Vista prices officially go down, but will consumer interest go up?

What's that? You didn't take the risk and upgrade your PC to some crappy Intel-based machine Microsoft may or may not have known wouldn't run Vista as promised? Well, at least now you can get in on the latest version of Windows a little cheaper than yesterday: Ultimate full looks to be officially headed down to $320 from $400, and the upgrade is down to $220 from $260; Home Premium is now at $130 from $160. Will the dip be enough to entice plenty of new OS upgraders? Perhaps, but we think most of those that haven't already upgraded will probably just wait until their next PC so they can get Vista "free". But if you're looking to buy it boxed though, give it a bit for the new prices to propagate through the retail network -- not even Microsoft's site reflects the new Vista price points.

[Eric @ Feb 29th 2008 2:30AM]

Reuters corrected their article $129 from $159 for Home Premium.

[Ryan Block @ Feb 29th 2008 2:39AM]

Gah, just after I hit publish. Thanks.

[Bas @ Feb 29th 2008 3:53AM]

Wow. "Gah, just after I hit publish. Thanks." is a 'Highly Ranked' comment? That's some amazing sucking up if I ever did see it.

[ethana2 @ Feb 29th 2008 4:02AM]

Hilarious. Not even their /writers/ have post edits.

[ethana2 @ Feb 29th 2008 4:03AM]

Oh wait, nevermind, they do.
...lucky them.

[Farris @ Feb 29th 2008 11:02AM]

Haha, "Wow. "Gah, just after I hit publish. Thanks." is a 'Highly Ranked' comment? That's some amazing sucking up if I ever did see it." is a 'Low Ranked' comment? That's some amazing irony if I ever did see it.

[thetinguy @ Feb 29th 2008 3:35PM]

They still SELL this crap? I thought the only place to get it was online...

[Khris @ Feb 29th 2008 4:38PM]

Yes, believe it or not, but some people actually PAY for software. Guess you're unfamiliar with that concept huh?

[Saad Rabia @ Mar 1st 2008 5:24PM]

Full Windows Vista Ultimate for $200 only!

http://www.saadrabia.com/2008/03/01/get-windows-vista-ultimate-for-cheap-200/

[~~Tito~~ @ Feb 29th 2008 2:31AM]

A swing and a miss for Microsoft. . .

[Cal @ Feb 29th 2008 4:01AM]

20% off is always nice though

[Ghen @ Feb 29th 2008 9:05AM]

Still not $99 the greedy bastards... Couldn't even bring it down to a nice round number.

[Khris @ Feb 29th 2008 4:40PM]

$100 would be a nice round number. See the zeros there.....they're round.....hence a nice ROUND number.

[Sora267 @ Feb 29th 2008 7:14PM]

Khris, you're soooo punny!

[AlexP @ Feb 29th 2008 10:42PM]

Nice profit margin, for sure.

[BradStar @ Mar 3rd 2008 4:25PM]

Short answer to the question of the article... No.

[caramelzappa @ Feb 29th 2008 2:31AM]

This is good, who did they think they were kidding trying to sell a product the public is skeptical of for such ridiculous prices?

[iofthestorm @ Feb 29th 2008 10:25PM]

I don't think they really expected many people to buy retail versions of Vista, the vast majority are going to get it when they get a new computer (unless of course they go Linux or Mac).

[Johnny Venom @ Feb 29th 2008 2:45AM]

Its still over priced!

[Charles @ Feb 29th 2008 5:18AM]

You think it's bad in America, it's £352 (about $700) for Vista Ultimate in the UK:

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Software/Operating+Systems/Microsoft+Windows+Vista+Ultimate+Retail+DVD?productId=29450

I've got four PCs so that would be a minor matter of £1400 to switch them all to Vista. At least with XP you could buy the OEM version of Pro for £90 but with Vista's new activation (deactivation?) scheme that's no longer an option.

People are always debating whether Vista is any good but to me that seems rather pointless. Even if it was fantastic it's too expensive. I've started a progressive change to Ubuntu and Open Office. I'd probably have stuck with Windows but with the prices Microsoft are charging they're not leaving me any choice but to change to Linux.

