Comments on: Microsoft sets Vista prices, expands testing

Company says more than 5 million people will test a near-final version of the oft-delayed operating system.

[thokal]

Liking fatless Windows

Microsoft should think about the the people in the world. 199 Dollar for the minimum operating system? Of cource this is not the street price. I think nobody is willing to pay more money than for XP because nobody really needs a 'new' Version of Windows.
Users have to pay for MS/INTEL errors like USB, they have to pay for bundled and inbuilt software like IE-Explorer. The SW becomes fatter and fatter like an Dinosaur. But there comes the time where dinosaurs died which I does not hope for Windows
Personnaly I do not have any problems with MS-OS, because I'm still mainly use ME and NT4. I'm working at a small company. Complex Network structures are not required and security issues like big companies we do not have. Vista/XP is used by us for testing and on Notebooks only. In 2009 we will think about working with Vista. All I need is to have internet access, writing documents and developing fatless hyper fast disk imaging software powercopy for all PC-based computers.
I hope MS-Software, MS-staff and shareholders will come back to the roots soon, because I came up with fatless DOS, liking fatless Windows too.
Thomas

[killr_klown]

Seriously!?

I recently purchased a mac to see if I like it. it was $250 for a G4 from the college. It came with OS 10.1 so I went and got 10.4 (tiger). That was only $130.00 and I could be wrong but there is only one version.

At that price I will not be buying the new OS for my main Windows system because XP works fine and I don't see any reason to give myself added grief when I finally, after how many years now, got XP working without having to shut the system down or it locking up on me (too often).

I don't see many people buying it but I could be wrong. There are just so many more important things that $400.00 can buy.

[NoMoreMS]

YIKES

I do not need no stinking Vista!

[zaegyg]

OEM or Open Source

I'm not big on Software packaging or Product manuals, so where is the OEM pricing? That being said, I'll stick with the copy of XP pro that I bought already for $190. Other than that I hope gaming publishers start working on the Linux platform games.

[DAKz]

Way too much!!!

Well lets see into the crystal Ball here....
The days of the $499 Dell is gone hard to sell a computer for $499 when the operating system cost $399, computer companies will charge way more for 2 reasons, first is the price of the new OS, and then the increase in hardware requird to run this monster. 2nd prediction if Microsoft thought piracy was a problem before go ahead and roll out a $400 OS and see what it looks like after that. If I was one of the linux types I would steady wearing out a keyboard trying to code in a really good replacement for Windows, a lot of people aren't going to pay that much for an operating system that will be full of bugs, security flaws, and need constant updates, not to mention that within a years time they will have to release a service pack if nothing else to stop the never ending downloads of defender's updates. Somewhere along the way Microsoft forgot something, all your marketing is an operating system, it is not an application, you really can't do anything with it, and stop and think that by the time you put $400 in an OS, another $400-600 in other software so you can do something besides update Windows Vista, your looking at over $1,000 in software, now throw in that high end graphics card so you can get Aero, 1-2gb of RAM, a 250gb hard drive, then of course you have to have a DVD burner, light scribe of course, your looking at $2500-3000 for a home computer with out the printer, etc all the things you enjoy now. seems like me that computer companies got together with Microsoft and found a way to prop up the sagging computer market, or maybe, just maybe they manage to put themselves all out of business! I have been one of the testers for Vista, it's slick, fun to use the 3d flip, but when all that wears off, it's no better then XP, no where near as good as Windows 2003, lacks any useable speed thanks to daring inovations like a popup that comes on to ask your permission to even open notepad, Nothing in Vista is new, and you can do the same with StyleXP, and XP sidebar and keep the speed and all the software you have now, and the computer you have now, and most importantly, you can keep your money in your pocket, not Bill's!!

[rclarkone]

Vista (my wallet just cringed)

XP disappointed and Vista is way too pricey!

[jcder]

What exactly is the issue here ?

I use apple mac and winXP pc's.

1. I upgraded from mac 9.x to 10.4.7 this over a period 5 years, calculate the cost for that !
/somewhere in the area of 5x129$)

2. I purchased XP-pro the day it came out and have upgraded it up to it's current format by downloading the Microsoft upgrades, calculate the cost of that ....

