Wow, you guys are whiney. Microsoft is charging what they consider market value for their OS. If it's too expensive, don't buy it. What's the big deal?

I wonder if Home Premium will work on Windows Home Server. If so, I'll probably go ahead and pre-order 3 copies.

I swear I clicked the proper Reply button.

Wasn't XP Home (Full) $200 when it 1st came out back in 2001? If so, why are so many complaining about the price? I'm sure that $200 was worth a lot more than $200 now.

MS hasn't lost much share, Vista has above expected adoption rates, and MS likely isn't displeased with Vista as a moneymaker. They might have their feelings hurt by its reception by the tech community and vendors not exactly embracing it with proper drivers [nvidia, ahem] on release, but from a business revenue perspective Vista is a complete and total success.

Now if you want to talk long term potential issues, that is a viable argument. MS has to do something about their mobile market, and web apps like Google apps. Because there *is* an entire upcoming generation that doesn't use Office, nor will they pay hundreds to do so. There is an entire generation of people that avoid Windows Mobile like the plague, and in fact there are some camps of people that are fully mobile and don't use a desktop OS.

Watch the web browser share carefully, it has more to do with the future for MS than Operating System sales. MS is losing the browser wars bit by bit, and I think this is much more significant than yet another Client OS release.

And, of course, some of the complaints on price in this thread are valid. The cost of the desktop OS is now easily 30-50% of the total cost of decent systems, and eventually something will have to give. We're seeing Linux desktop OS's get closer and closer every year to *most* of the functionality of Windows, so you have to ask, do I pay $$$ for x, or $0 for x-1?

And businesses especially have to ask this, since businesses work on profit more than emotional or historical ties to vendors.

so i f build my own machine 299$
but if i get hp or dell i only pay 50 bucks because oem
(they sell shitty 650$ machine with 200 $ hardware on it)
these prices it will make Windows 7 most pirated version of microsoft windows ever

Obviously, Microsoft still hasn't learned the economies of scale. With hardware prices taking a tumble (think $200 to build a perfectly decent box) who's going to spend $200-300 on a piece of software? When someone drops $200 on a tangible, dropping another $200-300 on vapor is a little hard to swallow. Microsoft may be still making a decent profit now, but come $100 hardware, a wake up call will be in order or Microsoft may see itself made obsolete. Once again, Microsoft's biggest competitor is its own arrogance.

BTW, at least when Apple gouges their foolish and willing zealots they gouge them through the entire scale from hardware to software, making the inflated prices of their OS and subsequent service packs seem reasonable compared to their overtly inflated hardware prices.

will Home Premium or Professional have Japanese Unicode support?
I remember something about vista home not having proper language pack support and that was the main reason I never got around to buying it.

I want to get ultimate but 320$ is a tad bit to swallow considering I will be getting a directX11 card around that same time frame.
preorder discount would be a definite seller for me.

maybe its better to wait for windows 9

Cyril, I really wish you had posted the prices of the preorders. $50 and $100? Now THAT is good pricing and I think people would be far less angsty about the whole thing if they saw those numbers, too.

I mean, I found this stuff out on Ars:

http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2009/06/windows-7-preorders-b...

But it seems like it'd be a pretty decent point to bring up on the TR article, no?

Stupid, Microsoft. You won't learn until you hit rock bottom at mach 2, and "rock bottom" is "Chapter 11."

I know 7 is supposed to be awesome and all, but I'm really tired of paying to get features that should've been in place a long time ago. At least with Linux, I could get a somewhat broken OS for free.

I can't wait to redeem my student torrent discount for the purchase of Windows 7. Can't beat 100% discount.

I'll purchase windows7, but if it isn't a tremendous improvement over vista, this will be the last Windows I ever buy.

Mandriva powerpack will probably be what I replace windows with.

Now here's a question, (and I'm sure others may fall in the same category).

When running a 32-bit OS (WinXP 32-bit, for me), can an upgrade version of Win7 64-bit be used?

If not, then does anyone have any inclination to believe that installing the 64-bit flavor of the Win7 Release Candidate then installing the Win7 64-bit upgrade would work?

(*Double Post*)

honestly, i plan on buying a technet plus subscription when Win 7 is released. it's cheaper than 2 copies of win7 and that'll get me server 08 R2 as well.

I'm waiting for a new episode of "Get a Mac" ad.

Flock you MS.

There should only be one retail version, Windows 7, and is should not cost more than $100.

Getting 'all the new features' is decidedly 1990's.

Win95 was finally a consumer GUI OS for the masses. Win98 brought full support for AGP (I believe...correct me if I'm wrong) and USB. Think about how useful USB is, cameras, Garmins, etc. all use the bus. Think about gaming...would we recognize it in its present form if everyone had settled for PCI instead of AGP? Arguably, XP brought the masses a stable, business-class OS. The environment was right, based on the foul stench in retail that was WinME.

The only real advantage I see is for Microsoft, being able to offer 1 OS for everything from MID's, netbooks, up to workstations...something that is an XP/Vista patchwork right now.

The upgrade trend for 7, despite the enthusiasm, will look glaringly similar to Vista. $100-200 buys me a whole lot of hardware sweetness; if I want to play around with a 'new' OS, I'll just download linux for free.

At least there is one positive element about the pricings: the amount of versions is much simpler than it was with Vista. Now it is possible to make a choice you feel comfortable with.

50 bucks? Hell yeah, that's a fair price for an upgrade.

Well let me just pull that $200 $400 out of my stock bank account...

Apple has it down, $29 for Snow Leopard (10.6) if you have leopard (10.5).
Microsoft...ugg.

with that price, now I know why people pirate os.

From their FAQ...

"Q: If I purchased a qualifying Windows Vista product in one language version, can I get a different language version for the upgrade? For example, if my PC came with a French version of Windows Vista Home Premium can I get the upgrade as Spanish Windows 7 Home Premium?"

"A: The Windows 7 Upgrade Option program does not allow for language switching. The language version of the Windows Vista product that you ordered will be the language version of the Windows 7 product you will receive."

That is so cheap, you can't even chose which language you want to use. It's 2009, there really should be MUI support across the board already. If you start screwing people over like this, you could at least give people that much freedom, and then some.

But hey, go ahead, minigun yourselves in the foot for all I care. Either way, not one cent will leave my wallet to pay for this product. And if that leaves me without it, so be it.

Umm, Interesting comments. Go commentators, go!

Anyway, this is a little off topic, but I thought that if I was MS by the EU, they should be mad enough to charge Europeans double? No? Half the price? I think I'll buy the European version - is UK part of Europe? Just a thought.

I think I'd prefer a clean install and start over this time instead of upgrading again...

How many licenses per upgrade this time?
I have a desktop and three laptops to take care of.
tks

I'll be looking for a conference where I can be a super microsoft ho for a day and get the os for free.

Microsoft would charge $400 if they thought they would find buyers. Those of you crying economies of scale need to go back to community college.

profit

damn 10 caracter limit...

Err, I presume Micro$oft sets the price of my "used" Vista at 100$, judging from price differences between upgrades and full versions? I'd feel somewhat upset, if XP would carry the same value as Vista today..