Windows 7 will be released on October 22. The machines are identical, but Windows 7 costs $50 more.Microsoft has dealt a blow to Australian PC owners keen to grab the security and useability features in its latest operating system, posting an upgrade price from Vista to Windows 7 that's the same as the leap was from XP to Vista. Compare, for example, the standard i7-based InspiSeries, which sells for $800 in the Windows 8.1 version, but goes for $850 in the Windows 7 Home Premium version. The irony is that Dell is currently tacking a $50 premium on some of its "Consumer" Windows 7 machines, for those who want that OS instead of Windows 8.1.
The OEM gets hit for a Win 8.1 Pro license, but all you ever see is Win7 Pro.ĭell ran a great "Windows 7 for the win" ad campaign over the weekend - Gregg Keizer has details in his Computerworld blog - that offered discounts of up to 30 percent on PCs with Windows 7 Home Premium pre-installed. That's a Microsoft-endorsed "downgrade" path. Many OEMs now offer Windows 7 Pro pre-installed on machines that are, in fact, licensed for Windows 8.1 Pro. They're just taking advantage of a widespread misconception to sell more of them. Retailers aren't trying to rush the last Windows 7 machines out the door, and they aren't discounting them to beat an imaginary Friday deadline. (Nobody with half a clue buys Home Basic or Ultimate.) Once the Home Premium machines run out - which could take a while - the OEMs will simply swap in Windows 7 Pro. The net effect: You can expect the price of Windows 7 Home Premium machines to gradually rise to the level of similar Windows 7 Pro machines. OEMs are allowed to sell out the stock they have on hand, but aren't given new Home or Ultimate licenses. Windows 7 Professional isn't affected, and Microsoft has committed to giving one year advance notice prior to the end of OEM license sales for Pro. 31, Microsoft will stop selling OEMs licenses that allow them to sell new PCs with Windows 7 Home Basic, Home Premium, or Ultimate pre-installed. You may have to spend an extra 10 or 20 bucks to get a new Windows 7 machine starting next week, but the five-year-old stalwart isn't going anywhere. Windows 7 will continue to be available on new PCs and in retail packaging for at least another year and likely much longer.
Those breathless headlines you've seen are all wet.
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