Comments on: Some Vista users say they're getting the Ultimate shaft

Buyers of the priciest version of Windows Vista are miffed that Microsoft's initial upgrade discounts don't help them move to Windows 7.

[Vesicant]

I really don't understand all the whining about how everyone "deserves" a free upgrade. Do any of those whiners expect a free upgrade of their cars? Their TVs? Their refrigerators? Their sofas? Their beds? Their... well, you get the idea. Why is software different just because it's bits instead of atoms?

[Mergatroid Mania]

They're expecting what everyone else got, a discounted upgrade for the version they purchased.

Is that so hard to understand?

[Havoc70]

@southerner
Did you buy Ultimate and not get what you were promised? I doubt it. I bet if you did you wouldn't be to happy about this pricing either. and if you don't have anything to say thats constructive or even makes sense no one wants to hear from you.

[Get_Bent]

This is just "par for the course" for Microsoft: put your best foot forward, then shoot it....

[LuvThatCO2]

Another ignorant blog post from CNET. What a shocker - people want stuff for free. Call the NY Times!

'Ultimate', in addition to 'screensavers and poker' also supports remote desktop and bitlocker. Remote desktop itself, to people who need it, is worth 10x the extra cost. 100x maybe. To me the real question is... why are people buying ultimate if they dont need the extras in ultimate?

(yes, I know there's free vnc servers, but RDP is better for windows-based remote access given the choice)

[Mergatroid Mania]

No one is asking for anything free, they're just asking for what everyone else gets. Do you know how to read?

[sargess25]

"Some Vista users say they're getting the Ultimate shaft"

some?? I'd say most of them, but then again Windows users are used to the hard shafting ... they feel the pain and yet they come back for more - see Windows Vista SP3, aka W7

[The_happy_switcher]

"Let the initiation begin: Ma-aa, ma-aa and paddle slapping sounds heard in the offing. 'Thank you master, may I have another.' " Oh the life of a Window's user.

[evilzard]

I bought Vista Ultimate when it first came out and it just sucked, so I've been using XP ever since. I will stick with XP for a long time. I learned a lesson about being an early adopter and I won't do it again.

[PressAnyKey]

Agreed.. Once bitten twice shy...

[pithenumber]

the people that bought Vista Ultimate should've done their research
if you don't need BitLocker and some of the other features of Vista Enterprise, all you got was some extra crap thrown on Home Premium

now if you needed Enterprise and Home Premium features in one OS, Ultimate would be a good choice

[carbine68]

Wow, I have to say that I am glad to still be running Windows XP. Does anybody remember Windows ME. I am pretty sure I got the blue screen of death a couple of times a day. I stayed with windows 2000 for as long as I could so Microsoft could work out all of the bugs in XP. Glad I waited. I still have the same windows xp that i purchased in 2002. I know own two apple computers running Virtualbox in seamless mode and i couldn't be happier.

If you can do it or find somebody that can, Please ditch Microsoft and Install hackintosh onto your PC at home. It is so much cleaner than micrsoft's current operating systems. Like I said if you can do it Hackintosh for a PC is the best way to go. Don't waster your money on overpriced hard ware that is APPLE. PC's are twice as fast for half the price.

[dzankizakon]

I have used and developed for Windows since I was a kid 20 years ago, but Windows 7 is by far the smallest change in Windows ever. Even XP SPs were a bigger upgrade than Win7, and they were free.

Windows 7 should have been a free upgrade to all Windows Vista users.

I really don't see the $99 value in a slightly changed taskbar, removed UAC prompts and a couple of wallpapers. And $99 is "an offer" - MS are doing us a "favor". Yeah right.

It's a disgrace that upgrading from XP or Vista costs the same.

As a Windows Vista user, I am very disappointed. Shame on Microsoft.

[albertsoler]

I just revisited Microsoft's own version comparison page for Vista:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/compare-editions/default.aspx

For all the whining about Ultimate users being ripped off, at their current pricing scheme vs. Business Ed., MS is only ripping them off by $20 -- about the cost of a poker game.

Still. It is a fun read. Did you know that "Have more fun on your PC" is a listed feature? Ultimate users may have a complaint, but the Home Basic users were really screwed. They don't even get to "Have more fun on *their* PC"! Or much of anything else for that matter -- all for $199.95!

