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Vista prices cut by as much as 48%, but not in U.S.
Prices for the OS will be trimmed 15% to 20% in the U.S.
By Gregg Keizer


February 29, 2008 (Computerworld) Microsoft Corp. is cutting the retail
price of its Windows Vista operating system by as much as 20% in the U.S.,
but will slash at least some versions' price tags by more than 46% in both
the U.K. and the European Union, the company confirmed today.

Late Thursday, Microsoft announced sweeping price cuts to boxed copies of
Vista, saying then that the cuts would range from as low as 3% in developed
countries to nearly 50% for some editions sold in poorer nations.

But by the numbers that Microsoft released today, even customers in Western
Europe — France, Germany, Spain and the U.K., among others — will also see
prices fall by nearly half.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks, Microsoft. I won't be buying Vista anytime soon; with 3% price cut
you can keep it. Thanks

nospam wrote:
> Vista prices cut by as much as 48%, but not in U.S.
> Prices for the OS will be trimmed 15% to 20% in the U.S.
> By Gregg Keizer
>
>
> February 29, 2008 (Computerworld) Microsoft Corp. is cutting the
> retail price of its Windows Vista operating system by as much as
> 20% in the U.S., but will slash at least some versions' price tags
> by more than 46% in both the U.K. and the European Union, the
> company confirmed today.
> Late Thursday, Microsoft announced sweeping price cuts to boxed
> copies of Vista, saying then that the cuts would range from as low
> as 3% in developed countries to nearly 50% for some editions sold
> in poorer nations.
> But by the numbers that Microsoft released today, even customers in
> Western Europe — France, Germany, Spain and the U.K., among others
> — will also see prices fall by nearly half.
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Thanks, Microsoft. I won't be buying Vista anytime soon; with 3%
> price cut you can keep it. Thanks

Have you checked the prices recently?

Windows Vista Ultimate $329.99 (US) or €478.45 (Germany)

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Wind...4486992&sr=1-3

http://www.amazon.de/Microsoft-Windo...486938&sr=1-12


Guess which version is in most need of a price cut?


Bo Persson

"Bo Persson" <> wrote in message
news:...

> Have you checked the prices recently?
>
> Windows Vista Ultimate $329.99 (US) or €478.45 (Germany)
>
> http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Wind...4486992&sr=1-3
>
> http://www.amazon.de/Microsoft-Windo...486938&sr=1-12
>
>
> Guess which version is in most need of a price cut?
>
>
> Bo Persson
>
>
They are not the same; the European version must comply with competion
(anti-trust) regulation that prohibits WMP bundling and other practices.
I guess the U.S. version should cost more, not less.

--
Allan

No, the edition pictured is not the N edition (no WMP). Customers may buy
be the regular edition or the N edition. Few buy the N edition. The
requirement was that MS offer an edition without WMP, that's all.

"Allan" <> wrote in message
news:...
>
> "Bo Persson" <> wrote in message
> news:...
>
>> Have you checked the prices recently?
>>
>> Windows Vista Ultimate $329.99 (US) or €478.45 (Germany)
>>
>> http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Wind...4486992&sr=1-3
>>
>> http://www.amazon.de/Microsoft-Windo...486938&sr=1-12
>>
>>
>> Guess which version is in most need of a price cut?
>>
>>
>> Bo Persson
>>
>>
> They are not the same; the European version must comply with competion
> (anti-trust) regulation that prohibits WMP bundling and other practices.
> I guess the U.S. version should cost more, not less.
>
> --
> Allan

Allan wrote:
>
> "Bo Persson" <> wrote in message
> news:...
>
>> Have you checked the prices recently?
>>
>> Windows Vista Ultimate $329.99 (US) or €478.45 (Germany)
>>
>> http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Wind...4486992&sr=1-3
>>
>> http://www.amazon.de/Microsoft-Windo...486938&sr=1-12
>>
>> Guess which version is in most need of a price cut?
>>
>> Bo Persson
>>
>>
> They are not the same; the European version must comply with competion
> (anti-trust) regulation that prohibits WMP bundling and other practices.
> I guess the U.S. version should cost more, not less.

I suppose the US versions would cost more if the software in question
had any value (IIRC Internet Explorer must also not be integrated along
with WMP).

nospam wrote:
> Vista prices cut by as much as 48%, but not in U.S.
> Prices for the OS will be trimmed 15% to 20% in the U.S.
> By Gregg Keizer
>
>
> February 29, 2008 (Computerworld) Microsoft Corp. is cutting the retail
> price of its Windows Vista operating system by as much as 20% in the U.S.,
> but will slash at least some versions' price tags by more than 46% in both
> the U.K. and the European Union, the company confirmed today.
>
> Late Thursday, Microsoft announced sweeping price cuts to boxed copies of
> Vista, saying then that the cuts would range from as low as 3% in developed
> countries to nearly 50% for some editions sold in poorer nations.
>
> But by the numbers that Microsoft released today, even customers in Western
> Europe — France, Germany, Spain and the U.K., among others — will also see
> prices fall by nearly half.
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Thanks, Microsoft. I won't be buying Vista anytime soon; with 3% price cut
> you can keep it. Thanks

There was a longer piece on this recently in the NY Times:

February 29, 2008, 12:02 pm
Vista’s Price Falls; How Long Before Yahoo’s Price Rises?

