$751 for Windows Vista Ultimate: official Australian pricing revealed

daniel:

Well, it's not often I admit defeat, but this time I have to. I'm happy with XP thank you. I am not a young man and I am on a pension now through disability. This is the straw that broke the camel's back. I'm grateful for the fact I have what I do now and will settle for that. Frankly, I'm a little confused as to what more Basic Vista has to offer that we don't already have or is available at other sites. Beats me!

Anonymous:

I think M$ is digging their own grave with this over priced POS called vista.

Linux may well become the OS of choice for the many in years to come unless M$ does what is always have done to its competition. Buy them out...

Tezza:

I hear a lot of people smashing Windows stuff. Sure, its always had its problems, but for millions of people its a simple, usable operating system. You can get stuff done. And the big bonus - you can actually play games on it :). Oh - linux has no viruses? Neither does apple? That's at least partially due to the fact that they are only used by a tiny percentage of the population. 751 bucks for Vista Ultimate is bullshit, but wait for OEM. They won't sell many copies at that price - it will come down. Or wait for the BT release.

¿Qué?:

Presumably the prices announced are for full versions, not upgrades. Curently, an XP Pro upgade is about 72% of the price of a full version. That would make a Vista ultimate upgrade in the region os $540. We have four laptops in our home and so we're presumably looking at more than $2,000 to upgrade all of them! And then there will be similar upgrades to Office 2007 with concomitant major prices. I'm looking at $4,000 or $5,000 worth of upgrades; perhaps more. Then there will be upgrades of anti-virus software, CD/DVD burning software, etc etc etc. This could end-up costing me the price of a small car. Vista might be good, but what family can afford this cost?

Dimsim:

Windows vista came out for one and only reason....games. Take halo2 for instance. Bill gates is a greedy guy everyone that wants to play new microsoft games whould have to buy vista. Not talking of all the upgrades ul need to get for you comp and for your games!!!

Derek:

Go LINUX......

Tyler Durden:

I have been a long time user, developer, and advocate of Microsoft and their technologies. My support over the last couple of years has been tested. When a company is making so much money, they seriously cannot work out what to do with it all because it piles up in the bank faster than they can think of ways to spend it, this pricing cannot be justified. I am all for them recouping costs and making a profit, but all you need to do is read the quarterly results. Pay close attention to Cash and liquidable assets column in the balance sheet for some mind blowing numbers. There is one plus however, Microsoft is all for innovation, and it will be interesting how innovative hackers will be to circumvent the anti-piracy measures Microsoft put in place. The incentive is surely there.

Gurks:

"Vista might be good, but what family can afford this cost?"
Perhaps a family with 4 laptops.

Michael:

lol. classic :-)

Ronald McAdee:

Lol, internet.

Bill Gate:

Go Linux...

Tin:

My goodness. I hope the OEM prices are somewhat lower.
I also wonder what the Government department I work for will do with Vista. I'm kind of expecting them to just upgrade, but that's going to cost bajillions.

steve:

Why would anyone want to buy a copy of Windows. No one would buy an incomplete car, but Microsoft expects us to pay for an incomplete operating system - security updates to plug holes that Microsoft either can't see, or choose to ignor are released every 2 weeks at the moment. If it's up to us to constantly update the OS, then the OS isn't complete.

I made the error of paying for Windows ME (what an appauling OS that was) as well as OfficeXP and each of those peices of software were worse then their previous incarnations. Since then I've been using free software for everything unless there's no good alternative to a Microsoft product; in which case I use an illegal version. I know that's terrible, but I've already paid for poor quality software and I won't fall for it again.

It's hacked Windows XP and Office 2003 all the way for me. On top of everything else, I won't have too upgrade my hardware to run them.

Paris:

$751 for Windows XP service pack 3 with eyecandy.

There is nothing in Vista that is not available today from Microsoft or 3rd party software makers.

All the promised innovations were never implemented because it was beyond the ability of Microsoft and its coders to make it work.