The thing is; it is clear that Microsoft, being the mega-corporation it is, must behave like a mega-corporation and take every opportunity to screw its customers. It is in the nature of the beast. What perplexes me is why make screwing the customer so complicated? They could easily have had one version of Vista and charged $750 -- BUT, then offer a $400 rebate to all those fools that actually bother to register their copies and mail in a 13-page rebate form.

They would have gotten away with it --- I promise!

[paulej]

The real problem is the very fact that there is a Windows 7 ultimate. What little extra is in Windows 7 ultimate should just be put into Professional. Without a completely exhaustive list of features in each, it appears that drive encryption functions are about the only reason one might buy ultimate. Why create a whole SKU just for that?

[CreativeMalcolm]

I'm gonna get Snow Leopard for 29 bucks... have fun with Windows 7 :)

[PressAnyKey]

Can't wait to see how Apple spins this...

[viper396]

Many Vista Ultimate users don't even use many of the features that are unique to Utimate yet now they are convincing themselves they are entitled to a Win7 upgrade that once again contains features they won't use. Exactly why did you buy Ultimate in the first place? Would you even notice the difference if you were running one of the cheaper home versions? ...I doubt it.

[sparrowhyperion]

I wish MS would stop these stupid marketing games and set a realistic and reasonable price for their software. I bought Vista Ultimate and I am so cheesed off right now that I can't even think straight about another "upgrade". Vista Ultimate was the biggest load of horse hockey that I have ever had to use. Buggy, Unstable, And the stupid thing seems to randomly choose times to make me reactivate it since the last service pack was installed. After all the crud I have had to deal with using Vista, I think MS SHOULD give us poor slobs using Vista Ultimate a free copy of Windows 7 Ultimate to make up for it. But hey... They're Microsoft, they can do anything and people will still have to buy their junk OS at inflated prices....

[Dr_Zinj]

I knew from the beginning that it was bloated, buggy, overpriced, and didn't provide a significant increase in functionality to make it cost effective to upgrade from XP, or even W2K for that matter.

I consistently advised not getting it.

I have little sympathy for those who rushed out and bought VISTA.

I won't say they got their money's worth, but I will say they got what they deserved.

[rafusee2]

I'm so confused as to what discounts I can get on what. I'm probably just going to stick with Vista till this big windows 7 thing get's sorted out and then probably end up paying a lot more than what I have to and what I should for windows 7. damn you Microsoft, you make it hard to love you.

[FF2009]

confusing is the best tool MS uses against their own Windows base users....confuse them, and they wont know what hit them.....MS slogan!

[Mergatroid Mania]

Sure makes me long for my Amiga (The first truely multimeiia experience). Back then, Commodore would come out with a new o/s and it would come in a huge binder with instructions on how to use the o/s. The price? $69 CANADIAN!

If Commodore hadn't had rip-off artists running the company, they could have stayed in business. AmigaDOS would have been awesome by now. Oh well, I can settle for Windoze until Crapple sees the light and lets their o/s run on any PC. Then I might be tempted to give it a try...

[freddy_ace]

We all paid a certain amount of money for Vista's different versions, I don't see why they can't offer a flat rate of $30-$50 to uprgrade to the corresponding Windows 7 version. Home to home 7, ultimate to ultimate 7. I was pissed but I've calmed down and will wait for MS to release a much lower priced OEM Full version of Ultimate and will buy that from Tigerdirect.com, like I did with Vista Ultimate, provided its cheaper than the retail upgrade. I used 7 beta on my laptop and really love it. Already pre-ordered the Home Premium upgrade for my laptop. $300+ is tooo much for an operating system in my opinion. Way to milk it MS!! :)

[eeee]

I GOT VISTA HOME PREMIUM 64 BIT FOR $80 FROM NEWEGG DURING ONE OF THEIR HOLIDAY FREE SHIP SALES (SYSTEM BUILDER VERSION) AND IT WORKS JUST FINE AND JUST SELF INSTALLED SP2. IT WAS NOT AN UPGRADE VERSION.
--WHY IN THE WORLD SHOULD I BOTHER WITH BUYING ANYHTING FROM MICROSOFT AT THIS TIME???
WHEN I DECIDE TO MAYBE BUILD ANOTHER PC I WILL JUST LOOK FOR THE SAME DEAL ON WIN7 SYSTEM BUILDER FROM THE SAME SOURCE.
ALL I SEE AT THIS TIME IN JULY 2009 FROM MS IS "UPGRADE" VERSIONS OF TWO WIN7 VERSIONS.
NO THANKS

[PressAnyKey]

Despite the SHOUTING I agree with you... I can wait... I won't get fooled again...