has actually looked at a computer with Vista running on it and can see it runs perfectly well. You sir are simply a cry baby, with no sign of maturity.

No points to counter yours? How about REALITY. I am in an office full of Vista loaded computers and they all work great, no problems or issues. You are a simpleton who just seems to think you can say any dumb thing and reality will never arrive to bit you in the butt. Well it just did. Now lets see if you are so far gone you don't even notice.
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You did not even read the original post
emcauley 26th Jun 2009
Had you taken the time to read my original post, you would have seen that my disagreement with Microsoft is that they are charging $199.00 - $320.00 for what is essentially a bug fix of Vista, and that's true. I suggested it should be given to owners of Vista as an apology for their inconvenience; and it should.

However, since you raised the issue, I'll tell you that my Vista Ultimate box ran great (for over a year) until I turned it on one morning, ran chkdsk, went out to get a coffee, came back to find every file on my computer had its security identifiers re-written and it was no longer accessible, without a ridiculous work-around. It is the chkdsk file 9 error and it is a 10 years old, very destructive, bug. Isn't 10 years kind of a long time to be selling defective software without fixing it for your customers?

How's that for reality?

Any company who sells computer software with its own self-destructive capability "built-in," is not in serious contention for my IT dollars anymore.

You of course are welcome to do as you like over there by your outhouse.
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Sorry, Win7 is not a Vista bug fix so you loose. Nuff said.
Cayble 26th Jun 2009
NT
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Are you Serious?
sfaid 25th Jun 2009
The 10th BUG FIX, (with stolen utils that other people thought up) For that much?
Apple is $29 for the upgrade and it is not a BUG FIX!!
I've put up with MicroSucks since DOS 2.1.
This year I bought a MAC and LOVE it!!
Anyone think it's too expensive to buy a MAC?
Lets look at the Total cost of ownership between the two.
Every 18 months WinDOZ comes out with a more bloated bug fix edition and you pay hundreds of dollars for the S/W upgrade and the additional H/W to run it. Apple puts out a better product, not because of bugs, but to improve their product, and you do not need to spend hundreds to upgrade hardware.
Show me where it is lower for WinDOZ versus Apple over the course of even one new OS release.
  • Flagged
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And dont forget
rparker009 25th Jun 2009
Oh you want to from apple os 9 to os10 new mac

Now I have gone from Windows xp to vista and now running the new os windows 7... all on the same pc with only minor upgrades.. I add more ram for $29.00

And windows 7 is alot more than a vista for vista.. Vista ran great when used with proper hardware.
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That's crap!
Info-Dave 25th Jun 2009
You made that up, plus you're talking ancient history, from a technology standpoint.

I bought a G3 iMac a long time ago. It was the snow white model. It came with OS9. I upgraded to OS X 10.2 and then 10.3. I believe I reached end of life there. 600 MHz CPU and 384 MB of memory (guess), and I ran Final Cut Pro.

I got a lot more bang for my buck than you ever dreamed of getting.
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You Apple Jacks are relentless
Cayble 25th Jun 2009
I cannot believe just how hard it is for you Apple fanatics to face reality, you just don't get it! Its actually nutty. I just cannot understand what it is about so many in the Apple user fan base that just cannot comprehend that most people don't want, need or can even make use of an Apple computer.

The truth is I think Apple makes a fine computer and if it fits your needs and you can afford it then thats great! Buy one and use it and stop tying your self esteem to the fact that you purchased an Apple instead of a Windows based machine. If you cant get a Windows machine to run right, then I am sorry for you, I and almost every one I know runs Windows machines and they all know how to make them run great, so your problems with Windows are your problems, and not the problems of the multi millions of happy Windows users.

And the bang for your buck argument is completely lost, COMPLETELY. There isn't even a half way reasonable argument that can be made that way on an Apple VS. Windows computer on a dollar for dollar basis. You go out and purchase your Apple computer of choice at the cheapest price you can get it into your home and I will put a less expensive computer in my home that will blow it away. Its been proved more then once twice or three times. When you purchase an Apple your are in no way spending your money to get a biggest bang for the buck solution; and any reasonable Apple user will tell you that what they are not paying for is outright performance. Apples generally perform very well indeed, but not on the dollar for dollar scale compared to a Windows computer.

Get used to the idea that despite Apple working great for your needs that in my house, and hundreds of millions around the world an Apple computer would amount to nothing more then the worlds most expensive door stop, thats how completely useless and over priced an Apple is for most peoples purposes. But for those whose needs an Apple computer meets then great, I am sure in that case a Windows computer would be an over priced door stop.