It will take years and years before Vista makes serious inroads into the market. It has nothing exceptional to offer. I know because I have spent months as part of the beta testers using this thing.

For most people it will require upgrading their computer to make it work efficiently and properly.

Users beware, there is no joy heading your way.

john:

"$751 for Windows XP service pack 3 with eyecandy...."

That doesn't work very well.

Dave:

Will this cause Vista to go the same way as Windows XP has with 1 in 3 worldwide homes using pirated copies?

Retired Nerd:

I still don't even see a reason to upgrade, XP pro or home works fine for what I use my computer for and I know for a fact that my friends and family don't use them for much more either, Basically Email and Photo's,I will be OEM only with a new PC.

Raindog:

only $751 for the latest flapping envelopes, that still leaves enough to buy those T3 shares, and that bridge the guy at the Quay was selling, will the value never cease?

John:

So what your saying is buy a copy of XP Pro this xmas with the coupon to get Vista for free next year and save yourself $300.

anony Muse:

Are they joking? What kind of nutcase would pay $751 for an Ultimate Edition? Seems my status will only get me Home Premium.

David:

Every time they release an OS the exact same comments from people are seen.

Its not as good as the last version
Its more expensive than the last version
My tech friend says its no good - stay with the previous version.
Its just eye candy.

Same comments - every OS release.

Maybe people will start seeing through these basless comments and see Vista for what it really is.. the newest and best version of Windows.

The feature Im looking forward to is the new implementation of the networking stack - I work over an ADSL VPN and browsing shares over the network is quite cumbersome (as all previous IP stacks have not been designed for fast but latent networks). They say in Vista that browsing network shares and working on networked share files will be a lot faster due to the improvments on fast but latent networks - Woot.

wombat:

ok now what i dont want to bust your bubble but microsoft is just playing catch up to
apple osx
all the featuers that are in vista have been in os x for the last 2 years
nothing new nothing gained
all they did was again rip off ideas and just box them
i use both os
and i tell you you run osx for a lot os photo work runs rings around XP
and the best part is you can run osx on an older machine and still get performace out of it
none of this bs about reg or validate
sigh when will people really look at the bigger picture

Anonymous:

Yeah and apple is playing catch up in becoming a proper IT company lol

Anonymous:

That's exactly right.

A secure OS that is BSD based. They actually manufacture hardware under their brand name. Lead the market in personal audio players, have a mobile phone/personal organiser... etc.

That is no real IT company.

Idiot.

Anonymised:

"Lead the market in personal audio players, have a mobile phone/personal organiser... etc."

That is to say, Blanket Marketing Campain that outstrips any previous digital media player marketing, such that the average person on the street thinks that ANY digital media player is now an "IPOD"...
it's just sad that they had to nearly cram it down peoples throats before releasing it.

I use a mac everyday at work, and the 'it just works' is true when it's true, but they don't tell you about the other 35% of the time that it's not working.
...

I say, go windows if you can afford it and the system to run it - else go Linux. (there's a flavour to suit everyone!)

canuck:

Baseless or too much truth to it. Sure XP is better than 3.11 but win95, ME, SE were all dogs. People keep saying the same thing because nothing changes with MS, lots of hype, lots of advertising, lots of promises and LOTS of patches as soon as you buy it.

UBUNTU, free, easy to upgrade, almost maintenance free, simple install, secure. Everything windows promises AND I don't have to trade in my 2 year old machine.

tom0_85:

I will be interested to see how well vista deals with multi-core cpu(s) cause if it works better than XP then i might, just might consider upgrading.

The only people who should upgrade are thoes silly gamers who have 10 Video Cards in there machine and want to use DX10 and view there games on a 600inch screen while playing at 1000 fps.

Terry tremethick:

Why can't MS learn from past failure. A significant amount of piracy is due to cost. If the cost was tempting like some good Linux OS's many would buy it and the amount of pirated copies would reduce. They are finding this with cheap legal music for downloading.

