“Microsoft announced its intention to slash the price of its latest OS, unveiled in January 2007,” Max Brenn reports for eFluxMedia.
“Citing as a reason, its desire to urge the adoption of Windows Vista, Microsoft said that the price of its Windows Vista Ultimate, the fully-featured version of the OS, will be $319 instead of $399,” Brenn reports. “Also, those who already own a copy of Windows XP or a version of Windows Vista will pay to upgrade to Ultimate only $219 and not $259.”
“Microsoft will also cut prices for upgrade versions of Vista Home Premium, its mainstream product, to $129 from $159. The price cuts will apply in 73 countries, but they could vary from one country to another,” Brenn reports. “Also, the software giant will stop selling ‘upgrade’ versions of Vista in emerging markets and it will instead sell Vista Home Premium and Home Basic, a stripped-down version, at the upgrade prices.”
Brenn reports, “PC World, the guys behind the ‘top 100 high-tech products of the year,’ has labeled the OS as one of the biggest disappointments of 2007.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “amex” and “Brawndo Drinker” for the heads up.]
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I discounted it as something worth anything some time ago. Glad to see that M$ is joining the parade!
You can’t make a silk purse (Leopard) out of a sow’s (Vista) ear.
SB sow’s ear (Vista).
if it’s free, I still don’t want it.
I do use XP in Parallels on my mac, but only when I have no choice.
Thanks for the laugh Redmond.
I like how they use the word “slash” in most articles about this when it’s a measly 20% price cut. When Apple cuts prices, the media says they “lowered” the price even though in many cases they practically cut the price in half. When Microsoft gives you what amounts to your sales tax back on an already overpriced product … it’s “slashing.”
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And in other interesting Redmond news…this found on MacFixit:
“When selected in the font menu Powerpoint 2008 displays them with a substitute/generic font that looks nothing like the selected font. This occurs without any warning or dialog box that a substitution has occurred.”
“Upon calling Redmond for help, Microsoft’s Mac Tech Support laughably told me after emailing them a bunch of sample files and enduring several long periods on hold that ‘the engineers writing the program decided no 3rd-party fonts were being supported in Office 2008 and that I could only use Microsoft fonts.'”
This has to be a joke…I hope
before you know who even posts…
No, again, we get it. not funny.
closeout on aisle number crap
“I think it’s probably important for me to tell our partners that, rest assured, we will never have a gap between Windows releases as long as the one between XP and Windows Vista,” Ballmer told thousands at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in Boston.
“Vista will be out next year. Vista has never been delayed. I mean, we had earlier conceptualizations, but the thing that is Vista is on its track.” – Ballmer
Pants on fire.
Obviously selling it off as Windows 7 will be hitting the streets in a month or so.
Where is the screaming about this ‘massive’ price cut from the horde of consumers who purchased a shrink-wrapped copy of Vista since its release…err…the dozens of Vista buyers, that is. I don’t see M$ giving out rebates to its early adopters who, by the way, got reamed (unlike the early iPhone buyers, who received the promised quality product).
I spoke with some more colleagues in the aerospace industry yesterday, and it is clear that the word of Mac is spreading. Many people who gradually migrated to Windows in the mid-1990’s, most of whom were pressured or forced to switch by IT departments and company with Windows and IE-centric policies, are showing interest once again.
Let’s not forget – when Steve lowered the price on the iPhone, it was taken by MS centric pundits as a desperate attempt to stimulate poor sales figures.
I’m sure that’s not what it means this time, though.
As always Microsoft is looking out for the little guy—in this case graciously lowering prices and all you MAC sheep can do is bitch. The price of entry for the world’s most advanced, secure and easy-to-use OS is less expensive than before. We should all be grateful. Thank you, Microsoft!
History tells me not to expect Apple to have a good answer to this development as Cupertino has reacted poorly to Microsoft’s shrewd, customer-focused marketing decisions and brilliant innovations in the past. Buh-bye Apple.
Your potential. Our passion.™
If you want a real laugher about Vista, browse through the e-mails that were just released on the Vista capable program fiasco.