[sr @ Feb 29th 2008 6:08AM]

Trust me, I put it on my main laptop like an idiot and after 3 months I'm itching to put XP back on it. Vista can be so unresponsive to basic hardware adjustments like increasing or decreasing screen brightness. It drives me crazy.

[John B @ Feb 29th 2008 8:37PM]

@sr:

It's sad that you got ranked down. I bought a new laptop last year and I honestly tried to give Vista a fair shake. I left it on there for three months. But when it couldn't run some of the applications for which I specifically purchased that particular model of laptop (video editing with the built-in Firewire port), I went back to XP.

A lot of it had to deal with Aero just crushing the laptop's resources as well, but I disabled it. Suddenly, it looked just like XP and my video capture/editing software *still* didn't work. That was it for me. I bought a bigger hard drive, threw it in, and installed XP.

I just bought a new podcasting PC with Vista on it, and it runs fine for the apps that I run on that. So, I'm just leaving it with Vista. It just goes to show that not everyone can use Vista for everything. Too bad that you got ranked down for admitting that.

[Waffle @ Feb 29th 2008 2:50AM]

I'll stick with XP, thanks. I might even downgrade next computer I purchase. There needs to be much more positive feedback before I even contemplate making the effort of switching.

[Chebwa @ Feb 29th 2008 3:23AM]

Fascinating.

[fopkins @ Feb 29th 2008 3:28AM]

You mean upgrade, right?

Vista ---> XP = UPgrade, not downgrade.

[ethana2 @ Feb 29th 2008 3:40AM]

Linux > OSX > *BSD > XP SP2 / 2k > Solaris/OpenSolaris > various other unices > Vista > ME

...in a nutshell.

[Cal @ Feb 29th 2008 4:02AM]

That's one big nutshell...

[ethana2 @ Feb 29th 2008 4:06AM]

That is a bit more than the two that get marketed at you, isn't it?

[Poom @ Feb 29th 2008 5:51AM]

The sad thing is people just hear all these "Vista is bad" kind of comment and have not even tried it themselves yet, like you do. It's not that bad, really. It just requires better hardware, which some of those who say "Vista is bad" cannot afford and force their systems to.

Sigh... I think it's pretty unfair that Vista got bashed so much without much valid justifications.

[Phil B. @ Feb 29th 2008 6:20AM]

You know what?
i have tried it myself, and those were the worst months of my life.
Compatibility is still a HUGE issue.

I run mostly 3ds max, vray, adobe cs3 and a few other production based software tools. My computer ran those just fine when i was running xp. But when i run them on vista, i get TONS of crashes and "program not responding" errors.
You think i need better hardware? core 2 duo 2.8ghz, 4gb ram. While that may not be the best out there, it certainly was more than enough when i was running xp.
I think the problem just lies in compatibility between the OS and my software.

[Matt @ Feb 29th 2008 7:54AM]

I've been using Vista since June, and have had absolutely no problems with it. With XP I had to reformat at least every 6 months because it would get bogged down, and Vista is still running just as well as the day I installed it. And Vista's adoption rate is actually better than XP's was when it was released, so I don't see how this was a failure for Microsoft. The exact same thing happened with XP, everyone hated it when it was first released, and once people get used to it everyone loves it.

[boolean22 @ Feb 29th 2008 9:23AM]

I know Windows better. Period.

Can't have OS X in my PC... too much tweaks. Can't get a Mac, too much money. Can't get linux on my PC, too much lack of support for latests Adobe software.

I have had Vista for months, and if it weren't for a hardware problem with my geforce (which I'll get replaced soon enough) I'd be still using it.

I've got all my software installed, plus games, plus document sharing with another XP install (my computer is used for working, tho, so I had to make the transition step by step).

I take the opportunity to give a piece of advice: ALWAYS have your Docs in ANOTHER partition than the system+apps one. If you can avoid it, don't use ANOTHER disc, that'll hinder the performance.

My 2c.

Cheer up guys, there are users for everything, including BOB.

[Jack Storm @ Feb 29th 2008 1:16PM]

I LOVE my computers that came preloaded with Vista, however, upgrading my 'Vista ready' computer was no fun and ended up being a waste of time as i had to downgrade back to xp.

