RSSMicrosoft Details Vista RC1, Pricing
By Ed Oswald | Published September 5, 2006, 2:13 PM
Microsoft on Tuesday further elaborated on its plans for RC1 of Windows Vista, including a confirmation of its planned retail pricing for the next-generation operating system and plans to expand the Customer Preview program (CPP) to five million testers.
The long holiday weekend also gave testers and pundits a chance to pour over Redmond's latest build of Vista, and some of Microsoft's biggest supporters had harsh words for the software maker.
Current members of the CPP will receive the code during this week. Microsoft will also open the program to new enrollments following the code's release. Additionally, readers of select worldwide technology publications will also receive DVDs along with the magazines, the company said.
"Now that we're expanding the Windows Vista Customer Preview Program, an even broader audience will get to experience just how much Windows Vista has to offer," said Mike Sievert, corporate vice president for Windows Client Marketing. "The expansion of the CPP program really sends a strong message to the industry and our customers: the time to prepare for Windows Vista has arrived."
In addition to the testing expansion, Microsoft also provided guidance on its planned pricing structure, and what each version would entail (all prices in USD):
- Vista Home Basic: $99.95 for upgrade, $199 for the full version;
- Vista Home Premium: $159 for upgrade, $239 for the full version;
- Vista Ultimate: $259 for upgrade, $399 for the full version;
- Vista Business: $199 for upgrade, $299 for the full version; and
- Vista Enterprise: available for Microsoft Volume license customers, and not available for retail purchase.
The company urged its partners to begin testing RC1 to ensure that their products work with Vista before the operating system is released later this year to manufacturers, and to consumers in January of next year. However, the company did not announce a specific release date with Tuesday's news.
Reaction to RC1 over the weekend, and the official announcement of pricing was notably mixed. Some pointed to the scant ten percent discount families would receive on volume licensing as a major issue.
"Microsoft's pricing people quite obviously don't understand how significantly family-friendly bundles would increase adoption rates, and it's a real shame," Robert McLaws wrote for LonghornBlogs.com. "I'm beating the drum to some of my executive contacts at Microsoft, doing everything I can to get them to readdress this issue before RTM."
Longtime Microsoft cheerleader Paul Thurrott said Vista's inconsistencies are a huge problem with the OS. "What's up with the glaringly inconsistent UI across Windows Vista and all of its applications?" he wrote in a post to Windows SuperSite on Monday. "Why isn't there a team of people just working on consistency issues?"
Blogger Chris Pirillo seemed to agree. "Sadly, the first release candidate for Windows Vista feels more like an alpha to me (or early beta, at best)," he wrote. "No, it's all about a cohesive user experience / user interface for me. Vista fails on most UI fronts."
Not all was negative. Microsoft MVP Brandon LeBlanc said that Vista "is on the right track," although he said the biggest problem facing Microsoft is driver support issues.
"If Microsoft can help hardware manufacturers develop better driver support and make a huge effort to make Vista's UI shine-up, I think Vista can easily become the biggest Windows release since Windows 95," LeBlanc mused.
if i had a dollar for every time i hear
" (insert non ms os here) is better and or free"
I say good for you but most of the world does not care. The average user(probably no one that visits this site) doesn't know enough or simply cares enough to bother with something other than the industry standard os. Critical mass is important for the business side, they need large amount of support that is generated where everyone runs virtually the same os, regardless if it is windows, unix, or whatever. Unfortunatly volume is the most efficiant way this whole thing runs in an imperfect world.
better is a relative term. unity is more important because it increases entropy.
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I have one word for all Windows users...Ubuntu. FREE!
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ROFL... I have two words for Vista fans...Ubuntu+XGL. FREE DEE!
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I looked at vista Beta 2, but there is a lot of problems with compatibility, so I went back to Xp, I doubt very much if I will bother buying vista. at least with XP I know the software Ihave will work, my hardware will work most future software will also work. As for security, I doubt vista is any more secure than XP and at the end of the day even if it is, it won't be for long and I also think vista have too much hand holding and is too strong on DRM.