Personally I use both systems with equal admiration, I use my PC for Photoshopping CS2 for this runs faster than it does on any curent mac, and I use my mac for sound and web related stuff.

Mac's are easier to work with, simplicity straight out of the box, WinXP systems are more flexible in terms of optimization, with new stuff like soundcards, video cards, processors, mainboards etc. coming out every other day there is never a dull moment....

I will certainly buy Vista as I will buy the new Mac OS everytime it comes out.

I hate this windows vs. mac thing on the web, I have preferences but don't see any clear "better operating system" ... other than both are easier to use than Linux....

In the end we will have Vista, we might grumble but we will all secretly enjoy the new enhancements and not even ask ourselves if it was worth the money...

[Charleston Charge]

Great Post

It's not often you see a post from someone on these forums who isn't foaming at the mouth against one side or another. I got into IT because I was fascinated by the technology, not because I have some sort of love affair going on with a computer made by any given company. Oh well, most of the posts seem to come from people that are yet to exit their teen years and have not been out in the real world.

[dennis_the_bug]

The issue is...

Microsoft expects H/w companies to cut prices to promote Vista. I ask why? Let's say I want to purchase Vista home premium then I need 2GB RAM and $200 graphics card + Core Duo processor + UXGA+ screen. The total cost of this H/w is $1000+ and on top of that I have to pay $259 for the Vista making it around $1500 which is too high to run the basic OS version just because the OS demands high computing power. None of the other applications need such a configuration except high end games which are not used by 90% of the people. To sell their s/w, Microsoft wants compines like Dell, HP and others to slash the prices. How much money Microsoft puts into these compnaies for technology development? Nothing. This is a monopolistic attitude similar to the IBM in 60's and 70's. Lets not forget on top H/w + OS, I have to buy utility programs like Anti-Virus etc + an office suite which will increase the cost further.

Look at Apple. They give you a S/w with a complete package plus you don't need to spend money on Anti-Virus.

For a healthy development of technology, it is a must that both the sectors (H/w and S/w) provide cheaper services. They should learn something from Walmart.

[morkster]

I wonder if...

...we could put:
firstname: Microsoft
lastname: Vista

On the following website -->

http://www.whotohate.com

[dennis_the_bug]

The issue is...

Microsoft expects H/w companies to cut prices to promote Vista. I ask why? Let's say I want to purchase Vista home premium then I need 2GB RAM and $200 graphics card + Core Duo processor + UXGA+ screen. The total cost of this H/w is $1000+ and on top of that I have to pay $259 for the Vista making it around $1500 which is too high to run the basic OS version just because the OS demands high computing power. None of the other applications need such a configuration except high end games which are not used by 90% of the people. To sell their s/w, Microsoft wants compines like Dell, HP and others to slash the prices. How much money Microsoft puts into these compnaies for technology development? Nothing. This is a monopolistic attitude similar to the IBM in 60's and 70's. Lets not forget on top H/w + OS, I have to buy utility programs like Anti-Virus etc + an office suite which will increase the cost further.

Look at Apple. They give you a S/w with a complete package plus you don't need to spend money on Anti-Virus.

For a healthy development of technology, it is a must that both the sectors (H/w and S/w) provide cheaper services. They should learn something from Walmart.

[the52poet]

On my way to Linux

Why pay Bill more money - Linux is free.
It may take a steeper learning curve than WinDUHs, but I'll spend my money on the learning rather than upgrade my entire PC for an operating system. Mine is only 6 months old, but will not conform to Vista standards.

I can make linux work better than Vista on a 10 year old 486 Machine! (And it will do more for free!)

[photonboy]

Vista Standards

Hi,
There is a lot of confusion about Vista Standards. They really aren't any different from XP's (except video card) and performance will be virtually identical once full driver support is available. In fact, I'm very happy using RC1 now.

I'm using Vista RC1 and know quite a bit about electronics and computers. Vista is going to be really great but the need to switch won't be obvious until a lot of games, media and hardware require Vista. (There's lots of other reasons including security)

If you don't have a video card with certain specs you can't run the Aero Glass interface. Big deal! I turned off the transparency part anyway as it is annoying. A system with 512MB of RAM (even 133MHz), 1GHz CPU and 60GB hard drive is still going to do a good job for basic tasks. Often, the hard drive is the slowest part so get one capable of 60MB/s. A Seagate 250GB OEM drive is pretty cheap now. SATA1 or 2 for NCQ is recommended if you have SATA on your motherboard.

