Windows 7 due 22nd October 2009

Pretty much breaking news now on the wires

From Associated Press

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jbxIrqoe_wNEzhqlKkSDWiuQpxgQD98IN2M80


Likely more will follow on web news sites and blogs in next 1hr or so.

 

Yeah had read that and the Ars retraction on it as being made up as they posted the leak from the German site too. Will only myself know the price structure to the SKUs are real when its actually come from Microsoft themselves in a press releae or on the PressPack or Windows 7 portal.

IF those where the prices no matter how good Windows 7 is and in my mind its very good if you have a compatible system* but price in the economic crisis we are going through will make or break any paid for software, I have and even before we had this cash crisis was calling for MSFT to lower the price of Windows and add at least two licences with each SKU as many these days have two PCs or more in the home and will not be paying $319-399 for each Windows version for the PCs

I know I would not be updating all 4 of my PCs to Windows 7 if its at that price, one maybe and in doing so Microsoft have lost the trick of making us update as many as possible.

I have been chatting to my great contacts in the MVP program at Microsoft UK and trying to relay what many of us here would feel about prices, I'm hoping to at some point put my opinion and point across to the Windows Marketing Team on this, so if any of you have constructive ideas (idiotic ones like making it free will be deleted) about pricing or licencing then please do post them as I will relay them back.


Pricing is key as I feel this is the point in time that a few of the linux releases like Kubuntu, PCLinuxOS etc are now at a point to really go mainstream, yes you loose out on a few of your favoured Windows apps but many can be found with Linux alternate or a different app all together to do same job, just dont know how many *non* linux geeks would make the jump as many threaten too but dont, its like moving from XP to Vista!




*just a very basic rule of thumb from me and NOT what min specs are likely to be but we never go for min specs do we!!

Dual Core CPU from Intel or AMD
2GB Ram
half decient dedicated GFX card from Ati or Nvidia

as I have it running perfectly on my ACER 5630 laptop with Core2Duo 1.66, 2GB ram and a 128MB dedicated GF 7300 Go

 

Do you have a thread on this Bill, I forget if you did or not, things zipp by too quickly these days?

Exactly my point Bill, many may update one but multiples, NO, pricing and licencing has to be right and if many if not all versions of Office allow 1 install on Desktop and 1 install on portable then why not Windows!

TBH I am aiming and pushing for a Home Licence that say is $250 for Ultimate and comes with 2 licences and then each additional licence off the main key is bought for say $50 upto a max of say 3 addtionals which take the total per licence key to 5, dunno if this idea would be one that many of you would go for?



If folk give me their honest and constructive ideas on this I will float this by the contacts I have at MSFT.

 

Hi lbmest


I think its fairly accurate and something I have been folloing for a while now and a few months ago Win was only at .17% share and now at .42% for a beta or RC this is pretty good and its rising.

I agree with you on folk holding on to older PCs for much longer than they used to, similar to cars, we normally had a 1-3yr change around but these days it could be longer and go like normal for cars in 3-5yrs change.



did read this earlier from Long at his blog http://www.istartedsomething.com/20090606/best-buy-memo-leaks-windows-7-pricing/

 

XP Support is from what I remember good till 2014 for Extended Support (this is paid), Mainsteam support ended a few months back, Service Packs are good for 12mths after RTM date, so SP3 for XP will go into 2010.


Hotfixes are likely to come out slower now that SP3 is out and will be last SP for XP, could see although not read any actual official info on this that updates/hotfixes will likely die out for mainstream issues and only be critical security hotfixes as XP not actively being developed. (extended support will give you non security hotfixes for an issue on a per incident basis till 2104)


*could be slightly out on a date but they are close without looking up the lifecycle page at MSFT.