New
#60
Great, but what is the difference between the upgrade and full versions?
Great, but what is the difference between the upgrade and full versions?
Microsoft's in such an awkward position. Microsoft couldn't survive by pricing at Apple's level, because all their money is just from the OS sales and not hardware. I think Apple is trying to force MS's hand - either make MS look out of touch for charging 3-7x as much for an upgrade, or be forced to lower OS price so much as to damage MS's finances (because, of course, it's not like MS is going to be expanding market share with a loss leader OS.)
It's brilliant on Apple's part. Cue the "I'm a Mac" ad in 3...2...1...
Microsoft makes most of their cash on Office. The vast majority of the rest comes from corporate Windows and OEM deals. This is just what Microsoft needs to make some cash on the early adopters who they know are their most influential salesmen. They also keep the Windows 7 "Good Feelings" going by giving us a price break. It's not like Apple and Microsoft are really at each other's throats -- Apple is and forever will be a niche player for the luxury crowd -- and that's a crowd rapidly diminishing in the US due to the economic woes. Microsoft will be seen as the good guy here by putting out 7 at a low price in tough times. No one can really compare the updates between Vista to 7 and Leopard to Snow Leopard with a straight face. So what if it's cheaper? Microsoft's been providing service packs for free forever -- and that's all Snow Leopard is.
I don't think dropping the price of 7 Home Premium (the consumer version) by $10 is going to keep the good feelings. SL and 7 are about equivalents in their OS families. SL is much more than a service pack, just like Vista was more than a glossy XP and 7 is more than a warmed-over Vista. But Home Premium Upgrade is 4x what SL upgrade is and MS doesn't offer any family packs of upgrades. This is going to cause a problem when a family has 5 computers (not that odd) - MS wants $580 to upgrade, Apple wants $50.
Apple is making a strong play for the mid-range market. A $1000 laptop is not "luxury". The 13" MBP is one of the best notebooks I've ever touched, and is relatively cheap for that sort of construction. And Apple is making a play toward the enterprise, with free exchange support and iPhone business features just being introduced.
What kind of upside down world is this when Apple computer might end up being a huge bargain? I don't think they'll ever win the market like MS has, as desktops and even notebooks as we know them have a limited life, but they're in a position to throw a wrench into MS's gravy train. It isn't all about the facts that MS makes its cash through OEMs and Apple through hardware. MS is just setting themselves up to be played as out of touch.
Sill looks like we should bend over and take it in the ***. WAY WAY WAY TOO EXPENSIVE FOR AN OS. Microsoft is only cheap with the upgrade and rapes with the Retail...for one reason: Most people can't use the upgrade because they are using pirated copies...and the irony is the only reason people use pirated copies is because we got raped on the last version of windows. When the F is Microsoft going to learn? If they made it affordable to everyone, they would make double the profit due to people actually buying it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So the upgrade is for both 32bit and 64bit on the same disk?
Since the only offer the one, I'm assuming that is the case.