By Saul Hansell

If you want to understand Microsoft’s motivation for buying Yahoo, look
at the price cuts announced today for Windows Vista. (Stay with me on this.)

The price cuts for boxed copies of Vista are especially big in
developing countries, where users will be able to buy full versions of
the operating system for the price they would have paid for an upgrade.
(The better to prevent piracy, Microsoft says.)

In the United States, the main difference will be with the Premium
edition (now $129 instead of $159) and the Ultimate ($219, down from $299).

Microsoft says the cuts are meant to lift sales in retail stores, a
small segment of the Windows market. The vast majority of operating
systems, of course, are sold bundled with computers.

Microsoft’s many critics are gloating that this shows Vista shipped with
far more bugs than features.

No matter how good Vista may be, there is another force at work here:
The price people are willing to pay for software is coming down.

A software package — even an operating system — seems out of whack at
$299 or even $159, when there is so much that can now be done free over
the Web or through free downloads like iTunes and Google’s Picasa. Those
prices also don’t really jibe with the cost of personal computers, which
now start at $500.

Microsoft itself has already confronted this by creating the “Student
and Teacher” version of Office. Now you can buy Word, Excel and
PowerPoint (not Outlook) for $129 (plus whatever guilt you feel as you
justify the purchase by saying that your spinning class at the gym makes
you a student).

One look at Microsoft’s high profit margins certainly raises questions
about how long this business model can continue before someone creates a
more efficient model. The combination of the open source movement, the
Web, and the advertising-supported software model epitomized by Google
are starting to have the long-predicted effect.

So while the prices Microsoft can charge for its boxed software may be
falling, the price it will pay for its own Web software and advertising
play — Yahoo — is likely to rise.

Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/0...ref=technology

On Sun, 2 Mar 2008 20:50:02 +0100, "Bo Persson" <> wrote:

>Guess which version is in most need of a price cut?

Best not to buy it, to force the price down to the same as in the US. The
dollar is sliding every day against the Euro, but the price still stays
much higher. We're considering of implementing our renderfarm on Linux now,
because it's a lot cheaper. Even these price-cuts won't really make it
justifiable.

jud

"Colin Barnhorst" <> wrote in message
news:E3E08269-7F32-4D4D-AE47-...
> No, the edition pictured is not the N edition (no WMP). Customers may buy
> be the regular edition or the N edition. Few buy the N edition. The
> requirement was that MS offer an edition without WMP, that's all.
>
Then the two products are the same basically but the European price is
higher nonetheless. Retail buyers prefer the regular (non-N) edition which
seems to undermine the competition commission's position, regardless of the
legal basis for it.

--
Allan

Allan wrote:
> "Colin Barnhorst" <> wrote in message
> news:E3E08269-7F32-4D4D-AE47-...
>> No, the edition pictured is not the N edition (no WMP). Customers
>> may buy be the regular edition or the N edition. Few buy the N
>> edition. The requirement was that MS offer an edition without
>> WMP, that's all.
> Then the two products are the same basically but the European price
> is higher nonetheless. Retail buyers prefer the regular (non-N)
> edition which seems to undermine the competition commission's
> position, regardless of the legal basis for it.

There is no legal requirements to either sell or buy any specific
version, only that Microsoft has to provide the N version.

As the price is the same, there is no good reason to have both in
stock. Any person knowledable enough to tell the difference, can
easily fix the installation anyway, by uninstalling WMP. Who else
cares?



Bo Persson

Prices are m,uch cheaper.. You can get Vista Ultimate x64 for under $200.00.

US Pricing: $189.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116215

Vat Pricing: £94.49
http://www.cclonline.com/product-inf...ufacturer_id=0

Chris

"nospam" wrote:

> Vista prices cut by as much as 48%, but not in U.S.
> Prices for the OS will be trimmed 15% to 20% in the U.S.
> By Gregg Keizer
>
>
> February 29, 2008 (Computerworld) Microsoft Corp. is cutting the retail
> price of its Windows Vista operating system by as much as 20% in the U.S.,
> but will slash at least some versions' price tags by more than 46% in both
> the U.K. and the European Union, the company confirmed today.
>
> Late Thursday, Microsoft announced sweeping price cuts to boxed copies of
> Vista, saying then that the cuts would range from as low as 3% in developed
> countries to nearly 50% for some editions sold in poorer nations.
>
> But by the numbers that Microsoft released today, even customers in Western
> Europe — France, Germany, Spain and the U.K., among others — will also see
> prices fall by nearly half.
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Thanks, Microsoft. I won't be buying Vista anytime soon; with 3% price cut
> you can keep it. Thanks
>
>
>