Why is it Apple fanatics like you simply cannot say that you prefer Apple computers because it meets your needs in whatever specific ways and for you Windows cannot do those things. In stead its always the same nonsense. Typical Windows hater quote:

"I used Windows for years and it was the biggest piece of crap I ever have been exposed to, aside from Windows 2000 which was barley tolerable. XP was a joke and a huge bloated security sieve that I spent endless hours cleaning viruses out of almost every day of my life. The constant BSOD and lock ups that made being productive in any way impossible almost made me kill myself on seven different occasions and I did end up killing a co-worker because of my relentless frustration with trying to get one minute of work out of a Windows computer. I must have been out of my mind to even try Vista, to this day I continue to contemplate killing myself on a regular basis my decision to try and get Vista to work was so bad. Thank the heaven I found OSX and Apple computers. They saved me. OSX is an OS that I truly believe that every one in the world should bow down and pay homage to. Don't get me wrong; I am not claiming that OSX is perfect, its just that nobody has ever found a single thing wrong with it, at least not anything that a great excuse cannot explain away. And god help you if you ever criticize Apple or OSX around me. Its my religion and I will not take any criticism for that"
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OK, fine
Info-Dave 26th Jun 2009
Value is a perceived thing, subjective, in the eyes of the beholder. That's the basis for much of the debate. The best quote I've seen: "Stop asking those small questions; this is not science, it?s religion. Choose your god and follow it."

What gets me is when people start telling stories. rparker009 lied. What he said is blatantly untrue. The truth of the matter is, many XP owners were unable to install Vista on their existing computers. And in fact, many people who purchased the early, cheap, Vista computers were terribly disappointed with the performance. rparker009 tried to turn that around and point the blame in the other direction. I'm not going to let the comment go unnoticed.
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Apple Jacks
prof123 30th Jun 2009
I'm a .Net developer, using Windows XP and Vista at
work. At home I have a MacBook (aluminum,
trackpad). I can tell you that my work PC crashes or
freezes up maybe 3 times a week and I'm forced to re-
boot. This is not a hardware issue, many of my co-
workers have the same problem and often during the
day I hear the Windows chime - people re-booting
their PCs.

The MacBook is a pleasure to use, no crashes, no
viruses and a great UI.
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Love your Apple.
Cayble 25th Jun 2009
After you have paid the price you wont have money for much else. Talk to me after you upgrade your Apple monitor...OOPS! Sorry, forgot, that means a whole new computer when you purchase an Apple.
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"you wont have money for much else"
Dave32265 25th Jun 2009
How do you know how much money each person has to spend? And what is it to you what OS or system everyone else runs? Value in an OS and computer is subjective. What's valuable and workable to you may not be for someone else. I love Linux and advocate its use, however it's not the best solution for everyone.

I also just purchased a new Mac and am quite pleased with it but the value in it for me is that it's not MS and I get work done on it so who are you to say what that value is to me?

As for upgrading the monitor, just how often do people upgrade their hardware realistically? It's a specious argument.

Bottom line is, value is in the eye of the beholder. Linux is extremely valuable to me and Mac has become so also as it has become to others. Be happy with windows as it is valuable to you.
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I was just being mostly a smart A**
Cayble 26th Jun 2009
And I know dozens who have upgraded not only monitors, but several other areas that you just cant do with an Apple, like taking the guts out of your tied old beige box and putting them into a nice new tower.

And I do 100% agree with your last statement:

"Bottom line is, value is in the eye of the beholder. Linux is extremely valuable to me and Mac has become so also as it has become to others. Be happy with windows as it is valuable to you."

You have echoed my real opinion (not my smart ass opinion) on the situation. That last paragraph you wrote is the reasonable and intelligent approach to choice of hardware and OS all users should take and tone down the rhetoric.
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Put the crack pipe DOWN...
Wolfie2K3 26th Jun 2009
At present, I'm writing this using IE 8 on the Windows 7 RC. On this box, I've got an older copy of Office XP, a 3 year old version of GoldMine 6.7, an ancient version of PaintShop Pro 7 (circa 2000) and a number of other apps I use regularly.

The hardware is 3 1/2 years old, built in Jan 2006. It's an Athlon 64 3400+ with 1 GB of RAM and a 80 GB HDD. The hardware wasn't state of the art back when I put it together.

The only real upgrade this box has ever seen is a video card. An Nvidia GeForce 7300 GS with 256 MB video RAM.

And surprisingly, Windows 7 and everything else on it - runs incredibly well. The box boots in about 49 - 55 seconds. Apps pop up quickly when launched. I get full Aero support. I am able to do pretty much anything I could with XP or Vista - without so much as a DIME worth of upgrades. I have the same software installed under XP and Vista.

So when you started rambling about having to spend hundreds of dollars for hardware and software upgrades - you lost ALL credibility.

Not that you had any credibility using euphamisms like "MicroSucks" and the perenial troll favorite "WinDOZ"...

