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Hidden Fees Discovered For "Free" Windows 7 Upgrade

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the nothing-is-free dept.

An anonymous reader writes 'Thousands of recent computer purchasers who are expecting to receive free upgrades to Windows 7 when it is released on October 22 may be surprised to learn that some big computer makers are quietly tacking on hefty processing fees as high as $17 to mail out those disks to some buyers.' How about they process $0 to click a link and download a file?

19 of 406 comments (clear)

  1. Digital distribution has been needed for a while by Fittysix · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The RTM of windows 7 has been out for 2 months now? 3 by the street date of Oct 22nd.
    This time is of course used for manufacturing, marketing, etc.
    Meanwhile they should be offering fully updated ISOs directly on the windows site for everyone and anyone to download - the OS itself contains its own validation so there's no harm in letting anyone download it. Then you buy your key digitally with a steam-like system, this would even benefit Microsoft by serving as a key registration system.

    --
    *.sig
  2. similar to Snow Leopard by InsertWittyNameHere · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Similar to paying $9.99 for going from Leopard to Snow Leopard (if you bought a Mac with Leopard recently).

    It's annoying but it's not hefty.

    And in this (Win7) case the price seems to be a manufacturer thing and not a MS thing. Ranging from $0 to $17.

    1. Re:similar to Snow Leopard by gbarules2999 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I agree. On the dial-up our neighbors have next door, it would take a good month to download Windows 7. I may be a biased Linux user at times, but blasting Microsoft for the OEMs that are sending out DVD's seems a bit backwards. Perhaps that price is a bit high, but hey, look on the bright side - an OEM is giving you a disc of Windows for once, and they're not charging full price for it.

    2. Re:similar to Snow Leopard by commodore64_love · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yeah except Microsoft and the stores are saying Win7 is a free upgrade. Misleading and deceptive. Like when I visited a car dealer and "won" an 1 gigabyte MP4 player for "free". Yeah the actual item may have been technically free, but the S&H cost $30 so basically I paid for it.

      I returned it and now I'm going after paypal to get a refund, since the battery only lasted 15 minutes. What good is that?

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
    3. Re:similar to Snow Leopard by Dunbal · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Yes because it costs nothing to dedicate floor space and people to package and label and track products, and make sure they get on the right UPS/FedEx truck.

      Sure, it could be built into the item's cost, but it doesn't cost the same to ship an item to New York or to Zimbabwe. Which is why it's usually listed as a separate charge. But hey, if you feel "ripped off", then don't buy it.

      --
      Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
  3. Get rid of Vista for $17? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    When I mentioned this to my office colleague, he said $17 was a quite a bargain if that's what it takes to it makes Vista go away.

  4. $0 to click and download a file by Xest · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Because of course the infrastructure to serve 3gb of data to each customer doesn't cost anything?

    Not that I'm defending the practice of charging for a free upgrade, free upgrades should be free, postage free too, but suggesting doing it digitally means there would be no cost is ignorant. In the UK with the extortionate costs of bandwidth I think posting a CD first class via Royal Mail might in fact be cheaper.

    A lot of people would just want to stick the Windows 7 DVD they receieve through the post in the drive too. Downloading an ISO and knowing how to burn an ISO rather than copying the file across like they do usually when writing CDs (if they've ever even written one before) would be too much for some users.

    1. Re:$0 to click and download a file by GaryOlson · · Score: 4, Funny
      OK, let me summarize what Xest said in a different manner:

      --If you are not of the computer literate and want to upgrade to Windows 7, the $17 shiny thing seems like a bargain.

      --If you are of the computer literate and don't know a method for downloading the Windows 7 iso, turn in your Slashdot ID; you are banished.

      --
      Every mans' island needs an ocean; choose your ocean carefully.
    2. Re:$0 to click and download a file by Xest · · Score: 4, Informative

      See here for costs on the current generation network:

      http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/2111-cbc-pricing-by-bt-wholesale-holding-back-uk-broadband.html

      At absolute best (which no ISP ever manages to achieve), it costs them 52p per gigabyte of data, so around £1.56 to allow you to download Windows 7. Realistically, if you check somewhere like PlusNet their out of allowance charges are £1.74 per 2gb of data, so around £2.61 to download Windows 7 for an end user at retail.

      Oh and er, a 1st class stamp in the UK costs only 36p, envelopes cost next to nothing in bulk, so around 40p so far, call it 50p once you've printed the labels and posted and that's ignoring Royal Mail's bulk discounts and such.

