Comments on: What PC makers are paying for Windows 7

Microsoft will price the pro version of Windows 7 the same as with Vista. The Home Premium version will cost less than Vista, but more than Vista Basic.

[Lanman1]

How can you have an article titled, "What PC makers are paying for Windows 7
" and not answer the question. The answer is not more than Vista. I suppose this is great news as the vast majority of people will get introduced to Windows 7 when they buy a new computer.

I see many Windows 7 systems under the Christmas tree this year.

[Random_Walk]

...not in this economy.

I suspect the price point for gifts this year is likely to be way under the typical $400 pc/laptop price or so for most families...

[BigGuns149]

I somehow don't expect a huge number of people buying new computers more because there haven't been major hardware changes in recent years to make buying a new computer compelling. 802.11N has been around for over 2 years now. Quad core processors have only modest benefits for a lot of average users. Operating systems generally speaking aren't huge compelling upgrades anymore unless there is hardware or software that you want to use that doesn't support your current OS.

I think that there will be some pent up sales for some individuals critical of Vista that will buy new Windows 7 based computers, but I don't think that such demand will offset a decrease in demand due to a sagging economy. There are some signs that the economy is turning around, but I don't think that any recovery that we see in the next six months will make this Christmas season any better than last.

[The_happy_switcher]

Call me crazy or blind but I didn't see any text that had $ mentioned any where.

[cyadmark]

I guess that was rhetorical.

[pcSimon]

Versions, price, confusion............

[catch23]

The only confusion is created, mostly by petty people attempting to bash MS
You have Home and Pro. That is really the only choices your typical user will see.
The rest are in corporate environments where they know what they are doing, or developing countries.

How confusing is that? Not at all.

[Get_Bent]

Would that be Home Basic or Home Premium? Want the XP Mode feature? That would require Professional or Ultimate. And should you get 32-bit or 64-bit? It isn't as simple as you make it out to be.

Windows 7 Product Editions: A Comparison
http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/win7_skus_compare.asp

And it isn't petty to bash Microsoft for creating this mess in the first place. If the shoe fits....

[Seaspray0]

@get_bent.

Q: Would that be home basic or home premium?
A: I guess you didn't bother to read the article. "On the mainstream consumer side, Microsoft is only offering only one version--Windows 7 Home Premium".
Q: Want the XP Mode feature?
A: You already answered it. "That would require Professional or Ultimate." I guess you didn't bother to read the article. "On the mainstream consumer side, Microsoft is only offering only one version--Windows 7 Home Premium".
Q: And should you get 32-bit or 64-bit?
A: Duh! Does the computer have a 32-bit or 64-bit processor? The OS is dependent on that, not the other way around.

It is that simple unless you're a total idiot.

[The_happy_switcher]

Maybe Ina's dollar sign button is broken on the keyboard.

[damiandennison]

I am still looking for the price $$$$$?

Microsoft also agreed not to charge PC makers for a program in which, starting tomorrow, buyers of Windows Vista PCs can get an upgrade to Windows 7. That enables PC makers to offer the upgrades for free, or only the cost of shipping, without losing money.
=
That has made me switch to Apple......

[BGXterra]

you make no sense. please explain

[Seaspray0]

He switched because PC makers can offer upgrades for free or the cost of shipping. If I gave that reason, I would post it anonymously as well to avoid the embearassment.

[gggg sssss]

I want to know what Dell's price is. Then i want the software police tonot charge any more than that for illegal copies. Claiming that an illegal copier ripped of MS for full retail is itself a fraud.

[philosfool]

Nice.

[empirestatebuddy]

I guess I'll be ordering the $49 upgrade from Amazon tomorrow.

[Austin_Mike]

So I see nothing written about 7 Ultimate. Will Home Premium be the same as RC1 Ultimate? Tell me how much Ultimate will costs so I can decide if I should just pilfer it from my VLK site or actually buy it myself.

[BigGuns149]

Honestly, I am not too sure why you are so eager for Ultimate. In a lot of ways Vista Ultimate was a sucker deal and I don't expect Windows 7 Ultimate to be much more compelling. Most people will either fall into the Home Premium or the Pro versions. I don't recall there being any VLK for Vista and I don't expect there to be one for Windows 7 either.

[Seaspray0]

@bigguns. Businesses buy keys that will activate more than one copy. It's called a multiple activation key. Business also can install a service on their domain that does the licensing and activation for them.

[philosfool]

The answer to the question is in the first sentence, oh ye literati: "As it did on the retail side, Microsoft plans to charge PC makers the same for the business version of Windows 7, while cutting the price of Windows 7 Home Premium as compared to its predecessor, a top Windows executive told CNET News on Thursday."