I am not a great fan of Microsoft, but I know that to run the software I want, I need windows, but I am certainly not paying out for another windows which more or less does the same thing that XP does.
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I dont understand what the complaning is about, for the basic products prices remain the same.
Home Basic 99 upg 199 full basic features no Aero
Home Pre 159 upg 239 full - contains Aero, Media Center, and Technologies for Tablet PC
Buisness 199 upg 299 full contains features of Home Pre except Media Center, but can connect to domain, also requires activation
Enterprse(vol lic only) contains featues of Buisness, plus bitlocker, a UNIX subsystem, and Virtual PC express, doesnt require activation
Ultimate 259 upg 399 full contains all the features of Home and Buisness
Features are clearly outlined pay for what you want/need.
Home Basic same pricing model as XP Home
Buisness same pricing model as XP Pro, do your home work
Donovan
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...
"the pricing goes
against the grain
of trying to woo
new customers
away from Apple
and Linux"
...
The installed desktop base of either Apple or
Linux (or both combined) is so small as to be
inconsequential.
WinVista's ~real~ competitor is WinXP.
Or, for that matter, the millions of people
still using Win98 on their machines !
...
The Computer Rodent
...
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With 5 editions in the normal lineup, it kinda makes me wonder what variations will show up packaged with machines...
Maybe they upped the price because they're anticipating not being able to con businesses into buying Software Assurance after that turned out to be a big waste of money.
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I agree with Therott and Pirillo, but I also feel the pricing goes against the grain of trying to woo new customers away from Apple (on one end) and Linux (on the other). They sure aren't trying to sway anyone too much. It seems that their habit for resting on their market share is still a big problem for them.
I've been testing since "alpha" (I guess we should be calling that "pre-beta1" now though). I'm not excited from what I see, even in build 5536. It's "ok", but is it a must-have for XP users? Not at all. Sorry, I don't see the urgency in this anywhere. Most of the real meat in Vista could have been pushed into XP as SP3 if they wanted to, but revenue is king.
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oh wow ultimate costs as much as the xbox 360.. and i still dont know what it has to benefit over xp pro..
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benefits?
for 1st it won't install on trolling machines like one of yours... so we will be happy not to have you in our "vista" community...
in other words, shut up troll, go and read something and then return...
in other other words, what about IIS 7.0 or new MEDIA CENTER or DX10 or gazillion times better security than XP or or...or... or... (add anything, XP is aging rapidly.)
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He's not trolling, he has valid concerns. Just because he hasn't heard of the new features doesn't make him a Troll.
I myself won't be buying Vista. At that price I have no qualms to hanging onto the free RC until it deactivates. I have things more worth buying (Nintendo Wii for one).
As for features, the best place to find info is Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Vista
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...
"Those higher prices
must not have gone over
very well, a finding
consistent with the
vast majority of
sentiments echoed here
by the more sensible
BetaNews readers and
contributors"
...
Sadly, there's a contingent of Microsoft fans
here that are sounding more and more everyday
like Mac fanatics.
Either accept without question or complaint
~whatever~ Microsoft does ...or you're no good !
The PC Rat sez: Microsoft ain't a religion, and
you can use their products and STILL criticize
ther flaws.
[ In fact, there's a lot to be said that Microsoft
could improve by listening to it's critics. ]
The proposed pricing structure more than anything
is a gimick to squeeze extra cash out of novices
giving credence to buzz words like "Premium" and
"Ultimate".
It's difficult, however, to see the value-to-price
benefit from "Home" to "Premium" and -especially-
from "Premium" to "Ultimate".
...
The Computer Rodent
...
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...
Ok, so getting Windows Media Center will cost
an extra $40 to $60 [the jump from "Home" to
"Premium"].
Individual users will have to decide if WMC is
~really~ worth that much.
It's very difficult to see the value, though, in
going from "Premium" to "Ultimate" for an extra
$100 to $160.