I am sure that is will have very useful features. It sounds great, but why not enable every person to own it? Bill Gates is a generous man isn't he? LOL

Lucas:

The dawn of LINUX is here...!!! M$ will be old news sooner or later. Even if windoze was free I wouldnt use it!!

Chris:

from a silly gamers with 10 vid cards, bring in the OEM....otherwise XPs FINE WITH ME!

hope the OEM version is cheap.

Has anyone throught of sending these comments to Microsoft guys?

jason:

We have users coming into our shop with 266Mhz machines looking to upgrade from win95 to xp. Vista will be a good excuse for them to buy a new box.

$751 is a lot of money. (close to the cost of the oem version of 2003 Server)

I personally would not buy any version of vista that has any limitations. I like to run on a domian with vpn links to various other networks. As far as eye candy goes. I dont care.. i turn all that stuff off in XP as it is so as not to waste system resources. I hope that $200 extra isnt just eye candy.

Tin:

"They say in Vista that browsing network shares and working on networked share files will be a lot faster"

Umm. MS have said the latest version is faster at every release. Is it? Well, I've never thought so.

"The only people who should upgrade are thoes silly gamers who have 10 Video Cards in there machine and want to use DX10 and view there games on a 600inch screen while playing at 1000 fps."

Nope... That ain't right... Vista is likely to slow the box down, so gamers will likely stick to XP for some time. No games use DirectX 10 yet, so there's no need to upgrade yet.

Wes:

A bit steep for the Ultimate Edition - a whooping $751!

If I do migrate to Vista I will probably go for the Home Edition.

Arthur Lowe:

Simple, for another $1000 you can get a brand new AppleMac laptop complete with the operating system and no viruses. Or for the price of 2 Vistas, a top of the range iMac with everything included. Life is too short to stress.

Kestrel:

Microsoft is encouraging piracy.

Nice going.

Nick:

All the comments are pretty valid ... and as for owning 4 laptops..not hard over time, especially if your kids need them for school. I build my own PCs so have four and two laptops in the house .. all legal XP (after some effort). Can;t see myself moving to Vista at all .. unless it can provide teleportation services or something likewise that can;t be sourced from third-party suppliers or is more than just window dressing. And as for the security aspect .. it's a bit like selling security doors to old folk - because you got them scared in the forst place!

Scott:

I am a long time customer. Indeed even a systems admin. I have only a few words to say regarding this price... Apple must be LAUGHING. OSX new version out next year will retail for ~200 AUD. When you think of the cost of a laptop now, HP / IBM must not be very happy. OSX and Apple will be a winning combination for the new year.

Alan Laz:

Crazy pricing.

I write this from an AMD 1600+ PC with 512 mb RAM running (free) Ubuntu 6.06 perfectly. Elsewhere on the drive and now permanently ignored is Windows XP and all of its constant virus warnings, "Genuine" Windows warnings, and all the other constant annoyances from the US.

We now run our house and small business using OpenOffice and Gmail.

GoodBye Bill

sallan:

Microsoft can whistle a tune on my meat flute before i pay that for an operating system .. iam in the process of installing linux on all my pc,s and if you want a vista desktop install linux sled with the kde desktop envionment ... beats the hell out of vista and its free

Ash:

Yawn. Ubuntu is free and, in most regards, better than XP. Mac OSX is cheap, and in most regards, better than Vista. I can see both these products becoming a lot more popular over the next year or so.

Daniel lee:

$751 is about ï¿¥4,500 RMB, which is about one and half month pay in china. No wonder why China sold so many pirate copy of windows. Go , China, Go !!!

Anonymous:

Does prison sound good?

JibJib:

Uh, what a jip
It would take my life saving to get the best version

wtf :(

John Sheppard:

Really, do you think that the prices will stay like that for longer than 3 months? nuh uh...They're priced like that to get money out of idiots who have to have the latest. The prices will drop like they always do. Maybe Im wrong though. What kinda annoys me is the 4 different versions...the computer industry is so craphouse...its all based on artificially created need.

Paul G:

"....Can;t see myself moving to Vista at all .. unless it can provide teleportation services or..."

