Microsoft unveils Windows 7 prices

[BF]

From Digital Life:

June 26, 2009

Microsoft on Thursday announced prices for Windows 7 and offered free upgrades to buyers of personal computers before the new operating system hits the stores in October.

Brad Brooks, corporate vice president for Windows consumer marketing, said Microsoft will offer free upgrades to Window 7 to people who buy Vista-equipped PCs between Friday and the October 22 release date of Windows 7.

Vista is Microsoft's much-criticised previous operating system and the Redmond, Washington-based software giant is hoping that Windows 7 will help erase bad memories of Vista in the minds of consumers.

Brooks said in a video released by Microsoft that the free upgrades would apply to people who purchase PCs running Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Business or Windows Vista Ultimate.

The upgrade program will be available until January 31, 2010.

The offer of free upgrades is seen as an attempt to prevent people from putting off a decision to purchase a PC until October. An estimated 90 per cent of the world's PCs run on Windows.

Microsoft said Windows 7 will be available in 14 languages on October 22: English, Spanish, Japanese, German, French, Italian, Dutch, Russian, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Chinese (Hong Kong).

It will be available on October 31 in 21 other languages: Turkish, Czech, Portuguese, Hungarian, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Greek, Ukrainian, Romanian, Arabic, Lithuanian, Bulgarian, Estonian, Slovenian, Hebrew, Thai, Croatian, Serbian Latin, and Latvian.

Because of a European Commission anti-trust inquiry, the Windows 7 version going on sale in Europe will not include Internet Explorer, Microsoft's Web browser. Microsoft announced earlier this month that it had decided to remove the Web browser because of the regulatory wrangling.

Microsoft said a Home Premium Upgrade of an existing PC to Windows 7 would cost $A199 in Australia while the Professional Upgrade would cost $A399 and the Ultimate Upgrade $A429.

It said the Home Premium version of Windows 7 would retail for $A299 in Australia. The Professional version will sell for $A449 and the Ultimate version for $A469.

Amid slumping PC sales worldwide, Microsoft has been aggressively pushing laptop computers recently in a series of new advertisements in the United States as a low-cost alternative to the more expensive machines of rival Apple.

AFP

[WikiWill]

Thanks for that BF.

And I just read from ZDNet last week that the Australian prices are up to $150 more in real terms than US prices.  I would love to know what our local "market specific factors" are!

http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/software/soa/Microsoft-hikes-Win7-prices-for-Australia/0,130061733,339297112,00.htm

[Furlozza]

"Market Specific Factors" = we have a lock on our market share and therefore can charge the mongrels whatever we like, cause they is too lazy to switch to Apple or Linux..... and for that we praise the great G_d Slackness.

Hmmm wonder what would happen if this were pointe out to a certain Govt Agency.... probably nowt.

[WikiWill]

Hmmm wonder what would happen if this were pointe out to a certain Govt Agency.... probably nowt.

Yeah nowt is about right.  I'm sure some of the local price hike has funded comprehensive legal advice on the regulatory and legislative boundaries for their market 

And besides, govt have access to a pricing structure that takes the sting out of retail prices, so I could pessimistically suggest they care less :)

[Mike Mitchell]

$A469 is totally unjustifiable for a Windows operating system. I have no idea how Microsoft get away with such extortion.

[Furlozza]

Guess more folks will go apple.... or just sit with what they have until either the price drops (cause those avid W$ folks are probably using the pre-release version... no offense those here using it) or switch OS and maybe start all over again. Of course, M$ have you by the proverbials there as well as all they have to do to be real nasty is remove all updates/support from products other than W7.

"Ah, it's good to be a monopolistc barstard!" (with apologies to Mel Brooks)

[yoda]

Guess more folks will go apple

Why...   I have nothing against people using Apple computers but if one is looking for savings, buying an Apple computer probably would not be a viable alternative.

It would make more sense to go to Linux, at least for computers that are only used for things like word processing, spreadsheets, surfing the net, email, online chat etc.  In fact, that's what my mother (who is in her 70s) is getting.

My 16yo daughter (who is not a nerd) has a choice of two computers she can use at my place.  One has Windows XP.  The other runs Ubuntu Linux.  She prefers the Ubuntu box for doing her homework on...

[Drudge]

Upgrade prices for Apple's new OS ('Snow leopard'): http://www.macworld.com.au/news/view/snow-leopard-gets-a-september-ship-date-2775

I've got my $900 stimulus payment in the bank & I'm going to put it towards a new iMac in September when Snow Leopard hits the market.

[Simone]

When I was on the hunt for a laptop would have love to have gotten
a mac. Great for photo editing etc. Only thing that stopped me
was the extra $1000.

Can pretty safely say that when it comes time to upgrade, be it desktop or laptops
& if the all the mighty $ allows , will be going Mac.

[veebee]

Great for photo editing etc.

Have heard a few (not a real lot.. just a few ) say the same... so what is it that makes a mac better than any other computer for editing photos...

I use GIMP on linux boxes... I has EVERYthing that photoshop has and then some... I just cannot understand why people would PAY for software when you can get it free...

[Dingo]

Can get it for half price as well.

An example of how much you can save shows that if you buy Windows 7 Home Premium it will set you back $199 USD, however if you pre-order it within the required dates it will be yours for $49 USD. Amazon and Best Buy are the main retailers offering this, along with Microsoft s website.

 http://www.product-reviews.net/2009/06/26/windows-7-half-price-sale-will-you-take-the-offer/

Or get the free download from here that is good till August.

http://download.cnet.com/Windows-7/3000-18513_4-10906772.html?tag=mncol;txt

[miw]

Great for photo editing etc.

Have heard a few (not a real lot.. just a few ) say the same... so what is it that makes a mac better than any other computer for editing photos...

I use GIMP on linux boxes... I has EVERYthing that photoshop has and then some... I just cannot understand why people would PAY for software when you can get it free...

Well, I'll tell you why I use Photoshop and not GIMP. Simply because I have invested hundreds of hours in learning how to do things in Photoshop, because there is a huge base in photoshop knowledge available for free out there, because all the web development books assume you have photoshop, half the web templates out there have their graphics in Fireworks source (and fireworks more or less gets thrown in with Photoshop)....

Everything I have ever seen says that GIMP can do pretty-much anything Photoshop can do, so I am not saying that GIMP is not adequate to the task, what I am saying is that switching to GIMP is not free..... In fact, If you are invested in Photoshop, you don't have to value your time very highly for GIMP to be considerably more expensive than Photoshop.

One of these days I'll have a good go at GIMP to see if I can get a better estimate of just how much it costs..

--Mark


--Mark

[Mike Mitchell]

That's one of the better explanations I've heard. In my own experience Gimp sucks, is far from intuitive and doesn't appear to have anything in common with web design.

[Wang Solutions]

<off topic>Well I have to play devils advocate here. My design staff and I have always used Photoshop because that was the flagship standard. Without exception, we now all prefer to use GIMP. It is faster, simpler, has MORE options and I can generally do things in half the time in GIMP than I can in Photoshop. Plus a few things in GIMP that I have never worked out how to do in Photoshop.

All new computers at work now get GIMP installed instead of Photoshop, and we are saving thousands in license fees.

</off topic>

[Mike Mitchell]

I may have to get lessons from you Wang. It's doing my head in.   :hbang: