Analyst: Windows 7 is Still Too Expensive

[wiyosaya]

My wife wanted to have Office 2007 (yes, she and I are well aware just how crappy Office is, but it was also a learning experience for her that might pertain to a "real-world job"). We bought the "Home" edition that includes Word and Excel and a couple of other apps for something like $99. The license for this is that it can be installed on up to three computers. This made the purchase much easier to swallow for me since I might need Excel since as it is used by a CAD package I use. I particularly liked the pricing option on this.

I think having Windows 7 available in a similar pricing format would be a good idea for families, however, for me, I would like to have the same kind of pricing option on the "Ultimate" edition as that is what I would be most likely to install on all PCs in my home - mine, and my wife's.

Not that Microsoft does not have a right to make money, but the last time I had heard, MS, or M$, had something like $60 Billion in the bank. Seems to me that with that kind of cash on hand, M$ could easily back off on the price of their software, and probably sell far more copies at the same time. I think people will tire of paying high prices for "upgrades," and if the expense is deemed too much for the benefits, people will just stick with what they have. Everyone out there is not tech savvy, and with the power of today's PCs, not everyone needs to have the latest and greatest, and not everyone can afford a substantial investment in software and hardware every few years.

Even the tech savvy sometimes stick to older OSs because they work. I work with such a tech savvy person who still runs Windows 2000 because it works. With less expensive pricing, this is the type of person that might be convinced to upgrade to Windows 7.

 

[dark_lord69]

Yeah I would install it on all of my computers in the house for $50... If I thought it would run well.. I know my desktop could handle it easily and I am actually currently running the RC edition of windows 7 on my desktop. I'm not sure if my laptop is beefy enough for windows 7 to run smoothly. It's only a single core 1.8 GHz CPU with 2GB of memory. I feel I may have enough memory to make it run ok but I'l rather be running a dual core laptop to install it on that.

 

[thearm]

Any programmers here? I'd like to know what a programmer thinks of the price of Windows. Both take a massive amount of development but an OS I'm sure takes more resources, not just programmers, to get up and running.

 

[jerreece]

I agree with the critic in the article. Microsoft has always charged very large amounts of money for their operating systems. If they only charged $50 or $100 for the full Home Premium versions they'd probably see a big jump in purchases, and a lot more happy customers. And, perhaps see a substantial reduction in piracy. Piracy frankly isn't going to disappear, but giving folks an affordable OS is key to reducing piracy a bunch.

Personally, I ordered a couple copies of the Home Premium Upgrade at $50 each because I felt this was a reasonable price. The upgrade discs should be fine since I can just pop in an old XP disc prior to install to "validate" my upgrade. So for me, my purchase came down to the reality that I could buy a full version of Win 7 Home Premium for $50.

 

[xeensd]

If windows 7 was 129 for pro I would think it was worth it.
My pricing:

$99 for Home
$129 Pro
$179+ Ultimate

A family pack of home should be $300 (or less) for 5 licenses
add $100 for Pro and $200 for Ultimate.

I hope Vail doesn't gouge this much... I was hoping for a $200 price range...

 

[fausto]

I have 3 pc's and 2 laptops in the house. A family pack would be awesome. I'm basicly going to hold out for the OEM version and pay 100 or less...and i will probably wait for service pack 1.

I think microsoft charges money for an O/S like is something your life depends on. they need to get real.

family pack with 5 licenses for 100 bucks doesn't sound bad to me. if they want fast adoption they need to get real.

 

[fausto]

i don't like to do the upgrade dvd path, i prefer full install. that's why i'm not buying the reduced pricing they just put out. i like to do a clean install like most of us gamers. waiting for the OEM is what i will do.

 

[sublifer]

[citation][nom]bizi[/nom]What?? Both nVidia and AMD hardware/driver have always supported OpenGL. OpenGL is not new...[/citation]
If you didn't realize I was talking about the new OpenGL 3.0 spec. then you haven't been keeping up with your tech homework.
http://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/VirtualPressRoom/0,,51_104_543~130913,00.html
Thought I heard reference to having supported hardware coming out but maybe its just drivers (?)

 

[midnightgun]

Microsoft should do away with the Upgrade prices / options and just have the software available for the upgrade price.

Also multi license packs wouldn't be a bad idea.

 

[IronRyan21]

It took an analyst to figure this out. I would have said that for free!

 

[fulle]

DRM and License protection doesn't do much to prevent piracy... 2D Boy ran some analysis a while back on one of their game (Wold of Goo?), I don't recall to be honest, but they were trying keeping track of how many people payed for their games when at different price points, and determine if DRM would help, and so on. Other larger companies, big and small have run similar numbers.

What we see in a game like, say, Sins of a Solar empire, is that if you offer software for a fair price a large number of people will buy it, whether its easy to pirate or not. In cases where DRM and license protection are implemented, piracy isn't reduced at all. Raise the price a little, and piracy doesn't really increase. Raise the price alot, like Adobe, and most of the copies out there will be pirated. Add intrucive DRM and copy protection (like having to call Microsoft to install an OS you payed for on a system rebuild), and most of the copies of the software out there will be pirated.

So, thinking about his logically, looking at general trends in consumer behavior in regards to purchasing software... I guess Microsoft wants us to pirate their OS. They can't possibly expect someone to pay 200 bucks for limited activations, do they?

I like Windows 7, I want to buy Windows 7 (I want the EU version TBPH), but the only reasonable priced option they're giving me is a fucking upgrade disk on a limited pre-order sale. Give me the option to buy the full version of your software legit, not an upgrade, not limited offer, at a fair price. And don't make me call after I image my PC a few times. They do that, and they get my money, and sales to countless others who would have otherwise pirated their OS.

