David Flynn22 July 2009, 11:17 AM
While staying mum on pricing, Microsoft has revealed that a ‘family pack’ edition of Windows 7 will allow Home Premium to be installed on three PCs.
With the launch date for Windows 7 now just three months away, Microsoft has confirmed the OS line-up will include a three PC ‘Family Pack’.
This new addition to the Windows 7 line-up will allow Windows 7 Home Premium to be installed on up to three computers in the home. However, there’s no indication that a similar multi-user approach will be extended to other OS editions such as Home Basic or Ultimate.
Microsoft has not yet detailed pricing for the Windows 7 Family Pack, although several online stores have previously listed the product with an upgrade price around US$150. The sticker price for a one PC upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium is US$120.
If the leaked online pricing is correct, then applying the same ratio against the Australian RRP of $199 for a Windows 7 Home Premium upgrade would indicate we’d see the Family Pack for $249.
This isn’t Microsoft’s first foray into the multi-install concept for the consumer market. The Student & Teacher Edition of Office (which for Office 2010 will be renamed “Office Home and Student” covers three installations.
Other vendors have also moved to multi-user licences, most notably in the realm of security software. McAfee offers three-user packages across much of its range, while Norton AntiVirus, Norton Internet DSecurity and Norton 360 come in single user, three user and 10-user packs.
Apple, of course, has long offered a similar Family Pack covering five installations of OS X,and this will be available in the forthcoming OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard for US$49 (Australian pricing has not yet been released).