Microsoft: Buy Vista, fight AIDS in Africa

It's probably not enough of a selling point to make buyers out of the operating system's critics, but Microsoft will start selling boxed copies of Windows Vista in a Product Red edition.

The Red version of Vista, which had been sold only as part of Dell PCs, will now also be available in boxed form.

(Credit: Product Red)

Starting later this month, customers will be able to purchase Windows Vista Ultimate in a version that offers some proceeds to Product Red, a charity that works to fight AIDS in Africa.

The Windows version is not entirely new, having been sold on several models of Dell PCs since early this year. In addition to providing some cash to the AIDS charity, the Red version of Vista also includes some specially themed wallpaper and sidebar gadgets.

Last month, Microsoft also helped Product Red launch RedWire, an online music venture.

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates was an early backer of the Red effort, but it took a while for the software company to join it. It was beaten to the punch by Apple, which has offered a Product Red iPod Nano for several generations.

Red is not the first special color in which Vista has come. In Japan, Microsoft sold a pink-boxed bundle of Vista and Office.

As a colleague pointed out, the move to offer the red-themed Vista was presaged in a Penny-Arcade.com cartoon mocking Vista for its many editions.

[Mr. Dee]

Its doing good, so no problem with it. I would buy as a collectors item, but I am strapped for cash and all my PC's are already running Vista anyway. Thos red unique features in this SKU, as far as I am aware, they are just the wallpapers. Vista already comes with some red gadgets.

[The_happy_switcher]

Microsoft message: Buy our ******* products or some poor kid's gonna die.

[The_happy_switcher]

Anyone who thinks Microsoft is great must have been dropped on their heads one too many times. (Editors' note: Personal attack removed.)

[Zomic13]

AppleRocks1963's message: I'd rather let poor kids in Africa die because of my anti-Microsoft bias than let some of Vista's profits help fight AIDs.

[jinx101a]

You're what happens when you're brought up with no morales and too much cash. MS is no saint but you're pathetic and you give Mac users a bad name. Seriously, do yourself a favor, don't talk.

[gabeheim]

Zomic13's message: If I have several hundreds of dollars to donate, I should give it to microsoft, so that 90% of it goes to corporate profit and overhead before even going into the hands of a charity (which will have its own overhead), rather than giving it all to a charity directly.

I don't know applerocks and whether or not he/she donates money to charity, but in your fanboyism, there is no need to judge him that way.

[Mark_Anderson]

What's really tragic is that AppleRocks1963 fails to mention that Apple did pretty much the same thing with the red iPod. And by 'pretty much the same thing' I mean give money to a deserving cause.

But hey, don't let your blind prejudice get in the way of philanthropy.

[Zomic13]

@gabeheim: What are you talking about?

You're totally missing the point of the whole Product Red line. It's purpose is to let people contribute to charity by simply purchasing special versions of products they were going to buy anyway. No one with a couple hundred dollars is going to buy a copy of Vista that they don't need just so a charity can get some money. That would be crazy. However, people in the market for Vista now have the great option of getting the product they wanted while also knowing that some money is going towards fighting AIDs in Africa.

[joetesta70]

$TEVE JOB$ has donated practically none of his wealth to good causes. Take a look at Forbes' list of top philanthropists in the country and you'll never see $teve there. Bill Gates has donated 40 billion+ and will give away the rest before he dies.

Apple = the new evil empire.

[Thomas, David]

Take a look at Forbes again, then tell me how Steve Jobs income, and wealth even compare to Gates, and others. Not even close.

[Penguinisto]

So tell us how much of this particular program involves Bill Gates' personal wealth.

Meanwhile, you have proof that Jobs (or any CxO) isn't charitable? Please, show us....

[goodspeed8701]

Take a look at cnn heros, and you will see people that are not millionairs donating for charity. thief jobs is stingy... and apple is evil.

[ckurowic]

Nice comment, way to think that through. Most donations are SCAM joetesta70. If you didn't have your head so far up your *** you'd realize that, that is why Jobs chooses not to do that.

[Mark_Anderson]

http://bwnt.businessweek.com/interactive%5Freports/philanthropy%5Findividual/

You'll find the Gates' at number two on the list. Jobs does not appear on it however that's not to say he doesn't contribute to charity

[Penguinisto]

Oblig: save kids in Africa from getting AIDS by putting the computer equivalent of it on your own machine. ;)

In all seriousness though - nice try. Didn't Apple already do this with the iPod a year or two ago? (red iPod = donations towards combating AIDS in Africa). Glad that MSFT finally joined the party.

[goodspeed8701]

This is why i love microsoft.

[ckurowic]

And loving microsoft is the reason why you are such a sad person.

[jinx101a]

@ churowic: You judge with so little knowledge of a person. Sad really.

[voodooaddict]

Please use the proper link for the penny arcade article. Would you like someone to copy just your article text and use it on another site? CNET and penny-arcade are both free sites that use advertising and rely on people reading more then just the initial link.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/02/02/

[Imalittleteapot]

I don't think I'd want to buy this if Windows 7 is going to come out as soon as Microsoft would have us believe. What's the deal? Can I get a version of Windows 7 red?

