Micosoft's announced some
Windows 7 pricing today, starting with a "family pack" option, which will allow users to upgrade three PCs to the Home Premium edition of the operating system for $149. The upgrade from XP or Vista to Home Premium for individual users, as
previously announced, is $119. The company's also announced the Microsoft Anytime Upgrade option, which will allow users to move from one version of Windows 7 to another for a discounted price. Moving from Windows 7 Starter to Home Premium will run you $79.99, while the move from Home Premium to Professional will set you back $89.99. Finally, the move from Windows 7 Professional to Ultimate will cost $139.99, and Microsoft says that the upgrades can be done in about 10 minutes. The company did not, however, specify what the move from Windows 7 Ultimate to Windows 7 Uber-Super Awesome would run, but we'll keep an eye out for you, and let you know when we do.
[Via
CNET]
posted July 31st 2009 4:03PM
I wonder whether we in the UK will be required to pay 2.5x that, as usual.
If we are, once again it will almost no copies here.
*sell almost zero copies
Hell, the EU overlords stole over $2 billion from Microsoft, how should they make that money back?
Am running Windows 7 Uber-Super Awesome version on my netbook and it overclocked my cpu to 2Ghz and extended by battery life to 10 days. Its definitely worth the extra money.
No family pack available for the uk. It's been confirmed.
Complain to the jerks in the EU who think it's a good idea to keep suing MSFT for "abuse" of their monopoly by including a media player or web browser with the OS. I'd charge everyone in the EU more if I were them too.
Makes up for how much more we have to spend on unlocked phones.
So I keep having to say this to Britons:
Your things cost more because your tax is added BEFORE MRSP, where in the states tax is added AFTER.
So everything you see a price, take 17.5% VAT off of yours, and add between %7 and %17 to US prices, depending on which state you live in.
If that isn't enough, keep in mind our minimum wage was just raised to $7.00--much lower than the UK's. If that isn't enough, I'll send you my next doctor's bill.
So, to put another way, please stop complaining. The UK isn't that expensive. I saved more doing temp work in London part time than I ever could working full time at a comparatively high-paid job while living at home in the States.
This is good on Microsoft's part. Especially for the 0.5% of people who buy Windows at the store.
I would totally buy the "Windows 7: Crashproof Version!" at the store.
Eh....I've been on Windows Vista for years now and i've only had it crash maybe 3 times! Windows 7 is based on the Vista code and is cleaned up significantly, so I don't see it crashing much at all.
Bizam, No matter how good Windows gets, people will always say: 'Crashes too much/constantly... Viruses ahoy...' etc. Just like Xbox owners will always have RROD comments, PlayStation owners will forever have 'no games' and Nintendo will always be 'too childish'. Well, maybe the last one is true.
These things aren't ever going to go away, even if they get fixed and the problems no longer exist.
But it still does. Right now even RTM has random shut downs. It's that pesky Intel video driver but why isn't it fixed yet?
Blame Intel for that then.
I've had 7 it running since Beta on my PC and it's never caused a problem.
Anything to earn a buck... or not earn. Windows 7 really should have been Vista from the get go. Can you say bloatware?
No, Vista was bloatware...7 is actually pleasant.
Well neither XP, Vista or Windows 7 have ever crashed for me, cause I never installed them. 2000 was pretty good as was NT4, I ran them for months, powered up and working without any meaningful crashes. Meaningful as in, it was the OS to blame.
I had also learned from using MS operating systems prior to format reinstall every 6 months. Cept for 2K which was an annual event.
Great deal for people who missed out on pre order
family pack seems to be the way to go. Any restrictions on the locations of these three installs?
I wonder if I will be able to go from Win7 RC 1 to Windows 7 (real) ultimate without having to re-install and losing my programs, to a new install.
Would suckle.
They already said that it'll make a Windows.old directory with all the old stuff. You'll have to reinstall all your programs but you can keep all your personal data and such.
How to Direct In-Place Upgrade Windows 7 Beta or RC (Prerelease Version) to Windows 7 RTM:
http://www.mydigitallife.info/2009/07/29/how-to-direct-in-place-upgrade-windows-7-beta-or-rc-prerelease-version-to-windows-7-rtm/
I'd like to know if you'll still be able to do a full install from an upgrade disc. That was a pretty sweet "feature" that they never got rid of in later Service Packs, in spite of the publicity it received.