Ok... So you're now a full fledged Mactard. Congratulations.
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Goldmine & IE8
cloakedrun2001@... 26th Jun 2009
Hi,

Could you please contact me. We use Goldmine 6.7, and we had been told that the e-mail client would not work with IE8 (we are *not* using Outlook as the e-mail client).

We would love to get more info!

Thanks
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wanna talk cost?
j-mccurdy@... Updated - 27th Jun 2009
I have an EVGA 780 i ftw motherboard $160.00
Intel Q 9550 @ 2.83 ghz $220.00
GTX 275 graphics card from EVGA $239.00
Power supply Antec 1000 watt $170.00
OCZ DDR 2 PC 8000 memory 4 gigs SLI certified @ 1000 mhz $45.00
Two Samsung 320 gig In raid 0 $40.00 a piece
DVD burners samsung $23.00 @
Coolermaster cm690 case $50.00
Card reader media gear $12.00
LG 23 inch 1920x1080 monitor $219.00
I have firewire, E Sata a bunch of USB ports And anything else I want to put in it. My motherboard has %100 Japanese solid capacitors and a lifetime warranty. That powerhouse video card has the same Lifetime warranty too. The power supply does too. The ram has 3 years. And I have room for two more video cards. And enough power to run them. I don't have any trouble I rarely ever run antivirus. Just firewall. People who are not smart enough to keep a pc running probably should buy a mac. You can be dumb as a rock and still keep a mac going I will admit that. So for the 1200 or so I spent What kind of hardware do you get in your mac? Like a 2.4gig core 2 duo and some weak a$$ video card. Yeah that's a pretty close estimate. And I can wait a couple years and buy a x58 mobo and core i7, Cheap and I'm back into Newer stuff. I always wait for stuff to get cheap and buy top of the line. You mac boys can
t do that. You have to take what they give you. And accept weak hardware. Unless you have 3000 dollars for a mac pro. The only impressive thing I see them make. As far as desktops go anyway. I'm not into laptops so I don't care about them as long as it gets on line. Celeron laptop is fine with me.
PC FTW
0 Votes
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don't buy it then.
bmonsterman 25th Jun 2009
You got your bug fix with vista sp2. If you don't want Windows 7 because it doesn't offer you anything then don't buy it.
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Eventually SOMETHING MUST be bought...
Scanjo Updated - 25th Jun 2009
I would love it if I could just keep running XP. Unfortunately Microsoft won't support it as long as I'd like to run it. In addition to that, third party software will eventually require Vista or later to install and run. I will have no choice but to upgrade to a newer OS at some point in the future. I absolutely DREAD that day's arrival.

Vista has no features that I need. Win 7 has no features I need. I could exist happily for the next decade and possibly beyond on XP if allowed. Will Microsoft patch the continuous stream of security flaws that long? Not hardly...

If any other industry acted this way there would be a public uprising of epic proportions! Would you buy a car if you knew in 5 years you could no longer buy parts to fix it when it breaks down? What if you were told that they were changing the formulation of gasoline and you would have to spend $500 to upgrade your fuel system to continue driving it, AS WELL AS pay a higher price for this new fuel? Why does Microsoft get away with saying "Sorry...no more security patches for you unless you buy our newest product" even though it is a flaw they should be responsible for. Why do you also have to spend hundreds for a hardware upgrade to USE this newest product or buy a completely new computer?

It baffles me beyond description.
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The car industry
JonWayn 26th Jun 2009
as used in your analogy, operates in much the dsame way. After a number of years, they stop making parts for their models. Also, a big part of the reason your XP computer may give in to the times, have nothing to do with Microsoft. Miscrsoft, lake any other company will put out newer products. Accordingly, third part developers, will shift gear from the old to the current leaving less and less support for the OS going out
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I buy what I choose to buy
emcauley 25th Jun 2009
I buy what I choose to buy and I will protest what I choose to protest. Using your philosophy: If you don't like it, move on to the next post.

Isn't it more than just a little bit hypocritical that someone who tells others to simply move on if they experience something they don't like, feels a need to stop and tell others what to do about about the things they don't like...rather than simply moving on themselves?

Do you even see the ridiculous paradox in that?
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No Is it not a bug fix
rparker009 25th Jun 2009
Vista is a good OS on its on right. with a lot of new tech in it.

Windows 7 is the next generation of that tech.

That is like saying a 2010 Truck is just a Bug fix for a 2003 Truck
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Well who can argue with that?
emcauley 25th Jun 2009
Gee, you used the abbreviation "tech." That's special. You must be a real technical wizard around the office. May I have your autograph? Don't look not but you just compared operating system software to a truck.

These are the kind of answers I'd expect to receive if I was talking with kindergartners about Barney and Big Bird.

Is there anyone here anymore who understands the importance of substance, anyone who has something of substance to say; is there anyone here who values what they say, more than they value the simple act of saying something?