I think teleportation was dropped from the features list - along with all the stuff that made me interested in Vista in the first place.
After two months dual booting XP and Ubuntu 6.06 (my very first experience of a non-MS operating system), I find I haven't booted to Windows for nearly four weeks. With the next Ubuntu release less than three weeks away, I think I'll just save the disk space and the money and get rid of MS for good.
I now have four machines all between five and two years old running Ubuntu and doing WP, web, email, graphics, music and movie stuff with no problems at all over a home network that humms along.
Even sent a donation to the developers I was so impressed - and I'm usually difficult to get money out of!
Go Ubuntu!

woom:

go linux,no need for antvirus at all or spybot and ad-aware ,bugs just dont come at all.go ubunti

Gill Baits:

$750 - I didn't pay that much for my pc.
Besides, Im quite happy with my cracked version of XP Pro, so it may be sometime before I upgrade to a cracked version of vista.

Steven:

What a Joke.. I'll never pay that for an OS . I may have to go Linux. but only when XP Pro is not supported. I ever auto update my OS anyway, if it an't broke don't fix it.

David Flynn:

PaulG: we have it on good authority that teleportation will be part of Vista Service Pack 1, although it'll be known as Microsoft Translocation Manager and will available in eight versions, starting with MTM Basic (which will only teleport to down the street). To promote MTM, Microsoft will resurrect the old Windows marketing slogan of 'Where do you want to go today?.

Paul G:

DF: Great news! But if I run MTM in Vista in a VMWare Virtual machine inside Ubuntu will I still be able to port to the real world? I hate it when you get stuck inside crappy software.

Do you have any goss on the Time Travel module? I understand that MS dropped it after receiving a bug report from a beta tester who claimed to be stuck 1856. I thought that's what beta testers were for! I was so looking forward to the "When do you want to go today?" campaign.

Adam:

There's someone on our team who dresses like a pirate?

I hope so. Rediculous prices.

Brian:

Yes all well and good but does it come with reversie? Is the clock still a feature?

If I'm not completly satisfied can I get my money back?

Guess I'll have to wait for hackers to finish porting DX10 to XP.

Cam:

I've recentlyswitched over to the Linux camp on all 4 of my machines, with XP home and pro dual booting on 2 of them. I can happily say that the XP partions will be permanently wiped in the coming weeks. Suse 10.1 and Kubuntu...just great OS's. Bye bye microsoft.

dags:

Who are they kidding why would you spend that much to upgrade to or buy vista when there is software like ubantu out there(I switched and like it better than XP and its free !!!) Its not worth the money and I dont see that changing for some time if ever(tycipal microsoft grab for cash).

Rob:

I wouldn't touch Vista with a bargepole. The golden rule in software or, for that matter, any new technology is "Don't get version 1!". My computer will be due for replacement in about 2 years, by that stage Vista should be at Service Pack 2, relatively stable, and the price will be some unnoticed OEM amount in the total package. Till then, I can happily wait.

I really don't see what Vista would do for me anyway. Rubbish OS that it is, at least XP (with SP 2) now approaches Unix like stability. That only took 25 years longer than the rest of the world. What will v1 of Vista do except introduce more bugs?

Dan:

Wow what a total rip off!! My computer was built in 2003, and is no way up to scratch to handle Vista! Well it does have the minimum requirements run Vista, but I wouldn't touch it with a tree trunk.

I have read so many reviews about Vista and my impression of this release is that it's going to be a one BIG gigantic problem. Already there are signs that most drivers/anti virus/firewalls may not be compatible with Vista. For me security is a must with any OS, and I don't want have to be forced to use the Windows Sscurity/firewall. For that very reason I opt out for buying Vista and the fact $750.00 is too much to pay for!!

So I rather stick with dual booting with XP and Novell Suse Enterprise Desktop Version 10.