Good money has it that there are going to be volume discounts so that Acer and HP don't pay what you or I or a local boutique would if we purchased an OEM version from Newegg. So the idea that there's one fixed dollar amount that you can attach to the sale of one copy of Win 7 to a manufacture is wrong, which is why you don't see a single dollar amount reported here.

[Random_Walk]

""They'd love to have everything at dramatically lower prices," Veghte said, of the computer makers. "

Heh: "They'd love to have everything at dramatically higher prices," Dell said, of Microsoft.

;)

[Vegaman_Dan]

I'd love to know where you got that quote of Dell since it's not in the story above. You're not... oh... I don't know... making things up, are you?

Let's be clear about this- either cite your source or make it clear this is a fictitious comment meant for satire.

[Random_Walk]

Here's your cite, in full:
--
sat?ire
??/?sæta??r/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [sat-ahyuhr] Show IPA
Use satire in a Sentence
?noun
1. the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.
2. a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule.
3. a literary genre comprising such compositions.

cite: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/satire
--

My apologies if you were too dull-witted to figure that out, Dan.

[blackshadowed]

I think he's being sarcastic....

[Seaspray0]

Not only that, he's making things up and didn't bother to make it clear that it was fictitious.

Lying: Noun, prevarication, fabrication (the deliberate act of deviating from the truth)

http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=lying

[assman]

Windows 7 is great.. I've been running the RC1 copy for the past few months, perfect upgrade from Vista. Incomparably better than XP.

[cashbo77]

NO way I am paying that price to go from Vista to 7. I will keep Vista on my PC and use my MacBook Pro.

[ArtemAugust]

This is all very confusing, which is why two years ago I bought a mac, with leopard and all its various bells and whistles right in the box, sans the crazy version differences, pricing irregularities, and general Microsoft bugginess. For the very few things I still need a windows platform, VMWare Fusion allows me to run XP in parallel with leopard, solving any compatibility issues. Microsoft would have to make me their CEO (or maybe the VP of Finance) complete with stock options and a guaranteed golden parachute before I switch back.

[kojacked]

For a troll you don't sound very confused.

[Vegaman_Dan]

When I got my MacBookPro several years ago, I have had to pay nearly $300 in OS upgrades to keep current. For Windows I haven't had to pay anything to stay current. With this new OS, I'll be paying the minor upgrade fee and still saving hundreds compared to what I'm paying on the Mac.

Do I complain about it? Nope. It's just the cost of staying up to date. It is just the way it is.

[ckh1272]

@Vegaman_Dan-- You say you have a Macbookpro. There have only been two OS releases since the 1st gen. MBP came out and they came with one of them (10.4). That just leaves 10.5 for $129.99 retail. That means you should have only paid for one OS (10.5), which does not equal $300! So explain your math to us one more time.

[NewEnglander]

Kojacked, why is a Mac user a troll? What does that make a PC user?

I have both Mac OS X and Windows 7 RC on my iMac, via bootcamp. Why buy a PC that is limited to one OS, especially Windows? If I'm a troll, I'm a notch higher on the evolutionary scale. Ala Alton Brown on Food Network, don't buy a uni-tasker.

So why do I use Windows on my Mac? I *hate* Office 2008 for Mac. Microsoft's Mac apps ability is substandard. I really like Office 2003. The end.

[stevicus]

Usually Ina's stuff is pretty well edited but this article is not.

[HeavyJim]

Sure be glad when W7 sp1 comes along, this old box is getting SLOW. Not bad for a 9 year old box though.

[sargess25]

trust Ballmer's Microsoft to muddle things with variable pricing for the same operating system, this vile & uncouth CEO has done more damage to M$ standing than all hackers & virus writers out there. Beggars belief that Windows users put up with this crap. The sooner a viable Linux (or any other), user friendly operating system is on the market, the better is for consumers. You hapless Windows users should be more assertive in demanding choice of OSs to PC manufacturers, and not having to put up with Windows as, de-facto default OS.

[Lumiseon]

Um...what? Can you rephrase that so we can understand what the hell you're trying to say?

[globalist_agenda]

Same old buggy ****. RC worked smoothly for a few weeks but now Explorer goes into a high CPU/task not responding state after resuming from hibernate. Looks like a networking issue. One of the recent patches probably broke it. So explain this situation. You plunk down your money in advance and order the Win7 upgrade. One minute after you install it on our computer it wants to download dozens of patches. One of those patches, or a subsequent patch, breaks your system. Are you going to be happy that you paid Microsoft for Win 7? What if Win7 works less well on your computer than Vista? Where is your recourse as a consumer with a defective product? Wait until Windows 8, because gosh darn that will be the best OS ever?

[shellcodes_coder]

The price is right and one thing's for sure--Windows 7 will RULE!!