Does anyone doubt that this leaked memo is another stunt from Microsoft (colluding with Best Buy, of course)? In the same fashion that we continue to see leaks of Windows 7 after Release Candidate 1, the Microsoft prognosticators are doing their dead level best to see what the traffic will bear.
$49 upgrade to 7 Home Premium? They are looking at the responses right now, checking off how must positive response, and how much negative response will come from jerking up the price after an introduction period (You don’t think the upgrade price will stay at $49 dollars do you? Tsk. Tsk.)
If the response is good, they will price it that way for a while, and possibly think of other ways to entice you to part with your dollars. Of course, people who buy computers after July 1 will get a copy free, but as others have cited, what will be the tale to tell is how many XP users will be willing to change over to this new kid on the block. With the (ostensibly) lessened specs needed for hardware, many people running XP will only need to upgrade their video card, as driver support for many of the popular XP era cards has stopped. (Yet quite a few have the power to run Aero, as evidenced by the number of cards with drivers for Vista, and suddenly cut off from Windows 7 – marketing by force, at its best!)
While many will not be lured by the many flavors of Windows, a good number will, and pricing, after that introductory period, is what I’d rather know about. If Microsoft wanted to make a real dent, they could offer a family pack, similar to the one Apple offers. Though they might make a lot less per copy, they would likely entice entire families to change, bringing many more into the fold that much more speedily. After all, we are told that Microsoft wants to put the nails in the XP coffin as soon as is practically possible. This family pack idea would certainly go a long way towards that – the ability to not have the headaches involved in networking a mix of XP, Vista, and 7 machines would be enough to move many over.
I see the possibility of two different introductory periods, however. One when introduced, in October, and ready for Christmas, the other when the Release Candidates start acting up, and shutting down those users, every two hours, who are going to try to get the very longest time from the generosity of Microsoft.
The second one might not have as deep a cut in price as the first, but I’m fairly certain it will be there.
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There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened. Douglas Adams |
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