Luke:

I don't understand the way that Microsoft continues to create faulty and useless operating systems where each one is worse than the other some examples 98 to ME...and now xp to Vista (sorry but its just a reworked version of XP), needing constant security updates to 'protect' us against viruses and god only knows what else. Sorry Microsoft but your products are not even on the same playing field as Apple. Just think about it, Apple spends all their time and money creating os's that work as well as being new and intuitive, safegaurd the mac user against viruses and are user friendly. Microsoft you have some explaining to do. Where are all of your billions of dollars going? My recommendation to everyone try Apple and you won't go back!

Debra:

This Year I bought my first Macbook.
At first I was in shock but soon realised how wonderful the mac system is.
Easy one click update of system when or if I want to. Not running a virus scanner just using my broadband router as a firewall and smooth sailing for me.
I just installed Parallels and it lets me virtually run both XP pro and OSX.
I just click Cntrl and Enter and Im in PC world. I click Cntro and Enter and im back in Mac world,,, Keap vista OS X looks the same anyway :)

Debra:

woops thats ===>> Keep vista OS X looks the same anyway :)
wheres my spellchecker :D

Stephen:

What a pack of wingers, if you can't afford to buy the best, you don't buy the best. Get another version.

¿Qué?:

Stephen, I'm going to buy a consonant and suggest that you meant "whingers". Most of us are without wings.

Anonymous:

im currently running the full version of vista (final release code)

and i can tell you this much:

it still has bugs.

looks great, feels great.

limited software support.

not to shabby in making some admin jobs easier and others harder.

the network mapping technique is nice.

linux is good and all but can be a pain for home users.

apple o/s: are ok but limited software support, bullshit adds, and i just dont like them.

Fedup:

Well I've had enough, I have been looking at imac's - for a thin compact system, 20inch screen - Core Duo processor, OS better than Ultimate. And now because macs are using intel chips you can load a Windows partition if you want as well. Move over mac here I come.

Anonymous:

Hey all you moaning readers, pay the price for the software. You are potentially buying and supporting a commercial software company, it wants to make a profit - how big is their business. So you want the new features - well then pay for them.
I bet you dont go down to your Mecedes or BMW dealership and tell them that you think the cost of their cars is too high - and should be reduced... and then complain in the media, similar to this site about it.
Nobody is forcing you to buy the new version of windows, and it looks like ms is, through software protection schemes, stopping you from "borrowing" it from somebody else too.
We will all see soon enough how really dedicated to ms many users are - when they have to part with the $$$, or how many switch to other systems.
I don`t care myself.
I`m a non nerd ordinary home user using PCLinux OS.

Anonymous:

Spot on.

You get what you pay for. We never had such issues in the past, before P2P and multiple anomy. source programs. You just bought the software.

Now, people moan about the cost of every little piece of software. The majority of these people do so, because they have never bought software before. They are the generation of youths, now entering their late teens, early - mid twenties. They have always had software handed to them, and now they don't want to pay for it. Why should they now, they never had to before?

Myself, i am in the process of building a new PC. Building it out of my own pocket, to complete tasks and complex cycle intensive software for an engineering course. In total i expect to spend around $4500AUS. A portion of this will go towards a quadro CPU but also now a large portion will go towards Vista.

But what is all the fuss about? I spoke to my local dealer, who i've used for years with new systems and have been given confirmation i can order Windows Vista Ultimate OEM for $250AUS.

All i have to do, is add it to my next cart when i buy a piece of hardware for the new PC.

Think it costs too much? Don't use it. Simple. If you want to write your own O/S with the financial obligations and input from a company such as MS then go for it.

And if it is as good, i'll buy it from you. As i have, and always will continue to do.

