Acer: Vista is an excuse for Microsoft price hikes

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Microsoft is hiking up the price of its software as it prepares to launch Vista, according to one of the leading PC manufacturers, Acer.

According to Jim Wong, senior corporate vice president of Acer, the issue is simply that the basic home edition of Vista, Home Basic, which is available for pre-order on Amazon.co.uk for £154.99, is so basic that users will be forced to move to Premium version of Vista, at £189.99. A Home Edition of Windows XP is currently available for £165.99, but has a recommended retail price of £176.99.

"The new [Vista] experience you hear of, if you get Basic, you won't feel it at all," Wong told PC Pro magazine. "There's no [Aero] graphics, no Media Center, no remote control."

Wong also said that the manufacturer's licence for Vista Home Premium is 10 percent more expensive than for XP Home. "We have to pay more but users are not going to pay more," Wong said. This would lead to a real increase in the cost to PC manufacturers of one to two percent, according to Wong, in a business with a total margin of around five percent or less.

Top of the range is the Vista Ultimate Edition which can be pre-ordered for £325 from Amazon.co.uk and again is significantly more expensive than the XP operating system it replaces. Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2 has a recommended retail price of £289.99, but is currently available for £234.

Talkback

And? How does being milked feel?

via Facebook 28 October, 2006 00:55
Reply

Following years of having to download patch after and being besieged by viruses, worms and spyware I cannot see why anyone in their right mind would go and pay a minimum of £154 for an Operating System that has been scaled back considerably and still 3 years or so behind schedule. The writings on the wall for Vista and it doesn’t look good. The alternatives are much better. OS X and Linux offer something different and are much better in their own respective ways. But when it comes to price you can’t argue. With OS X for £90 you get an operating system that’s far more advanced and more intuitive then Windows will ever be and many times more secure. And then there is Linux. The cost is nominal (unless you go for a commercial product like Suse et al.) and with its usability getting better all the time. I think its time for people to seriously look at the alternatives. You’ll be a fool not to!!!!

mode606 30 October, 2006 19:09
Reply

All these different versions are going to confuse the average public and make buying a computer a difficult task. All in the name of a higher profit, nice way to look after the customer.

Gareth.Kennett 30 October, 2006 22:02
Reply

i wouldn'tknow, i got my Vista and Office 2007, and Windows 2003 Server, Exchange 2003, 2007, office 2003 AD INFINITUM via Technet plus at £234.

Id rather pay that, AND get free technical support than actually pay the proper money and get nothing.

I am already using Windows Vista Ultimate and Office 2007 Ultimate for a price of £234. (Technically it is company money).

I'm happy with it :) In fact i love it!

351668 8 December, 2006 19:06
Reply

Unfortunately Linux is not quite yet ready for the layman who cant tell the difference between an AVI and an MP3.

This is why they stick with windows, anyone with a mouse can use it.

351668 8 December, 2006 19:08
Reply

As a home user using XP Pro SP2 there is no reason to update the operating system unless it's for fun {expensive} I await SP3. However sometime this year my 4yr old system MAY be renewed (retained for fun) and I will have no choice but to have VISTA even though I understand that TURNPIKE my preferred connection to the net will not work. with it. Vista does seem to be a none starter UNLESS you are buying a NEW computer. Then all your XP books will have to be "renewed" to learn how to use VISTA and gain the "advantages" this system promises to give ?

1000063844 27 January, 2007 12:32
Reply

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