Ouch!!The Cost of MS Office Ultimate and Vista Ultimate

[hard candy]

"With Office 2007 Ultimate, users will be able to buy every piece of office productivity software that Microsoft makes in one package. We always thought that was the idea of having an office suite but anyway, with Office 2007 Ultimate, you get pretty much the same packages you got with Office 2003 plus one or two or other applications such as Groove collaboration software.

And all those bits and bytes can be yours for just US$679, the price of a fairly handy computer".

"Now there is going to be a Windows Vista Ultimate, which will include just about everything, such as Windows Media center, Tablet PC support, integrated search (Google and Dell are sure to love that one), plus a heap of other things most of us would never use for just US$450 or so."
So for $1129 plus tax, you too can own the latest and greatest from Microsoft or you could buy a nice computer with a TV tuner, dual processor, 19 inch LCD monitor, and dual SATA drives plus purchase a commercial release of Linux, Open Office included, and still put a couple of hundred dollars in the bank.
Does "overpriced" , "open the doors to the competition", and "Open Source, here we come!" apply in this situation?

[XiaoKJ]

Thats a nice thought

Well, when you fill a dog with anxiety, it will jump over the wall. (Chinese proverb) I think that will only cause people to switch to linux...

PLEASE ENFORCE PIRACY CONTROL!!!

Actually, I'm not baseless in saying this. Windows XP costs simply too much in other nations, where the USD is larger than the local currency by too much.

[rocketpcguy]

we have to lock your thread. please read the posting guidelines next-time.

;)

[saikee]

It is criminal that PC users are milked with little or no gain in functionality.

I am a such happier PC user with Linux knowing that I wouldn't have to re-learn a new set of commands/instructions every few years when MS decides to bring out a new version of OS/software.

The thing that amazed me is Linux is a easier system to understand and more logical in applications.

[paj12]

PLEASE ENFORCE PIRACY CONTROL!!!
Hear, hear! This is the best thing Microsoft could possibly do to promote Free Software and computing in general. The number of people with unlicensed copies of Windows and Office out there is staggering. These are the people that make computing such a chore for everyday users. Their sheer numbers make Windows and Office de facto standards, hampering the adoption of Free Software. The fact that unlicensed copies of Windows can't receive pathces from Microsoft means that these computers will sit unpatched, spewing out DoS attacks and spam like a toxic gas that clogs the lungs of the Internet. Enforcing licensing restrictions and going after unlicensed users is something Microsoft desperately needs to do. The future of the computer depends on it.

[nabetse]

What a wonderful thing a monopoly is on our society.

I think Microsoft has figured out how to make a profit while counting their insurmountable legal costs as a regular expense. I don't suppose the lawyers mind so much either.

Freedom for people? Social responsibility? Nah, I'll just have more power for myself.

[hard candy]

we have to lock your thread. please read the posting guidelines next-time.

;)

You are correct and I have edited my title to reflect the guidelines, good thing Parcival didn't see it yet! :D

From paj12:
"The fact that unlicensed copies of Windows can't receive pathces from Microsoft means that these computers will sit unpatched, spewing out DoS attacks and spam like a toxic gas that clogs the lungs of the Internet."
This is a very big problem, since the countries with the lower annual income and which have widespread state supported DSL and cable (South Korea is one example-used as an example only), act as big resevoirs for folks looking to take over computers.

But getting back to the original thread, I really suffered "sticker shock" even though I was never planning to buy "Ultimate" Office 2007 and "Ultimate" Vista. I believe the cheapest version of Vista will be $250 retail, with the eye candy features left off. I can't imagine the average person spending $250 on an OS unless it comes pre-installed on a new computer or they have no other choice such as being stuck with a $500 Photoshop Suite that requires Vista.
Novell has the money and the business contacts if they wanted to really push Suse in the retail market. RedHat may be able to some marketing but not as much. And I'm surprised Linspire is becoming a stronger presence in the market. I just get the feeling $100 is the magic point, if you can stay under it you will increase retail sales of boxed sets of an OS when the major competition on the same shelf at CompUSA is $250 or more.

[paj12]

I believe the cheapest version of Vista will be $250 retail, with the eye candy features left off. I can't imagine the average person spending $250 on an OS unless it comes pre-installed on a new computer or they have no other choice such as being stuck with a $500 Photoshop Suite that requires Vista.
This is actually the way Windows works now. Windows XP retails for about $200, but no one actually pays this. The vast majority of people who own licensed copies of Windows get them pre-installed on their computer when they buy it. The retail price of Windows Vista will be $250, but a PC maunfacturer will be able to get it significantly cheaper provided they grease a few palms and sign a couple of anti-competitive contracts. The user will get a "free" copy of Windows with their PC, and the world will keep on turning as it always has.