Anonymous:

WHAT IS WRONG WITH EVRYBODY??? ARE YOU ALL POOR ARSES WINDOWS VISAT IS CHEAP AND 100 % WORTH THE MONEY, LINUX MAC AND ALL THE SHIT IS A WAST OF TIME WE SHOULD ALL SUPPORT MICROSOFT AND BY THE WAT SILLY GAMERS WOTH 10 VID CARDS ARE NOT SILLY JUST BECUASE WE CAN AFFORD THE GOOD STUFF N0 NEED TO GET JESLOUS OH YEA AND BY THE WAY BILL GATES ROCK!! :P BEST MAN A LIVE

Anonymous:

Please go back to school.

reality bites:

The reason why MS set prices so high, is because fools like you who "Can afford dx10 cards and such" are willing to part with their funds, therefore creating a consumer base MS and others can rely on. So Corporations like MS are not the only ones to blame about such inflated prices, but also the foolish consumers willing to pay for what they think is the best-not realizing that their buying power is the cause of MS's pricing........

Anonymous:

Bill gates rocks? Best man alive?? what are you his little concubine? I wonder if you can spell too? kindergarten spelling is a good start for you, not trying to defend a scamming software company just because theyre big.

I find it hard it say that bill gates rocks despite any software that hes accomplished or released. After all this is a man who founded the world goodwill association known more controversially as Lucius trust.
For those computer bigots with no real world intelligence , "Lucius trust" was formerly known as LUCIFER trust before the obvious forced them to change thyre company name to Lucius trust. Anyone who has any religous or philosophical knowledge will know that Lucius is officially just a shortened paranigm for LUCIFER.
Thes are KNOWN HISTORCAL BUSINESS FACTS NOT CONSPIRACYS - GO SEE FOR YOURSELF AND DO SOME RESEARCH!!!

Im not a bible basher or atheist but I do believe if a man can become as rich and powerful as Bill Gates and as quickly by promoting his business ideals through the use of the word or ethics LUCIFER, then I think whether hes real or not - Bill gates certainly believes so and there is something much more sinister about his work ethics than anyone has ever picked up.
I mean have you seen this guy in public talking very often?. Its because people do know what hes up to not only because hes a busy bastard. It certainly makes more sense about the cream pie being thrown at his head... lol

Just like all his software its overpriced
when its new to make a killing of new tech junkies and just like all his software it will be pirated and sold despite what people say or think.

whinging about problems will offer no solution, only shedding true light and insight into the epic proportions of the whole situation is the only way to say it for what it is on a whole.

And dont say "how could Bill Gates have anything to do with Satan or satanists?, hes just a tech brain who made that lovely OS I used for so long..."
Wake up and search for the facts yourselves instead of whining over vista prices , the real problem is in the very mind and heart of the founder Bill Gates whos basic living principles all the way up to his overall business ethics are based Luciferian Doctrine.

Anonymous--:

hmm, obviously you didnt realise that bill gates donates millions of dollars every year to charities. i still don't like him, and i still think that guy.. dunno his name, should turn off caps lock and go back to grade 1 to learn to spell. bill gates isn't good. vista does use a huge chunk of system resources (dont run it with 1gb or less of ram, it doesnt run too well) as for you people who havent eeven downloaded a cracked version and tried it before you complain, go try it and then bag it out. then u know whats bad about it

KeyDesignz:

It is because of idiots like yourself, that Microsoft is such a rich company. Seriously, Bill could take a shit in a brown bag and you would still buy it. Oh I forgot, he did, they called it a ZUNE!

ms2linux:

In essence they are, an entire new computer to go with a pretty OS.

As for my Mercedes, when I go to my dealer he doesn't say, "Oh thats a 2001 MB, we don't support work on them anymore".

AND I can add the latest CD player to my mercedes without having to replace the entire car...

Just wondering how much the latest OS is going to cost the public since gov't will no doubt HAVE to install the latest and most expensive, billions?

dajashby:

I note that amazon.co.uk is quoting 370 pounds (well, okay, 369.99 pounds) for a full licence for Vista ultimate, wheras the quoted price for the same edition on amazon.com is US$379.99. According to xe.com (currency converter site), the uk price converts to A$925.05 and the us price to A$485.49. UK customers are clearly being ripped off to an even greater extent than we are.

BigDaddyCool:

I work as a tech/programmer control big web servers and so on. I goto all these dumb Microsoft conferences "for the free beer, food and crap".

Microsoft suck thats the truth. Linux sucks more and apple is just gay.