Good grief.
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But Vista doesn't work properly
Olorin_z 25th Jun 2009
After carefully following all the MS directions to make it work, Vista SP2 will not share files with XP on my home network. It used to before SP2, but even uninstalling SP2 did not restore it. After I have spend over a day in careful debugging, and it still does not work, I regard it as a bug. Even if it is theoretically possible to make it work, for it to be so difficult, the OS is not fit for purpose.

Reading forums to find an answer, this problem seems widespead. Even if some experts ar Microsoft could tell people how to solve the problem, this information is not widely publicised.

Vista won't run all of the software I use regularly on the XP machine.

I downloaded and installed Win 7 RC, and the main difference I notice is that the computer shares files on the network again, and file copying now moves faster than a glacier.

There may be other theoretically valuable features of Win 7, but for me, the only reason to upgrade is because Vista did not work properly. I may come to resent having to pay hundreds of pounds for a bug fix, if UK prices are much higher than elsewhere, as is usually the case. I may even first try installing Ubuntu in case that will run my CAD system (that won't work on Vista) under WINE.

If I could pay up to GBP30 for a service pack that really did make Vista work properly, and did not give any of the extra functions that Win 7 might have, I would willingly do so. I might pay more, given the lack of reasonable choices, if such a thing were on offer, but I would surely resent it.
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win 7 price
j-mccurdy@... 28th Jun 2009
I believe I read somewhere. 7 will be cheaper in EU. Not counting the temporary pricing for ordering an upgrade right now. I think it said EU will get it for upgrade price. But you will have to do full install. Upgrade install will not be available in EU. I think. You will get it without IE
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No, not a bug fix just a big service pack!
OldSko0l 2nd Jul 2009
You stated "Windows 7 is the next generation of that tech." And, that is a big service pack! This is what Vista should have been! This is Vista SP3! They should be charging no more than $20 - $50 for the various upgrades.
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What will MS give to those who want the Full Versions...
imports@... 25th Jun 2009
I really would like to know if MS plans on giving all of us Full Versions who had paid for Vista Business Full Version and who have had tons of problems and issues with the program. I don't plan on Updating, due to it would be a waste of time to go over the top of Vista which had problems in the first place. I plan on doing a Complete Install. I bet we won't get even a discount, unless we just want an Update. I also would prefer not to have Outlook, Outlook Express or Internet Explorer, as I have to find ways to turn it off each time. I hate it. I use Firefox and Thunderbird, so have no use for those programs. If there was a way to get the EU Windows 7 Full Version, I would be willing to pay for it.
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Huh?
nfhiggs@... 25th Jun 2009
Where have you been for the last ten years? You don't need a 'full retail version' to do a clean, fresh install of any version of Windows. It can be done using an upgrade version and a clean, empty hard drive.
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bull (nt)
JonWayn 26th Jun 2009
nt
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Not at all.
Hallowed are the Ori 26th Jun 2009
You can do a clean install with the upgrade version if you're using Vista. And upgrading from XP to 7 REQUIRES a clean install, which can also be performed using the upgrade version.
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Your...
windozefreak 25th Jun 2009
...envy is soooo green, it resonate my screen!!!
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Your a loony
Cayble 25th Jun 2009
Nuff said. Whiner.
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RE: Microsoft unveils 'screaming deals' for Windows 7
Keonidas 25th Jun 2009
This isn't a deal for the versions of OS that don't include
everything. As someone who bought Vista Ultimate, I now
feel like I wasted my money on buying Vista and looking that
the "screaming deals" is a joke since it doesn't apply to the
Ultimate version. Thank you Microsoft.
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Did you buy Ultimate?
threedaysdwn 25th Jun 2009
Or pirate it?

I actually agree though, there should be an offer for Ultimate users.
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I bought it...
Yensi717 25th Jun 2009
...but I actually did it so that I could access all of the media options that comes in Home Premium, and still have the professional tools like IIS.

I have no regrets for getting Ultimate since it had exactly what I needed. 95% of the home users in the world don't need the features in professional, and most people who need Professional do not need things like Media Center.

That being said... I personally think Microsoft was a bit shameful in trying to put special things in Ultimate simply to get people to pay a premium price tag for it. Dreamscene and the extras should have been placed in the Home Premium version.

If I were in Microsoft's shoes, I would start off by renaming "Professional" to "Business" in an effort to eliminate confusion from the uninformed population. I would still have an upgrade from Vista Ultimate to Windows 7 Ultimate, but I would also offer heavily discounted price ($30 or so) for people who are willing to do a clean install and downgrade from Vista Ultimate to Windows 7 Home Premium.

Just my $0.02.
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RE: Microsoft unveils 'screaming deals' for Windows 7
FAULKNE 13th Oct
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