VISTA boxed price drop 20% to 48%

3/1/2008 7:14:19 PM	VISTA boxed price drop 20% to 48%
winesong Bend, OR age: 60	from Yahoo Tech news... current page. Wine By JESSICA MINTZ, AP Technology Writer Fri Feb 29, 10:44 AM ET SEATTLE - Microsoft Corp. will cut the price of some versions of Windows Vista, the software maker said late Thursday. ADVERTISEMENT The move came a day after court filings revealed internal dissent over which Windows XP computers would be considered capable of running the new operating system — and a feeling on at least one executive's part that the company had "botched" the marketing of computers as "Vista Capable." Only copies of the year-old operating system that are sold in boxes directly to consumers are affected by the price cuts — not the versions pre-loaded on personal computers. The cuts will range from 20 percent to 48 percent. The reductions are to coincide with the late March release of Vista Service Pack 1, a collection of security fixes and other improvements. Microsoft said the new prices will apply to the Home Premium and Ultimate versions of Vista, in both their full editions and the editions that upgrade an older or more basic operating system. Both versions serve the tiny percentage of users who install an operating system on their own; most people get the latest version of Windows only when they buy a new PC. Windows Vista's January 2007 launch was plagued by delays. To keep consumers buying PCs in the holiday season of 2006, Microsoft and PC makers promised free Vista upgrades later to shoppers who bought Windows XP computers. At the launch, Microsoft was widely criticized for offering too many versions of the operating system — including Home Basic, which didn't have the snazzy new signature look called "Aero" — and for setting the price too high for the high-end versions. Brad Brooks, a corporate vice president for Windows marketing at Microsoft, said in an interview that the company has since tested lower prices and found "product was moving much, much faster." Brooks said he expects so many customers to buy Vista at the new prices that the price cuts will increase Microsoft's revenue, not subtract from it. A federal judge recently said consumers could pursue a class action suit against Microsoft for labeling PCs as "Vista Capable," even though many were not powerful enough to run all of Vista's features, including the Aero interface. Company e-mails produced in court chronicle Microsoft settling on a plan to market a wide range of XP-based PCs as "Vista Capable" after company officials realized in early 2006 that 30 percent or fewer of computers on the market could run the full-fledged version of Vista with Aero. That realization apparently caused computer makers like Dell Inc. to worry that people would stop buying PCs for almost a year — until Vista launched. The e-mails also showed Microsoft lowering the bar for "Vista Capable" to protect Intel Corp.'s sales of some widely used chips that weren't powerful enough for the full Vista experience. Microsoft employee Anantha Kancherla was particularly blunt in his March 2006 response to a question about whether a certain PC configuration would be considered "Vista Capable." "Based on objective criteria that exist today for "capable," even a piece of junk will qualify," he wrote. "For the sake of Vista customers, it will be a complete tragedy if we allowed it." According to the e-mails, Jim Allchin, the executive in charge of Windows at the time, wasn't involved in the decision to brand a wide swath of XP computers as "Vista Capable." Upon learning the details, Allchin wrote, "We really botched this."
3/2/2008 9:04:31 AM	VISTA boxed price drop 20% to 48%
chuckyk Portland, OR age: 60	I saw the story, too. IMHO the price cut is only good for people building new machines, i certainly would not recommend using an upgrade version of any Microsoft OS, way too many issues. Just going from XP to Vista would probably require more RAM for a start. Personally, I think the price cut is more hype than substance
3/2/2008 11:24:01 AM	VISTA boxed price drop 20% to 48%
winesong Bend, OR age: 60	Chuck, I think if you start out with 1 gig of ram, or as close as you can get to it, and then upgrade you will feel little discomfort. I upgraded an XP PRO laptop with 756 ram as I recall, to the BETA VISTA and it worked just fine..no problems that I can recall. I used it from Sept. until Feb. 07, when it was available for purchase. ............... pay a little attention this information........... Wanna know a little secret??? If you install the upgrade twice...it will register as a full version.. I was told by MSoft tech support. I did not register it the first time.. just did another upgrade install...NO problems... think of the MONEY I saved..from the FULL VERSION. Microsoft tech support walked me through the upgrade and told me step by step exactly how to do the upgrade, and NOT REGISTER IT the first go round. My machine now thinks I have a full version, not an upgrade...I love it! I still use XP PRO on two machines...just in case VISTA poops out..for any reason. Now see, bet you are glad you came to DH today. Wine
3/2/2008 7:24:33 PM	VISTA boxed price drop 20% to 48%
topdownweather Cranbury, NJ age: 60	Winesong, I just spoke to someone who's been beta-testing Vista since before it was called Longhorn, according to this person there's a world of difference between registering Vista and activating it. Registering it means letting MS know who has that copy of Vista, if you don't wish to identify yourself then no problem, they'll just identify that copy as installed on a particular CPUs unique serial number, that helps MS to know if the same disc is used on multiple machines. Activation, on the other hand, is where things get a bit stickier. Somewhere in your upgrade box there is an activation key that is used to uniquely identify where that copy of Vista is installed and on which particular CPU, that's the really important part. I'm not privy to the details of how it works but it will 'reach out' to MS to see if it is properly activated and/or not used on multiple machines beyond that allowed in the licensing agreement, then Vista will receive info back saying yea or nay. You can continue to boot if you don't activate with the proper key, but that copy will not work after 30 days. Since you have a legitimate key you should have no problems once you enter it. Regarding the RAM question, more is better and upgrading to 2GB is almost mandatory if you're doing any form of serious multitasking with multiple programs running and/or windows open simultaneously. NB- I am not affiliated in any way with MS nor am I a big fan of Vista instead prefering to use XP.