[James @ Feb 29th 2008 2:05PM]

I tried Vista, I even tried to like it, but in the end I just found myself endlessly frustrated. So many things are different, seemingly just for the sake of being different, perhaps I'm just old and set in my ways but it drives me crazy.

Win9x was slow on the hardware of the day when it came out so I won't give Vista too much flak for that but the UI is just horrid IMO.

[Kelvin @ Feb 29th 2008 2:55AM]

According to the Law of Demand, a decrease in price will increase the QUANTITY Demanded, not the Demand.

[Reader @ Feb 29th 2008 3:05AM]

Beat me to it. Basic economics says they'll sell more, but that doesn't mean people want it anymore than before.

[r3loaded @ Feb 29th 2008 3:55AM]

Well, if demand for Vista is more elastic than previously thought, Microsoft will see an increase in total revenue.

Yay for economics ppl here :)

[ethana2 @ Feb 29th 2008 4:00AM]

Sad when it's a few hundred bucks and you still can't begin to compete with something that's Free, isn't it?

[cswallow01 @ Feb 29th 2008 2:56AM]

Will OEM versions go down in price aswell? (They Need To!!!)

That would be good!!! I'll be keeping an eye out at Micro-Center!!!

I wish they at least sold Vista Home Premium OEM for $129.99 the same price as OS X retail...

[Fred @ Feb 29th 2008 3:44AM]

You're kidding, right? Vista Home Premium OEM has always cost less than OSX retail. You can grab it just about anywhere for $109.

[roach @ Feb 29th 2008 3:43AM]

That's how much I paid for a Home Premium OEM 8 months ago, so I'm sure it will go down. I'm actually ready to install my 3rd Vista for my home rig. I been happy with Vista on my 2 laptops.

[ethana2 @ Feb 29th 2008 3:52AM]

OS migration checklist:
~I~ Does it run on my hardware?
XP, Linux = true
OSX = FAIL
~II~ Does it run well?
Linux, OSX = true
Win* = FAIL
~III~ Does it run well on my hardware?
(I AND II) ..'course, software matters too: thank goodness for WINE, kvm, and dual booting.

[Taylor Kemp @ Feb 29th 2008 3:09AM]

yeah, you could pay 320$, or if you're reading this blog, you're probably tech savvy enough to pay 180$ for the oem version. Sadly, you won't be able to listen to awesome muzac and then have a conversation with your pals in Bangalore, because th OEM version doesn't include free M$ $upport.

[ethana2 @ Feb 29th 2008 3:47AM]

"tech savvy enough to pay"

Wait, what?
(this can be taken in two ways.)

[IndiaTech @ Feb 29th 2008 4:50AM]

OEM softwares are cheeper NOT because they do not have Support but because the licences are not portable. You can't transfer licence from one machine to another.
Microsoft like any other software company will provide support to OEM software for the first 90 days.

"Please visit Personal Support Center for no-charge technical assistance on Microsoft Products. Pay-per-incident technical support is available to customers with preinstalled, bundled, or software upgrades from the PC manufacturer."

Which is no different from policies of Apple, Adobe or any other big software company.

[Bani-Banan @ Mar 3rd 2008 5:15PM]

You mean that you'd rather call Microsoft, wait an hour - just to talk to an Indian guy, that you barely understand? Then again, we have google.

[Microswirl @ Feb 29th 2008 3:24AM]

I am currently migrating all my files from my Vista OEM laptop to an external drive. Formatting to commence soon. WinXP, I'm sorry I ever doubted you! I've had it with this crap.

[ethana2 @ Feb 29th 2008 3:46AM]

That's what they all say...

If you're serious though, like, I'll give you all the help I can; answer various questions and such, provide support for Ubuntu, various advice, my experience migrating.. [e-mail] (or whoever)

[Microswirl @ Feb 29th 2008 5:20AM]

Ummm... what are you talking about? I'm ditching Vista for XP, I'm not switching to Linux; that would be dumb, since I like operating systems that actually *DO* things.

[Andir3.0 @ Feb 29th 2008 8:02AM]

And apparently you like being ignorant as well.