I too tried to make the switch to Linux but discovered that it wasn't feasible. Windows XP HOME OEM is only $115CDN ($90 US) at Tigerdirect and so much of my software would not be available.

I don't see any need for most XP users to switch, but a Windows XP HOME OEM solution is what I recommend until you have a need for Vista. I'm seeing a lot of Linux distros charging up to $89 CDN to get some documentation.

Also, I'm not sure I can agree with doing more on LINUX for free. I can do everything with free software (VLC media player, Fastone Image Viewer, iTunes and more)

Again, you can get by with Linux but at $90 US, my time per hour is worth a little more.

Hope something here helps.

Photonboy

P.S. Many experts, myself included, are expecting a Vista-based Home Theater PC to be a better all around solution to buying a standalone High-Def DVD player (best "built" yourself). Once a suitable HDMI HDCP video card and DVD reader/burner are reasonably price a system can be built. Streaming from a central PC can also reduce the cost of purchasing additional hardware for other locations.

[panazule]

Don't let the door hit you..

Typical blithering from a typical RTFM linux moron.

It doesn't matter what vista would do, you'd be sitting there saying how evil it is and how great linux is.

Fact is Linux has done very little to make it market to the masses and due to that it's going to continue to fester. They've had years to streamline configuration and management and yet you still have to read volumes to make simple changes.

Yes your right, a well configured linux box can do alot of things but so what? To save the minimal fee of the operating system?

When windows goes subscription based and wants a yearly fee then yea, the cost of the OS will matter but until then it's a tiny little fraction of the cost of your computer that is spread out over it's lifespan to probably cost under 1 dollar per week to own.

So spend your time with your linux and when your done reconfiguring your system after some changes you can then figure out why 5 other programs stopped working and once you fix that problem you can figure out why something else stopped working. The wonderful world of dependencies.

I use linux for many things in the workplace. Server services such as sendmail, dns, web sites, mysql and it does a great job of that but for a personal desktop it's nothing more than someone wanting to be a rebel without a cause.

[bluemist9999]

I don't see fast Vista adoption

There are roughly 5 classes of users: casual computer users, gamers, developers, early adopters and business computer users.

Casual computer users (like my mom, who kept a $400 eMachines PC for 4 years) won't upgrade to Vista until they buy a new PC.

Gamers probably won't buy Vista for a few years because Vista will take some CPU and graphics power away from the game. Once Vista-specific games become common, I believe most gamers will upgrade to Vista.

Developers may upgrade to Vista if they want to produce Vista-optimized applications. However, I don't see that until there are enough Vista-using people to make it worthwhile.

Early adopters are the ones most likely to buy Vista in the stores.

Finally, business users don't upgrade their PCs operating system quickly---XP took at least 2 years to start being adopted.

So I don't see how Vista will be adopted quickly. Or am I missing something?

[panazule]

It's not too pricey.

These aren't OEM prices.

Your 499 dell probably isn't coming with Vista Premium either, so we should compare it to the $199 Vista not the $399 one.

When you figure out that if you keep your computer for 4 years, thats 208 weeks. If your OS costs even $300 dollars that is costing you under $1.50 per week to own.

Add in the fact that the OEM prices will be much cheaper than this then your probably looking at way under $1.00 per week over the course of the ownership of your PC.

[jjcollis]

Vista

It is not worth the price. XP is still good enough for me.

[Cylon12]

$$$$$$$$$$ YIKES! $$$$$$$$$$$

Holy dollar Batman! With the cost of Vista, I'll be using XP Pro for a long time to come!

[Sassydeb]

Upgrade or not upgrade

I was going to upgrade my Windows XP Pro but when i priced the hardware I needed. Yikes!! I'll just stay where I'm at for the time being. Although the Windows Vista Home Basic looks real neat to me.

[SystemsJunky]

Id pay

USD $699 for Vista Ultimate...Dont care..I just shelled out 800 for 2 video cards..Who said PC users are poor? oh - and stupid?