Yes you can
You have to have the previous OS installed in order to do this.
@yaksplat:
I was referring to this workaround:
http://www.windowssecrets.com/2008/04/03/01-Its-official-upgrade-hack-included-in-Vista-SP1
@ Jon and yaksplat
I love when two people who have no particular expertise on a subject say completely opposite things absolutely authoritatively.... Kudos to you...
Can someone clear up what $149 gets you. Does that get you from XP/Vista to Home Premium, or is this to get you from shot in the leg 7 to decently usable 7? Furthermore are all those other prices for single (or double I think is the standard license) computer upgrades or 3 computer upgrades?
Not a bad deal. I'll probably pick up the family pack since I have 3 machines at home with the RC on them that are basically just time bombs.
This is directed @ the i below:
Your forgetting that Apple considers it illegal to install Snow Leopard on non-Apple hardware.
(Engadget, could you please fix the bug that won't allow replies to people with "" in their name? Kthnxbai)
* You're forgetting...
and the move from Windows to Linux = $0.00
+massive amounts of time and effort to get the system fully running and more time every month or so when the whole system gets hosed. I use and love Linux, but don't even try to pretend it's anywhere near as stable as 7.
Mark,
You really haven't used Linux lately have you? Linux used to be that way but the newer distro's are stable and don't require massive amounts of effort to keep running in top shape...less so than any version of Windows, including 7 (at least the RC version).
Actually, I have. I currently have Linux Mint running on 2 machines, since I'm trying it out after having moved from Ubuntu Jaunty. Mint has had somewhat fewer problems but it's still near impossible to get things working 100% and actually keep them that way. Linux definitely has its uses and its strong points, but ease of use and staying stable without huge amounts of effort aren't in those lists.
I've got to agree with Mark here. I use Ubuntu Linux on two machines currently. One Hardy, and one Jaunty. The reason why one is still on Hardy is because I am 90% certain that trying to upgrade it without doing a fresh install is going to give me trouble. I've used Linux on and off since the early days when the kernel was version 0.99.x It has made giant leaps in the last few years, to the point where I finally feel that I can get by with only one windows machine. But, I am a software developer and I know my way around a system. The average Joe does not want to have to deal with getting marginal support from various Linux forums. And they really don't enjoy fighting with their computer to start with. They just want it to work out of the box. It is not an issue of whether Linux can work for them. It is more a case of there is no compelling reason for them to use it.
Oh, your time is worth nothing? I've got some work for you my friend!
I've had Debian Sid installed on my laptop for over a years now... and I've never touched a command prompt (that I didn't want to) or had a problem with it. Period. (And I've even switched from Gnome to KDE just to see how it works!) I use it daily, almost too much.
I don't know what you guys are doing. But I'd almost guess that if you did the same type of stuff in Windows, you'd have similar problems. How many times have you edited the Windows Registry or had to mess with services or heaven forbid, register a DLL. I've had more trouble shutting off the crap that I'm annoyed with that my work keeps putting on the XP box than I have with Debian.
I must agree with Mark here.
I needed Linux for University, I got Ubuntu, works somewhat well on my 2006 gaming computer (AMD Athlon 64X2 4400+ Socket 939, Geforce GTX 260, 4GB of DDR1 RAM, Nforce4 16XSLI), but on my laptop (Dell Latitude E6400 with the Nvidia Quadro NVS 160M, this system has the about the latest technology you can get on a laptop), well let's say that my battery life drop from 9 hours with wireless, down to 3 hours, no wireless, crashes just by browsing folder, fan is at max speed. Flash video/animation plays very very slow, not even Youtube (Flash) small size videos wants to play smoothly.
If your system is not 100% Linux compatible (so very old system), then Linux is no go. What I did in exchange is got VirtualBox for Windows, and just run Ubuntu form it.. it's not perfect, and crashed several times, but it least I can use it when I am on the go, and enjoy my 2k system.
Yes if you ask, I had about the full class, and even Linux enthusiasts, professors (2), and a T.A check my system to try and get Ubuntu usable... they all failed due to a lack of drivers for about everything except the GPU.
