Great to see MS selling a cheap multi-license. If only it was for ultimate. The pricing is quite artificial, not quite as bad as lasering cores off of a GPU to make a cheap version, but since it theoretically costs nothing (<$5 packaging, optical disk) to sell any version of the Windows from Basic to Ultimate, and since people only have so much to spend on an operating system, why not give it all to them? Why not make premiums in/to cover expanded tech support instead, maybe cheap windows is limited to service packs, no individual KBs for basic users (no DRM on the KBs, just no access to windows update, people would have to share the files themselves, saving MS server/bandwidth money...)
Its hard to develop alternate payment schemes when your in the dark in regards to a simple break down of a companies operating costs, I don't no where to look for that and have to use an educated guess as to were M$ $ go... )
Due to the artificiality of it all and the difficulty (near impossibility) of stopping piracy, Microsoft and other vendors of expensive software should think less about trying to make there virtual product like a practical one, and focus more on encouraging people to contribute to covering Microsoft's costs and funding its 'future development' *(giving them money) in exchange for access to stuff. With more perks.
*Maybe Ultimate should come with $25 of MS stock? From 1985, if possible.
The other dilemma I face in attempting to convince myself to buy a copy of a Windows operating system is the tiered pricing. I could maybe afford the premium family pack, but then I'd feel ripped off, not having the best and instead having a version that has been stripped of some capability. This weighs on a buyers psyche (mine AT LEAST) and in some cases may moralize piracy ( I shy away from it but am quite hesitant to use the word crime in reference to it) . If people give you over $100 for software, give them your best...
I, on the other hand, am quite happy to use a free and legal version (time limits don't jive with me but I know how to dual boot and usally reformat WAY before 6 months anyway) even if it means
I can't use all of my RAM.
Maybe this deserved its own thread, I was planning on releasing a micro-essay on Microsoft pricing, but I thought a little note at the this appropriate point in a thread would be easier. But then this happened.
If Microsoft doesn't smarten up, I'll focus my life on starting a software company that will convert any game ever designed to work on Direct X to work on OpenGL Linux at a price development studios could never refuse. Also, law. 
My money/time may literally be better invested in Ubuntu or elsewhere.
Oh, and
Yeah.....Mac's for never. If your stupid with money, hire a nerdy guy to build you a shiny skinny P.C. 