Dell begging MSFT to not go ahead then detailing the post mortem disaster.
A Microsoft exec getting burned– complaining he’d bought a $2,100 Sony e-mail machine–cause it wouldn’t run Vista!
The upgrade to Leopard, superior to Windoze edition, costs less than $200 (people in the know just call it Leopard). I think M$ is getting the hint that people are not willing to take out a second mortgage just for an OS. They already got the hint when they relabled the Education version of Office to Home and Student version which allows for up to 3 installs.
Just my $0.02
” . . . most of whom were pressured or forced to switch by IT departments and company with Windows and IE-centric policies . . .”
The word betrayal comes to mind.
$319 from $399 – Are you sure thats a price slash ?
so now it’s not just crap it’s cheap crap
nice one ms
I won’t take a pile of crap for free, even if it’s chrome-plated, and I’ll be damned if I’ll pay for it…
Zune Tang might have a point there about lowering the price. I already got Windows Ultimate for free, because I was a beta tester. If they make it freeware, they might blow Apple out of the water.
Or not.
My Dell XPS is sitting in a corner unused. Every time I turn it on, Vista wants to update, scan for this, defragment that, and so forth. By the time it’s ready, I’ve finished my work on the Mac. It’s getting so I’m terrified to turn it on.
Vista made me a Mac user. So lowering the price works right into Apple’s hands.
Hmmm sweeat i might be able to aford vista now!…Or I could just buy 5 copies of Leopard in the family pack for $200 tough choice.
“If they make it freeware, they might blow Apple out of the water.”
That would be a serious abuse of MS’s monopoly status.
Not that the U.S. D.O.J. would do anything about it. I’m surprised they aren’t allowed to just go ahead and print their own currency. Ballmer Bucks. Or would it be a points system?
“As always Microsoft is looking out for the little guy”
So that’s how Redmond refers to its brainwashed heathens.
“—in this case graciously lowering prices and all you MAC sheep can do is bitch. The price of entry for the world’s most advanced, secure and easy-to-use OS is less expensive than before.”
But-but-but you said that money is an outmoded form of applicable payment, and we should be using points instead! So how many points does it cost to purchase Vista Training Bra edition?
“We should all be grateful. Thank you, Microsoft!”
Yes, Gates and Ballmer, thank you for the continous years of laughter and tears (mostly tears).
“History tells me not to expect Apple to have a good answer to this development as Cupertino has reacted poorly to Microsoft’s shrewd, customer-focused marketing decisions and brilliant innovations in the past.”
Sorry to interrupt your diatribe Zune Tang, but your boss just called, and you need to get to work to start your afternoon shift at Chuck-E-Cheese.
As far as Apple’s response to this obviously brilliant, Napoleon-like strategy (with bonus Napoleon Complex), they’re a little busy right now called Making Money and Caring About the Consumer.
Think Different.
Actually MS has lowered the price on an OS versions a few times before. Windows ME come to mind.
MDN needs to remove Gates form their Microsoft pic as it’s now the monkey boy only show.
We’ve been hearing a lot about the Economic Slowdown™ and its effect on Apple’s consumer-centric business. But this seems to be exactly what’s hurting Microsoft. When times are tough, I’ll hold off on buying an iPod if I already have one. But it looks like people are still buying iPods in healthy numbers.
But when times are tough, do I choose to spend 400 bucks on a new operating system that doesn’t do anything appreciably better than the one I have, will likely require me to upgrade my hardware, as well as many of my apps, all for the prize of having to deal with the new security system and crappy beta hardware drivers?
Oh, and I get Aero.
….
Which aisle are the iPods on, again?
Maybe it will help sell Zunes? How many Zunes have been sold the last quarter Zune Tongued?
For anyone who is used to Leopard, MS would have to pay considerably more than 500 a month to achieve a switch to Vista.
Mmm and imagining it for a second…. uurgh, no, even then I wouldn’t.
Let’s have a poll on how much it would take MDN.
@ Macaday
MS would have to pay me at least my salary to switch to Vista, since I’d no longer be able to get any work done.
What is Vista?