[enoch861]

Everyone needs to stop BSing Microsoft. They are fighting for AIDS. Don't you people have a heart? We need to start fighting AIDS rather than talk about how dumb or stupid Microsoft is.
If Windows 7 comes in Product Red at launch, who won't buy it? unless, they don't care about people suffering from AIDS.

None of this should be about Microsoft. Its about finding a cure for AIDS.

Now Think: If YOU had AIDS wouldn't you like people to donate money to help find a cure?

[Penguinisto]

If I had HIV, this program wouldn't do squat for me... I don't live in Africa (hint: read the article - they're not looking for a cure, they're looking to contain the spread of it in Africa).

Also, they're allegedly fighting against AIDS, not for it. Minor grammar nitpick, I know, but it does make a diff...

[jinx101a]

@ Penguinisto: A lot of fighting a disease is fighting the spread of it. You can't get rid of a diease if you don't contain how it spreads. Smallpox wasn't eradicated because they found a cure... they never found a cure. They created a vaccine which stops the spread. Think bigger picture. Microsoft isn't going to solve the AIDS problem and we all know this is just marketing, but it gives airtime to a world wide epidemic.

[gabeheim]

Just because MS or bill gates donates some money, does not mean that they automatically deserve respect. MS was a reckless monopolist that caused hundreds of billions, perhaps trillions in damages to the world economy, and it can potentially cause trillions more. This due to proprietary lock-in, businesses that were crushed (that employ people), technologies and emerging markets that are destroyed, hundreds of billions of dollars in damage due to malware, id theft, security breaches due to gate's reckless and willful negligence with regards to security, and shall i continue? Corruption of governments in order to entrench windows in a school system of a developing nation, when linux will meet the needs for a much lower cost, do kids in africa really need ms office?

There are so many issues with MS, that like the robber barons of the 19th century, donating even all of their fortunes cannot make up for a lifetime of abuse. Of course, like Carnegie and rockefeller, i'm sure gates will get his name on some universities or endowments, and perhaps his children will run for political office. But history will record the true depths of greed of gates and others in this era. I wonder what the shock waves will be like when MS begins to collapse. Will it be the bear stearns of the tech industry? (right, MS is too big to fail, like GM, AIG, and every other major financial firm or bank)

[tekwiz4u]

What kind of marketing is this?! The better thing is for Microsoft donate money, WITHOUT buying Vista. They need to hire a better marketing team also.

[RompStar_420]

When I first used Vista is was horrible, when it first came out, I had an extra PC and about 4 beers this Sunday and I said to my self, what the hell, let's give this beast another try, lets see if those Service Packs made any difference.

After installing it, my optical mouse not working, I mean it had power and it was red, but it wasn't working, I had to reboot the machine 3 times and then finally it worked, and I changed nothing.

After that I did all the updates, I noticed that Vista needs 1 GIG of Ram just to live, my computer had 2 and it was at 50% memory without using any programs.

Then I installed Office 2007 (yes all of it was legit software) have friends who work there and they give me stuff for free.

I haven't spent much time besides that, but it seemed more smoother, the first time I tried it, it was a bumpy ride, Hope you Microsofties learned your lessons and improved Windows 7 off of that analysis.

[Imalittleteapot]

Yeah SP1 is better. Had the same problem with a mouse on someone else's computer. depends on the mouse. I found in my case if you just let it sit a minute (especially if it's USB) Windows will eventually tell you detected new hardware in the corner and then it'll just work. If you reboot too quick it won't have a chance to install the driver.

Also, it doesn't really waste the 1 gig of ram. Vista needs about 600 meg. With the rest, instead of just letting your ram sit empty and do nothing it caches stuff into it that you use most often. So, when you need it it's basically already loaded. You can shut that stuff off though and Vista will take around 640 meg of ram. Still too much in my opinion. If a program really needs that 1 gig of ram though Vista will let it have it, but in my opinion it doesn't return that memory quickly enough when needed so I turn the Superfetch feature off and my system seems to run better that way actually.

I think the main problems with Vista are the base 600 meg of ram before it does anything else and it still does too much disk access and swapping.

[JCPayne]

Red-China is already doing a bang up job there. And besides it even means that you don't have to then get a copy of Vista....
--
How China's taking over Africa, and why the West should be VERY worried
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1036105/How-Chinas-taking-Africa-West-VERY-worried.html

[Zomic13]

@gabeheim: What are you talking about?

You're totally missing the point of the whole Product Red line. It's purpose is to let people contribute to charity by simply purchasing special versions of products they were going to buy anyway. No one with a couple hundred dollars is going to buy a copy of Vista that they don't need just so a charity can get some money. That would be crazy. However, people in the market for Vista now have the great option of getting the product they wanted while also knowing that some money is going towards fighting AIDs in Africa.

[jmad980]

Vista Gave Me AIDS
I think its a good cause and all but I also want help from all my pain and suffering

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