 

[bizi]

[citation][nom]sublifer[/nom]If you didn't realize I was talking about the new OpenGL 3.0 spec. then you haven't been keeping up with your tech homework.http://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate [...] 13,00.htmlThought I heard reference to having supported hardware coming out but maybe its just drivers (?)[/citation]
They also both support OpenGL 3.0, you need D3D10 hardware and the latest driver. OpenGL also brings geometry shaders and other D3D10+ features to all non Vista operating systems.

 

[ethaniel]

They don't want to sell the software, they want to rent it. Microsoft prefers u$s10 a month rather than 200 bucks at once.

 

[sanchz]

I know MS has high costs to get a new OS working OK and better than the previous one.
However, putting prices down ($70 for Home Premium FULL license; $40 for upgrade) would ceirtanly help us all, and reduce piracy significantly. It's simple logic: lower prices = higher sales = more profit (they will probalby learn this from the pre-order offer).
I live in Argentina and believe me, no one ever considers the original version of windows. The only PCs with legit OS are OEM ones from dell, HP, etc. Not even local system builders install original windows versions into their PCs. I have an original OEM XP and will upgrade to Win 7 considering the low pre-order price (a friend will buy it and send it to me). I just use original OSes because I know pirated versions have problems with updates and stability (and some have viruses).
A 3 license per copy would make much sense to me, too.

 

[bakaneko]

a typical PC game cost $50 on amazon. a full OS (home premium) cost $200. a PC game last a few months before it get out dated and you don't use it 12hr/day (except those game addicts). A OS last a few years and runs the computer. is $200 that bad? given those who buy pre-assembled PC, the OS is OEM and much cheaper. DIY users will likely buy the OEM version of the OS which cost around $120, slightly more than double of a PC game.

are we getting too cheapskate here?

 

[suddenstop]

Vista was a disaster and every single copy should have a free upgrade to windows 7.

M$ makes a fortune in corporate sales of their crappy software. I don't want 10 versions of windows, and i don't want less functionality than windows xp.

Home versions should be 50-100 max including family packs. Stop screwing the little guy.

How many OEM copies are paid for, and then imaged or formatted with something else. Reality is M$ is charging Dell one thing and home users another. If this was some fantastic new product that would be one thing - but gee maybe a stable OS is that a big deal?

 

[xxsk8er101xx]

Windows XP home upgrade was 99 dollars; full was $199
Windows XP Pro upgrade was $199; full was $299

Did anyone complain about the windows xp pricing?

Windows vista home premium upgrade is $122.99; full $224.99
Windows vista Business upgrade is 187.99; full $278.99
Windows vista ultimate upgrade is 199.99; full $249.99

Now if I remember Microsoft slashed prices on vista and these aren't the original prices.

Windows 7 Home upgrade is $99.99; full $199.99
Windows 7 pro upgrade is $199.99; full $299.99
Windows 7 ultimate upgrade is $219.99; full N/A

Ok so you guys are mad because Microsoft dropped the vista silliness and went back the windows XP flavors and pricing?

 

[Gin Fushicho]

7 home: $75 7 pro: $115 7 ultimate: $150

I'd pay that. and I still think they should have called it 7 "complete" instead of ultimate. sounds better. and they dont sound like a broken record.

 

[afrobacon]

Honestly, these prices are a bit out of my budget. If it were cheaper I wouldn't be seeking alternative ways of getting my hands on the software.

 

[ssddx]

Seems that people still fail to realize why microsoft windows seems to cost more money.

-Windows will always cost much more than mac-os. ms is not getting the cash from hardware sold, only software.

-$100/$200 back in the day for xp was thought to be more expensive than what we look at now. Inflation anyone?

-Microsoft knows people will purchase its os. windows supports almost all programs, making it the ideal choice.

----

As more my opinion?

I would prefer if windows was offered with the 3 licenses or so like XP. Perhaps either that or cheap add-on licenses for your household (like cell phone plans have)

Ultimate edition does seem to cost a bit too much as a full-retail copy. With what you get over Home/Pro it does not seem to be worth the difference. That said, I dont need to buy ultimate.

That said: even if the os was $600 flat. if you used the computer for 10hrs/week and it lasted for 2 years.. $00.57/hour or $5.76/week to have the os. I pay more for a quick lunch than that..

----

As to all of the people seeking to "find alternative ways to get the software"...

You people make me sick. This is the same thing as stealing a new car because you do not think they are worth their price. Well, that and leaching from your grandmom's savings account because you feel she doesn't need the money. Find all the excuses you want: In all ways you are in the wrong.

 

[Guest]

I hope they try to sell it for $400 a copy.....
Then we can finally be finished with this whole proprietary OS bullshit.

 

[randomizer]

[citation][nom]bdunn[/nom]I hope they try to sell it for $400 a copy.....Then we can finally be finished with this whole proprietary OS bullshit.[/citation]
They do outside the US. Perhaps you people should Google the prices of Windows 7 in the UK and Australia. I don't think Microsoft prices things badly in the US, I just think they use an unethical (not surprising for big corporations to be unethical) location-based pricing model, where the US gets it half the price of everywhere else. And no, this is not talking about pre-ordering, this is talking about normal prices. Most countries don't even have the option to pre-order.

 

[jacobdrj]

I wouldn't have a problem with the price if their tech support was covered by it too. But their tech support consists of 'online help' and other support that costs $50+ per call.

 

[inmytaxi]

i'd pay for it if it was fifty bucks

 

[Guest]

Geez - what planet are these guys living on? After putting up with Vista and all its problems (and paying though the nose for the 'privilege'), Micro$oft should be paying me to switch to Windows 7.