Microsoft is sort of getting like General Motors
where it's tough distinguishing between a Chevy
Impala and a Chevy Malibu.
They're hoping to maximize their profit, but the
effect may be the opposite.
...
The Computer Rodent
...
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Worst things I have heard (if you have the hardware) is that the Nvidia drivers aren't so great so people who play high-end games like EQ2, that run great in XP crash a lot (cause of drivers, not resources in these cases) in Vista...otherwise heard RC1 is pretty sweet if you have the hardware.
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I had the drivers crash once under B2, best part of it was that Windows automatically reloads them with no rebooting, that was sweet.
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Compared to Office 2007, Vista Ultimate is a bargain.
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These are still ridiculous prices, even the upgrade prices. And I bet sales will be very slow at these prices. (Despite what Microsoft will claim)
And the ONLY reason Microsoft released beta versions to people was to get them hooked on using it, thinking they will be forced to buy it when its released. Its the only way they can lure people in.
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"Microsoft Details Vista RC1 Pricing"
Change the title.
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Anything product which requires this much pre-selling and spin-doctoring significantly in advance of its actual release must be seen by its producer as a likely bust when consumers finally have opportunity to get their hands on it. The situation must be far worse regarding Vista's status and features than Microsoft will openly admit at present.
And finally someone else (i.e., Chris Pirillo) sees Microsoft is very frequently no longer releasing honest-to-goodness beta versions of many products, but in reality only mid-stage alpha versions. However, many users are so new at beta testing, or excited about being Microsoft guinea pigs for some decidedly obscure reason(s), that they will make any excuse they can for bugs and "features" which should have immediately been discovered by Microsoft's in-house focus group of day-care toddlers.
And last, that was quite the market probe by Microsoft a week or so ago to leak pricing information via Amazon's taking of pre-orders. Those prices, if I recall correctly, were a good deal higher than those mentioned in this article. Those higher prices must not have gone over very well, a finding consistent with the vast majority of sentiments echoed here by the more sensible BetaNews readers and contributors.
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Vista Schmista, I will wait for XP-Pro licences to be on clearence and finially be legit :p
Then I will be done buying OS's and computers for another ten years.
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So you used Windows 95 until last year?
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I am 56 the only reason I mention that is, in 1995 Microsoft charged a nominal price for Windows95,although times and technologies have changed the operating costs that you and me and the worlds businesses are coughing up to feed our desire to procure the best software is beginning to get alarming. We are headed for a computing future based not on fair business practices, but costs, and Microsoft is leading the way.
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it's taken how many years to fix XP, and still a flaky OS. The price is contempt of good judgenment toward Microsoft, i won't and think now more than ever that Linux is the way. Arrogance and greed and Microsoft hayday may be over. I download the Beta 2 and i had to reformat, crashed my PC. No Thanx.
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I installed RC1 this weekend and it has come a long way since Beta 2, that was basically a wreck. This build is considerably faster and more stable. I experienced a few crashes of Explorer and other misc little glitches. It was heavy on my system so I went back to XP. I have 1.8GHz P4 512MB RAM.
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10% discount on volume licensing? Wow, I got spoiled having that activation free version of XP from school! I think I'll stick with it, too, since I have 6 PCs in my house.
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Twats like you are why we have product activation.
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Microsoft is why we have product activation.
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No one with any intelligence would brag about that. So he is either lying or he is a complete moron. Or a little of both.
If we did not have losers like you laughing about stealing software then we wouldnt have so many rules and regulations and whatnot.
Keep it to yourself moron.
Stealing an operating system is just foolish...when Linux is free.
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No, Microsoft came to the game later on Activation tahn many others, though it has been overly bearing about it compared to others...still think about the dude above and you'll understand why.
I got my XP Pro when I bought my Dell new 3 years ago!
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There will be no activation free versions of Vista...
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he's referring to acedemic priced software Microsoft sells around colleges. Office 2003 Pro only costs like $199. Only catch is that you have to install it fresh/clean, no upgrade option in it.
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I'm waiting for Vista RTM before installing on my main PC.
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