Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Windows Vista Prices and Release Date Leaked

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the keep-that-stuff-quiet-if-you-don't-want-us-to-know dept.

Nieske writes "Prices and the release date for Windows Vista have leaked online. Ed Bott's Microsoft Report has information on pricing, and the release date is currently January 30th, 2007. Are they really going to make the deadline this time?" From the ZDNet article: "In Canada, at least, the rumors of a 'modest' price increase were true, based on this list. Will these same relative prices hold true in the U.S.? Who knows? But if they do, then it's mostly good news for Windows customers. There's no price increase for Home Basic. Home Premium, the Vista version that maps most closely to the OEM-only Windows XP Media Center Edition, will finally be available as a retail product for a slight bump over the Home Basic product, similar to the $39 premium typically charged by large OEMs for Media Center upgrades. And Vista Business buyers will get a break with a small discount relative to XP Professional."

4 of 378 comments (clear)

  1. from the article, price list by Dance_Dance_Karnov · · Score: 3, Informative

    FULL versions (all prices Canadian)

            Windows Vista Ultimate $499

            Windows Vista Business $379

            Windows Vista Home Premium $299

            Windows Vista Home Basic $259

            UPGRADE versions (all prices Canadian)

            Windows Vista Ultimate Upgrade $299

            Windows Vista Business Upgrade $249

            Windows Vista Home Premium Upgrade $199

            Windows Vista Home Basic Upgrade $129

    I didn't do the conversion to real money.

    1. Re:from the article, price list by Jarnis · · Score: 5, Informative

      I work at a VAR and went thru a very long and convoluted email exchange with Microsoft about this.

      The end result is: OEM is tied to a computer. However, you can change anything except the motherboard, and it's still the same computer. You can also exchange the board if it's due to a 'defect'.

      And 'defects'... well, accidents happen. It's a dangerous world.

      Only drawback is that once you do change motherboard, you are required to activate the copy over the phone, and if it was a big-name OEM (those that don't normally ask for product key when you use the recovery disc), you may have to replace the key that's on the OEM sticker with a replacement issued by MS phone support. But in the end, the license is still valid - as long as the board swap was due to 'defect' (or, essentially, if you lie it was due to a defect). So in reality OEM is transferrable, if you know what you are doing.

  2. Re:Not Quite by Martin+Blank · · Score: 3, Informative

    Microsoft has been working up with OEMs to allow free upgrades to Vista for computers bought from October on through the actual release date. Customers wishing to upgrade will probably be provided free media to perform the upgrade, as I recall that's how it was handled when XP was nearing its release date.

    --
    You can never go home again... but I guess you can shop there.
  3. Re:It is now cheaper to buy a Mac by RzUpAnmsCwrds · · Score: 3, Informative

    Here's a point: ALL Mac OS X sales are upgrades because Mac OS X only runs on Macs which were already preloaded with OS X in the first place.

    Here's another point: Most people get their copy of Windows preloaded on a system. OEMs don't pay anywhere near retail for Windows XP. Windows XP Home, for example, is around $85-$90 for OEM System Builders and about 1/2 that for the big tier-1 OEMs.