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Vista to be Downloadable (Legally)

Posted by Zonk on from the hopefully-in-a-burnable-format dept.

ubermiester writes "InfoWorld reports that Windows Vista will be available for legal download as of January 30th — the same day it will be available in retail stores. MS-NBC Online notes that, 'a relatively low number of computer users are likely to get Vista by downloading it from the Internet, but the mere availability indicates that Microsoft is fiddling with distribution methods for the extremely profitable franchise at the core of its business.' It will be available via the MS Marketplace site in conjunction with a Circuit City offering. Additionally, users who decide to 'upgrade' to a more expensive version of the OS can simply activate the features they want by unlocking them via online activation."

7 of 283 comments (clear)

  1. It would be cool if.. by JustNiz · · Score: 5, Interesting

    you could just activate the individual features you are interested in, rather than have to buy say vista ultimate just to get one feature you need that happens only to be in ultimate.

  2. OS Downloads by tehSpork · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ...a relatively low number of computer users are likely to get Vista by downloading it from the Internet...

    I would say that is accurate. If you're smart enough to be able to download Vista you can download your favorite Linux distro instead with less effort. It also stands a good chance of working with your hardware, unlike Vista. :)

    1. Re:OS Downloads by jZnat · · Score: 2, Interesting

      You do know that Linux already has the drivers for the devices, right? Devices only ship with drivers for Windows due to its abysmal hardware support without 3rd-party drivers.

      --
      'Yes, firefox is indeed greater than women. Can women block pops up for you? No. Can Firefox show you naked women? Yes.'
  3. Re:Vista already legally downloadble by fo0bar · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I have a MSDN subscription through work, and downloaded Office 2007 when it was released to subscribers a few months ago.

    (It's nice, for business use at least. I wouldn't pay for it at home (that's what OOo is for), but I love it when I switch to "business user" mode.)

  4. What about license transfers? by Timbotronic · · Score: 2, Interesting

    If I was buying Vista, I'd want to know that I could sell or transfer the license just as easily with a downloaded version as a boxed copy. Say 6 months later I belatedly see the light, decide to upgrade my machine to Ubuntu and sell my Vista license on eBay. I imagine that it'll be a lot harder to convince people it's genuine without a box, a physical DVD and a holographic sticker. Plus, I have to pay for a blank DVD to burn the download on.

    Regardless of the software you're buying that's a terrible value proposition. It doesn't make sense to me unless they're offering a substantial discount.

    On the other hand, I think this will actually be a good thing in countries like the UK where retail prices never reflect a fair currency conversion. (You poor Poms really do get screwed) A guess a lot of that mark up is tax, which for the moment most governments don't seen to have caught onto yet...

    --

    One of these days I'm moving to Theory - everything works there

  5. Re:A few problems by RandomPsychology · · Score: 1, Interesting

    And then, if a download did happen to be corrupt, one would assume that Microsoft would let you download the software as many times as you want (I mean, you paid for it, right??) I've seen way too many companies put a limit on the number of times a piece of software may be downloaded and it's just an absurd business model. Bandwidth isn't *that* expensive.

  6. Re:It should be true... by Spike15 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Whether it's for general use, or just to have a look, who wants a locked-down, glorified media OS on their machine? I sure don't. It's a great gaming OS...so...being a gamer...I do...