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Windows 7 will launch around 22nd October this year and as predicted, Microsoft are doing a pre-launch/pre-order promotion which started last Wednesday both from their own sites and a number of other retail partners such as Amazon, PC World, Currys and so on, limited stock and on a first come first served basis.

Because of their on-going battle with Brussels, the EU versions come without internet Explorer web browser and are “Full Versions” as opposed to upgrades because they haven’t had the time to produce and test “Upgrade Versions” with IE8 removed if they want to keep to their world wide launch date.

Pricing on Wednesday 15^th July

Perhaps because I had participated in both the Beta and RC tests of Win 7 and was registered with Microsoft, I got an email from the Windows 7 team saying that the “pre-order promise” was open that day. Simply because I buy and have bought loads of stuff through Amazon and already have an account with them which means I don’t have to fill in lots of stuff on-line to buy anything, I ordered through them.

They offered a discount on the launch version which amounts to 50% on the projected retail price of say £190 for the Pro version two copies of which I pre-ordered through Amazon then for £90 each plus one copy of  Windows 7 Home Premium which is 32 bit and was also available at £44.

I was quite happy with that because I can remember back in 1996, a copy of NT4 Workstation costing me £220 including VAT and roughly speaking, ever since then Microsoft has pitched the retail price in the UK for PC/Workstations at about £200 all in.

People Don’t Buy Retail

Very few people buy the operating system retail, mainly it comes with the PC that they buy and they don’t upgrade the O/S until they change the PC.

The PC manufacturers get copies of Windows for a fraction of the price we pay retail but their copies of which you always get a back up with your new PC, will only work on their machines. So the first thing a Dell “Recovery CD” does is check via the BIOS that it is being installed on a Dell PC, if not it won’t run.

However, the versions I and others are getting are “agnostic” to brand and could be installed on “bare metal” – a machine without an operating system and any motherboard you like which is brilliant for someone like me who likes to “roll his own”…

Price Shock !

I read in the It Press how the Microsoft on-line store was swamped and how people had to keep on trying to get through to order and similar at the other retailers taking part such as Amazon, Currys, PC World and so on. Microsoft always said that stocks would be limited and sold on a first come first served basis, what would they do when they ran out I wondered ? The answer wasn’t long in coming !

This morning I logged in to pick up my mail which included a mailshot from Amazon about pre-ordering Windows 7 and when I looked at their site my reaction was “why bother ?” Home Premium is still at a reasonable discount to projected retail price but is now £75 an increase of £30 in a few days and the Pro version is no longer worth buying, it is almost full retail now at £180, it has doubled in price !

Still I got a good price on a good product and I wont have to pay up until late October because Amazon only bill on despatch so – excellent for me, a real result !

Of course three copies of 7 will not be enough because I have two other workstations and a Server on my network but the server is a ‘virtual machine’ and can stay as is and the other two which are already running Windows 7 RC, can continue to do so until next Summer and then depending on the situation, can be upgraded if the price is right or even, downgraded using software already bought and paid for such as x64 Vista and XP.

Want to Buy Me ?

If Microsoft want to pay me to leave the past behind, they may but, not at the current quoted Vista Upgrade prices and it is important to make a point here.

In order to support sales of computers, Microsoft through the manufacturers of PCs are doing a “free equivalent upgrade” offer. So if today you buy a Dell/HP/Lenovo/ Whatever PC with Vista Business for example, you are entitled to a free equivalent upgrade to Windows 7 at no cost to you.

The problem is that this also applies to retail Vista products which suddenly have hiked in price to a level that is ridiculous. Vista was such a total ‘dog’ that the only way Microsoft could move the product was via “OEM Sales”. For those who don’t know, OEM stands for “original equipment manufacturer” and the supposition is that this is the price Dell and HP pay for their Windows licences – in your dreams buddy,

I personally doubt that true OEM’s spent more than 30% of the retail price of OEM copies of Windows Vista ! However, the only way sales of such an unsuccessful product such as Vista could be achieved was via the retail market and by branding the bare metal product as OEM and pricing below £100 a copy which is what happened.

The bottom line is that it is a total lie and Microsoft increasing the upgrade price of Vista at this time is a total disgrace. In order to protect their margins on Windows 7 which they could easily and should, sell it at less than £100, they have decided to become the crooks we always knew them to be by charging through Amazon, Vista Home Premium Upgrade is now £132.25 and Vista Business &Upgrade, £178.52.

Windows 7 is a great product but the company behind it is still total scum !

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