BUT... at the end of the day Microsoft is the best out of all the sucky products available and I wont deny they make the best server edition OS's around.

Microsoft's OEM "student and teacher edition"... yea good one Microsoft.... Anyone ever rang them up to find out who you can sell them to? ... hint hint, not to mummy....

eh.. their os's are over priced, no diff then intel. Any wonder why there is so much piracy? People have to feed their kids, themselves, buy a house, pay the stupid fuel prices.

Paying $800 for Vista Ultimate... for 1 dvd, that will get scratched and play no role in your life other then 1 install here and there... I'd rather buy a BIGGER TV... or an XBOX 360... something actually worthwhile.

Anyway.

Microsoft charge too much. And yes just like XP... Vista will take atleast 6 months to even remotely be "usable" and like XP... probably around 5 years to perfect (not that xp is).

The only good thing I can say about Microsoft is atleast they think a bit more on that global use scale.

The thing that makes Microsoft crap is price and licencing restrictions.

eg. You cant change a motherboard without windows throwing a activation tantrum ... and thats it you dont get a blue screen/reboot from mb change/device driver difference.

FLAWS FLAWS FLAWS... I could go on forever.

All I can say is. I like Microsoft Server 2003 along with ISA2004. (not ISA2004 SP2 tho or ISA2006)...

They kinda screwd up ISA2004 with SP2 for it along with ISA2006.

"Supposed to make it more safer, easier"... it's crap, doesn't work, things that used to work in ISA2004 SP1 dont work in the later ones.

ARG. bye.

Your friend:

Well I read most of these posts with a smile on my face. You see, last night I installed Vista Ultimate on my home built V8 grunter computer knowing full well that all the eye candy in vista should rocket along without a hitch.

I was aware that some software doesnt run on Vista, but I'm also aware that it didnt really matter as Vista has a few tricks up its sleave anyway that cover those issues.

It took about 1 hour to install and setup drivers that I downloaded beforehand and had sitting on another hard drive, when I opened windows explorer in Vista, there they were on the second drive. All drivers installed easy and fast. Vista runs fast, is great if you like eye candy or have a computer that can run all the features Vista has to offer.

I loaded my game that I play online on a regular basis, and was playing in no time with about the same experience (if not better) than I had in XP Pro.

I'm about to load Office XP Pro and a few other programs as well. Just to let you all know that the reason I'm smiling... you wont believe this, but I didnt pay a cent for Vista Ultimate, I swear it, I didnt even get in on some stupid voucher setup, my XP Pro version was a crack copy... and surprise surprise... so is my Vista ultimate... and get this, it updates with microsoft without a hitch...even with extras, what a bonus.

Now if you look hard enough, you will find Vista Ultimate on the web, download it and install it, just like I did and shut up. Although be warned, it will leave a smile on your face just as it did for me.

As for Microsoft and thier hefty price tag... you have yourselves to blame, who in thier right mind would spend $750.00 on an operating system when most home and small business computers are on average worth about $300.00.

And to prove my point, you can buy a PCI express motherboard with a CPU at around 2.5 to 3 Gigahertz with 512meg of DDR2 ram for $249.00, I know because I am a computer techy and get them all the time for my customers.

They already have a case and all the other bits. So when they ask for Vista and I tell them the cost at todays price...they laugh...but thier not smiling like I am as I wont pass on my copy of Vista.

I have only downloaded it to see what all the hype was about and have to admit, I'm impressed although I did do a clean install (as any techy would) and wiped XP pro for good...and I mean...FOR GOOD.

Anonymous:

Vista Ultimate is expensive, But that's why it's Ultimate! :)
As for those of you mocking us gamers, If you can't handle the heat then stay out of the kitchen, No one is forcing you to buy the product, Stick with what you've got or go alternate OS!
I will be buyng Vista because I want Direct X 10 games, Direct X 10 WILL NOT work on Windows XP so you will be left behind with all the eyecandy turned off!
Face it, It's technology. It's out dated in less than 6 months with most electrical stuff you buy these days.
If you want to be part of it which changes every few months then you have to live with it!
Maybe cut back on your cheeseburgers or other shit for a while and save your money,Do some overtime, get a part time job, Either way the extra few hundred bucks isn't that hard to come by if you put some effort in, An extra weeks work for those of us on low incomes, BIG F'ING DEAL!