[Icarus]

Hear, hear! This is the best thing Microsoft could possibly do to promote Free Software and computing in general. The number of people with unlicensed copies of Windows and Office out there is staggering. These are the people that make computing such a chore for everyday users. Their sheer numbers make Windows and Office de facto standards, hampering the adoption of Free Software. The fact that unlicensed copies of Windows can't receive pathces from Microsoft means that these computers will sit unpatched, spewing out DoS attacks and spam like a toxic gas that clogs the lungs of the Internet. Enforcing licensing restrictions and going after unlicensed users is something Microsoft desperately needs to do. The future of the computer depends on it.
DeJa Vu...I could have swarn I heard this exact argument when WindowsXP came out...this is not a verbatim copy of that is it? That's plagiarism you know ;)

[dkeav]

guess i better start burning ubuntu cd's for when all the hoople heads start showing up at my door

[robagen]

At first I misread the prices cited for Office and Vista..WhAT! $1100 for
the thing? OH..'O N L Y' $450.00 for Vista. Bet the upgrades are half of
that. In Msoft's terms, 'popular pricing'. Aghh!! :eek:

[Parcival]

You are correct and I have edited my title to reflect the guidelines, good thing Parcival didn't see it yet! :D

As a matter of fact, I already had the finger on my keyboard to write a remark and change the title, but then I figured you'll do it yourself anyway since every good mod does. :p

However, if you do that again, you'll have to go back to mod school on Mondays from 08:00 to 11:30 a.m. ;) And believe me, JP won't be happy to pay my weekly flight tickets to come and teach you. :D

[Parcival]

I can't imagine the average person spending $250 on an OS unless it comes pre-installed on a new computer or they have no other choice such as being stuck with a $500 Photoshop Suite that requires Vista.

If I wanted to run Photoshop and money didn't matter, I'd get a new Mac anyway. ;)

[paj12]

If I wanted to run Photoshop and money didn't matter, I'd get a new Mac anyway.
Bingo. This is the reaction Free Software advocates hope that people will have to Windows Vista. "Why should I upgrade when I there are either: (a) products that can do a better job at the same price point, or (b) products that can do same job for less money." Macs and their extensive line of productivity software fall into the former category; the wide variety of Free Software operating systems fall into the latter.

[soulestream]

you might want to add into the "ultimate" cost of vista, the fact that many of us with newer PC's still cant run it with all its pretty Aero crap turned on.

The "official" requirement to make it not look and feel just like XP are last I saw

1GHZ Proc
1GB RAM
128 MB DX9 Video Card



Soule

[knute]

Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I'm gonna anyway.
My machine at home currently runs Gentoo.
It's a 733Mhz P3 Coppermine, with 512M of memory.
It's modest, but with all the configuring that I've put into it, it runs fairly fast (and I have a tendancy to configure lean due to the fact that I'm normally running many many many many things at the same time (most of which are completely unrelated :rolleyes: ))

Anyway, I FINALLY found a PC that will run Win-XP almost as fast as my PC runs Gentoo.
It's a dual Xeon 3200 with 1+Gb of memory, and a high end Nvidia dual head video card that is ONLY set up with the digital outputs.
It's used by the engineers at work for their CAD apps.
I get to play with them because I work in the MIS department and actually install the OS's and rpl their old computers.
I have recently become curious how quick one of those would compile Gentoo. It's be SCHWEET!

And I have to waste all that power with XP! BAH! HUMBUG!
XGL might be fun to play with on them.
Hrmmm.... I've got a burner and a dsl connection..... :D

[XiaoKJ]

Actually, I was hoping the prices to keep increasing... Since I don't buy them anymore, any increase in prices will make alternatives more attractive.

Moreover, new laws are out in new parts of the world to enforce piracy control. Only the better for us.

So PLEASE make Office more expensive than Photoshop or something. The software industry is only just beginning to repeat history --- the one Gandhi waited so long for. Sometimes, its just that people aren't abused enough that is hindering change...

[Syngin]

Yeah, we started beta testing the Groove portion of Office 2007 on Monday. Interesting set of features.

There's a lot of people Jones-ing for collaboration software around here so we're geeting pushed into this. The cost mentioned is laughable though. It'd cost almost $100k just to upgrade our Office suite.

Anyone know of a decent Linux (non-webbased) set of collaboration tools that I could offer then as an alternative?

[EnigmaOne]

...for $1129 plus tax, you too can...
>ahem<
"Bendover and beg for grease" is probably the phrase they avoided using.

(Looks like msft ad copy still lacks a certain honest quality about it, even after all these years.)

I think I rcall hearing Ballmer wander whimsically along the lines of windoze price point breaking $1K, a few years back. That and subscription-based software services delivered via the Internet.