      21cn costs are here, but this isn't rolled out to most of the UK:

      http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/2111-cbc-pricing-by-bt-wholesale-holding-back-uk-broadband.html

      However, it's still well over the 36p price.

      The reason you don't know the first thing about bandwidth costs is because you probably use consumer ADSL or similar and don't actually use that much bandwidth. If you do then you're likely being subsidised as that's how many ISPs work, low end users don't use anywhere near their bandwidth limits so are paying to subsidise other users.

      Still, at the end of the day my point stands, it's much cheaper to just post the discs first class than it is to setup an infrastructure (which costs on top of the bandwidth costs) for downloading. The above of course is just the costs for the consumer also, chances are you'll have your own bandwidth charges on top at the server side. If you provide a download then, the consumer may be paying 3 to 5 times as much as if you post it and charge them for the stamp and envelope etc.

  5. Oh nos! by goldmaneye · · Score: 5, Funny

    Not the dreaded upgrad fees! Those sound expensive!

  6. Digital Dist is NOT FREE! by slasher999 · · Score: 4, Informative

    I don't get in today's age of informed individuals how people still think digital distribution is "free". Maybe your personal site is dirt cheap, but larger companies that use a ton of bandwidth pay a fortune for that bandwidth and the management and guarantees that go along with it. I work for a small company that doesn't have a large website and we do nothing like digital dist, but our bandwidth still costs over $2m per year. I agree downloads vs sending disks would be cheaper, but saying it would be free is just plain ignorant.

    1. Re:Digital Dist is NOT FREE! by amoeba1911 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      If you are paying $2million/year for the bandwidth of a small company that doesn't have a large web site and doesn't do digital distribution, you're overpaying by a whole lot.

      It sounds like:
      A. you're getting majorly ripped off
      B. your company claiming to be spending $2m/year but in fact paying a lot less and pocketing the rest of the money
      C. all the computers in your company are a zombies spamming 2 million emails per day and performing dos attacks
      D. your employees are undercover couriers for 0day warez scene
      E. you're an idiot who really doesn't know anything and you make up nonsense

      http://gigaom.com/2008/10/07/wholesale-internet-bandwidth-prices-keep-falling/

  7. Heft? by revxul · · Score: 5, Funny

    While not the free promised, the terms hefty and $17 haven't been used together since the 1930s.

    --
    Truth, Just Us, And Hatred For All Mankind!
    1. Re:Heft? by ErroneousBee · · Score: 4, Funny

      While not the free promised, the terms hefty and $17 haven't been used together since the 1930s.

      Excellent, I have a volunteer.

      I shall be at your door shortly with a sock and $17 in loose change.

      --
      **TODO** Steal someone elses sig.
  8. Strange I Wasn't Charged Any Fees by dracphelan · · Score: 4, Informative

    I recently purchased an Acer laptop (hey, it was cheap and I'm just using it for surfing). Since I didn't choose overnight shipping, it was free. I may not get the DVD for a week or so. But, I'm not in a hurry either. I think this really depends on the shipping you choose and the manufacturer you buy from.

  9. Re:The OS is free, not... by noundi · · Score: 5, Funny

    But, yeah a download or something would be a neat idea, but then it would likely be hacked in like 2 seconds.

    As opposed to any other software ever released by MS?

    --
    I am the lawn!
  10. Re:Digital distribution has been needed for a whil by MBGMorden · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I think that exposes the truth of copyrights to consumers a bit too clearly for corporate comfort.

    Windows has traditionally been about receiving the product. You go to the store, give them that ungodly sum that they charge, and then come home with your shiny box and DVD. Now, online distribution is coming up, and Microsoft likely will go that way, but allowing them access to the whole thing before buying a key puts the issue into the spotlight too much. They've already downloaded the system for free, and now they'd be paying several hundred dollars for a code to unlock it. At that point even the simplest minded consumer will put together that all they really paid for was that key and the other stuff costs really nothing (which has always been the case, but it's not been so obvious).

    If Microsoft only allows a download after paying the fee then there's still some level of abstraction. IE, the consumer feels like they're buying at least a big file.

    Just my take on the issue anyways.

    --
    "People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
  11. Because transportation wants to be free! by Savior_on_a_Stick · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "Shipping and Handling" is a scam in whatever form it takes. This is especially true when those charges are excessive.

    Yes - charging shipping to pass along a variable, customer dependent charge is outrageous!

    Get back under your bridge.

  12. Re:Digital distribution has been needed for a whil by TwistedGreen · · Score: 4, Informative

    Really? I'm a student in Canada and I got my CD key for Windows 7 for $0 from the Microsoft Academic Alliance (MSAA).