Orly? Tell that to the City of Munich, who are millions over budget, years over deadline, and still nowhere near a successful migration to their "Limux" OS.
Snow Leopard is the equivalent of a Windows Service Pack, which are free. How disgusting of Apple.
...and apparently it's impossible to reply to the "i"
A complete rewrite of an OS transitioning it completely to 64 bit and allowing it to take advantage of future technologies like OpenCL is NOT a Service Pack. All of that for $30 is ridiculous. No one even brought up Apple here, troll.
On topic, after trying Windows 7 for a week or so, I think it's completely worth this price. It feels very solid for a .0 release and good luck to MS, hopefully people won't look at it like they do Vista. 7 deserves recognition.
And the same can't be said of 7 can it? I mean after all a Windows 7 ver command at the command prompt reveals it as.... 6.1.7100! (Vista lists itself as 6.0.6002).
At least Apple managed to add features while reducing the foot print of the OS. That's a worthy accomplishment. And they are only charging $29 for current 10.5 users.
Glad to see MS finally offer a family pack though - it's about time.
@virtualball: If you hadn't had the knee-jerk reaction to attack me you'd have seen that this was meant as a response to the "i", who is impossible to reply to because of the broken comment system here. That said it's not anywhere close to a rewrite of the OS, they basically just took out the code that supported 32 bit architecture to make it 64 bit only. And, yes, supporting a few small new features would be considered a service pack, especially since it's still OSX.
To Orion: Microsoft did the same thing but also totally reworked the UI to make everything much more streamlined. As an example, Home groups are probably one of the best home networking implementations I've ever seen.
@virtualball
Apparantly you missed the part where he explained that the message was supposed to be a reply to the "i'...
Also, Windows 7 provides a completely re-worked kernel, which is damn fast. And OS X has been 64-bit for a long ass time. So I don't know where you are getting that piece of info from...
I got high ranked for this? It worked as a reply the the "i", but since it got dislodged from his comment and his disappeared entirely... If I saw this comment as a standalone one I would have down-ranked it for being so douchy(obviously I don't consider myself to be a douche, but that's because of the intended context). There must be some major Apple haters here for this to be high ranked as a stand alone comment.
Mark, that's pretty much how it is here. If you criticise Microsoft in any way you'll get low ranked in seconds and be accused of being an Apple fanboy, even if your criticism is a reasonable one. If you criticise Apple you'll immediately be high ranked even if you say something as inane as "Apple sux".
If you want to know who it is that'll be celebrating their birthday at the Microsoft store it's the Engadget readership are fanatical when it comes to Microsoft and hold a deep resentment of Apple. Quite why they hate Apple so much I don't know. I have never used an Apple product so I really don't care what they do and don't see any reason to hate them. However, for some people it seems the very fact that Apple competes with Microsoft is enough reason to despise them and enough reason to frantically rank up any comments that criticise Apple. It's all rather sad.
@Richard: To be completely fair, I see a lot of the same in the opposite direction. Seems to be a crap shoot a lot of times which way it'll go(of course there's always the Paul Chapels and Jubei's who will always get down ranked regardless of what they say because of their annoying histories). When I saw this comment was disconnected from who I was responding to and, worse, when his comment disappeared, I was sure I'd get down ranked into oblivion, though. Strange how things work sometimes.
NO. NO its not even close to being just a service pack. Of course the fact that you said what you said in a thread about windows 7 is just so utterly ironic that i think a new word should be made up for it like utteronic.
Also as far as the down ranking goes. You THINK you see it happening the other way but it doesn’t. You think it does..... buuuuuuuuuut it doesn’t.
The dissection of the engadget readership goes like this assumedly from the information you can get looking at the polls.
About 75% of engadget readers are Mac/iPhone users but don't comment at all. 10% of the readers use apple stuff but and do comment. Leaving about 2% that are MS guys who don't comment. The rest minus 1%(the linux users) are MS shill apple haters who are extremely vocal about things they have no idea about and are wrong 99% of the time. They are the down rankers, the people who make this site almost unreadable for their ignorance.
Keep in mind that i pretty much just made all of this up, to hopefully fit in with the rest of the MENSA members here.