3/2/2008 8:42:32 PM	VISTA boxed price drop 20% to 48%
winesong Bend, OR age: 60	Topdown... I installed VISTA twice, I entered the product key only the second time per his instructions. It is fully registered, and has all the updates..to last week. It has been validated as genuine. The microsoft tech, on their 800 phone number, had me do it this way to avoid the UPGRADE...headaches... that can occur when you do not purchase full programs. [Edited 3/2/2008 8:43:16 PM]
3/4/2008 11:24:31 AM	VISTA boxed price drop 20% to 48%
chuckyk Portland, OR age: 60	Hi wine, how are are you. I love the tip, that's awesome My vista machine has 2gb RAM, my xp pro has 1gb, both run beautifully, they should I built them. My real comment was based on people's experience, I would start from a clean install using a non-upgrade version of Vista. Chuck
3/4/2008 1:35:11 PM	VISTA boxed price drop 20% to 48%
winesong Bend, OR age: 60	Chuck, I understand...the headaches with upgrade versions..been there! A couple of years ago....before I learned the little secret. Some folks cannot afford the FULL MEAL DEAL.... I could, fortunately, but choose not to. The upgrade is much more affordable for many..esp in these economic times. As I recall VISTA BUSINESS FULL program in a box was pretty expensive. $375.00? I purchased the UPGRADE from Costco for $175.00+/-. (I think,too long ago now) a year. I spent the money I saved on something fun...like more ram, or drinks, and dinner out or new shoes! I do not mind spending money on screens, ram, periferals, but I hate to overspend on programs. Love the programs at discount. Free is even better. Wine
3/4/2008 11:56:10 PM	VISTA boxed price drop 20% to 48%
chuckyk Portland, OR age: 60	Up until Jan. I worked part time at CompUSA, every year we had the opportunity to buy an Intel motherboard, processor and the latest MS OS at an outlandishly low price. Dual core 2, motherboard, Vista for $235. Those days are over now. All my security software, utilities, DVD/photo/music software are freebies, I hate paying for software too
3/6/2008 12:48:50 PM	VISTA boxed price drop 20% to 48%
jaxflorida Jacksonville, FL age: 54	Information I was given from friends and companies who build computers: People are most likely going to have to up-grade their hardware in order to handle Vista. They will need more RAM, a stronger CPU and possibly a different graphic card. Depending how old their system is they may need a new computer. Vista is not really stable and XP is better right now. My friends and companies I know were not trying to sell me a new computer. My local newspaper had an article about Vista. The article was entitled "Is Your Computer Vista Ready?" It mentioned the same things as I did above. For those of you who use IE as a browser MS is trying to push version 7.0.. Guess what- it's meant to be used with Vista machines. I downloaded IE 7 onto my Xp. I wondered why I was always crashing with it. All my other browsers including IE 6 were fine. I was told IE 7 was for Vista. Other people may do what they think is right but I'm staying away from Vista. As a matter of fact MS has a new system up its sleeve. I forget the name of it. It's suppose to replace or help make Vista better. Just my opinion.
3/6/2008 2:10:37 PM	VISTA boxed price drop 20% to 48%
winesong Bend, OR age: 60	I had an old Averatec laptop...small performance product. Celeron processor, 512 mb of ram. I installed VISTA BETA Sept. of 06...it ran... I increased the RAM to max the processor would allow...and it ran a little faster. In no event did it crash...or not run with the printer or other programs... at least for me. This was a TEST PIG computer...it it crashed, not a big deal. I love to try new things, and push my little machines pretty hard. I purchased VISTA Feb. 07...worked fine, still no crashes... I would use IE V 7 for the stability...and security. It really is a big improvement over version 6 for XP. I think it has been out for 2 years... I will be installing version 8, the day it is available on the test pig... Wonder what would be clashing with your XP and IE V 7....??? Must be another program, that conflicts.... Wine

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