I would need more than Ballmer’s hourly snack budget.
translation
we will sell you more crap soon
@ Ampar
Now come on, be realistic. That could feed Darfur.
You couldn’t GIVE me a copy for free.
MS issues a VISA credit card? Wow, did not know that. I’m switching to MasterCard.
Need a good laugh? Microsoft has a contest for its partners. The prize—a mighty incentive—is a Zune! That’ll really get them motivated.
Their partner web site has not been functioning correctly for about three months. They are working on it.
I think Microsoft is like a very large mansion with termites. One day soon, there will be this huge noise, and it will all be over.
@ Charlie
Barad Dür.
Gee a frikken Red-Tag special from Redmond. I feel special.
The cutting-edge Vista OS is selling so well, Microsoft decided to employ the little-used but radical marketing strategy of price-slashing in order to boost sales to an even higher level and thus reap greater monetary rewards.
Meanwhile, my breath smells like ass.
What?!? MDN didn’t add his 2¢ and take the opportunity to give Microshaft a wedgie on this one? Is he slipping?
megame, you’re doing the same thing I’m doing…Windows XP Pro + Office 03 using Parallels on an aluminum iMac.
I’m starting a business from home and mentally, the rest of the world is still stuck using five-year-old Windows technology, so I have to have it just to interact. I only use it when I need it, I refused to pay much for it, and I’m lovin’ Leopard!
In spite of Poon Tang’s spin cycle bullshit, I wouldn’t touch Vista with yours, if you know what I’m saying, whether it’s cheaper, free, whatever.
Peace.
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Olmecmystic
When I saw the headline I was expecting Vista Ultimate to appear competitive (in price) with Leopard – but 399 to 319? It would be still too much at half the price! They should just make it freeware, at least it would be closer to it’s true value.
Re: “slash the price”
If the price of MS stock goes down a few dollars, Ballmer loses a few billion. It’s all about perspective.
A sign of Micro$oft gasping for air.
still costs more than Mac OS X
This is because it was selling so so well.
Just like their brown mp3 turd players.
When you produces too many… you got to discount them because no one wants to stock them.
Yet another sign of Vista SUCKING real bad.
@ You call that a slash
& others
if they slashed it any more early adopters would cry foul… give it another few months
And so it is – Down they go.
To help pay for the discount and also to improve the bottom line, MS has quietly increased the price of Windows XP…
What, it could happen.
Ampar,
Apple already competes with several free operating systems, which don’t entirely suck. (Linux, the various BSDs, etc.) If Microsoft were to give away Vista, the impact on Apple would be minimal.
-jcr
Interesting: they didn’t move the OEM price down at all – the place from where the vast amount of Vista revenue comes (not counting corporate licensing). They cut the *retail* price — the place where slow sales rates have always been the norm.
Methinks there’s something else behind this than trying to move Vista boxes out of inventory. A conspiracy theorist I am not, but nevertheless, nefarious they are!
John C.,
Maybe you are referring to Harvey’s post? I was just commenting on possible monopoly abuse. Or did I miss something?
Windows is Barad-dûr.
Office is the ring.
Destroy the ring.
“Windows Vista is superior to Windows XP from all points of view and the users have access to several thousand new functions, Microsoft claims.” Oh really!
$319.00 USD is way to much to pay from unwanted or needed crap from M$$$…. when one has iWorks!
Now if M$$$ wants to pay me to use Vista for a day or so… well that’s a different thing!
Sorry just kidding… no deal!
Zune Tang, you need serious help, or are you commenting from your padded cell typing messages with your chin because they won’t let you take off the straight-jacket? Keep the words coming, I like a good laugh or two a day from you!
My goodness, Microsoft is still selling Vista for money after that long diatribe that Zune Thang gave us about how points were so much better than money and the new world standards that MS intends to inflict, uh bless upon the world.
And now he doesn’t even say a thing about it, just goes on to badmouth Apple users, talk about being a dag.
Well history tells us that MS has a lot of vapourware and fortunately that is one of the great innovations that Apple just hasn’t been able to copy yet.
However these discounted distributions are available on HD-DVD ONLY