Hate Windows:

Why would i pay that much for something that isnt even that usefull sure i love my PC but i think if bill gates keeps going the way that he is going i might just cross over to apple they have better looking pc's and they dont get a third of the amount of viruses. They dont advertise themselves on the internet like Windows PC's do. Windows is designed to advertise itself you see it everywhere but since when do you see an Apple computer with a massive LCD screen siting in the shop window accept maybe for in a Apple shop i havent seen it yet. I think bill gates needs to wake up and figure out if he wasnt paying so much for marketing and advertising he might actually have a product worth buying and therefore he would be able to reduce costs as pirating would disapear to a smaller ratio of users then it is currently. Anyway enough of my cursing Windows. Good luck with Vista guys cause i refuse to buy bad quality and something thats going to lose my business money.

Buena Vista (No Relation):

I wouldn't pay anything over $400 for an OS update, or pretty much anything software-like, unless it is extraordinarily revolutionary. ;) If anyone has an issue with the price, I highly recommend looking for a reseller of XP: MCE with an upgrade coupon. I found one, and $188 + P&H for Windows Vista Home Premium seems like a sweet deal to me.

Damien:

I cannot believe how dumb all these MS bashers are. Have you tried to get someone to fix an Apple or a Linux box? Any repairs carried out on an Apple PC will cost you way more than any money you spend on Vista. There is no greater range of software/tools available that for the Windows platforms. Only people with piracy on their mind or a below average IQ pick up spyware on their Windows PC. Linux updates are released every month but that is considered ok whereas MS updates are not? Every piece of software ever written has had bugs in it. And of course the OS of the masses is more likely to be targeted by hackers/viruses. Why would I spend time writing an Apple virus that may only affect .1% of the world PC population, DUH! All of you whiners should stick with whatever OS you are currently using. People have more choice than ever before about which OS they are going to use. They are choosing XP or Vista as it is the best available option on the market at the moment. Apple and Linux have had 15-20 years to persuade us computers users to change, so MS must be doing something right.

Anonymous:

While Vista is a new next generation operating system, linux is still trying to catch up to windows 98 in terms of application compatibility, ease of use and functionality. Yes linux is somewhat secure but so is a brick. The open source ideology of collaboration of the masses has produced an unwieldly and unfriendly operating system designed by and for nerds. Linux development lacks a sound direction, and below its substandard GUIS, hides a tired 30 yr old OS

Denny:

>I cannot believe how dumb all these MS bashers are. Have you tried to get someone to fix an Apple or a Linux box?

I have the benefit of having multiple OS'es at home. Also Linux, Mac, XP. I recently had to replace components after electrical issues. The new motherboards of the XP & Linux boxes were totally different. It resulted in an XP reload etc. My Linux box was up in under ten minutes after powering on. No specialized recovery software and tools(read $$$$). Ironically my ex-Linux box was my old Windows desktop, yet could cope with real work much better! :lol:

>Only people with piracy on their mind or a below average IQ pick up spyware on their Windows PC

Want to publish your IP? ;)
Not quite true! Those beasties find their way onto your Windows system in various forms. Consider Sony's DRM issue. That sure opened doors. How many people knew about it? I need say no more on that.

>Why would I spend time writing an Apple virus that may only affect .1% of the world PC population

Key here is the ease of infection and access. Sure, the more users, the more attractive, but that is not the only reason.

>Apple and Linux have had 15-20 years to persuade us computers users to change

Tread lightly...
Linux development is driven by real needs of the end users, not by a marketing machine telling you what you need and dictating how to use it. MAC has made an interesting diversion from the traditional DTP environment to becoming more popular with the casual home user, partially driven by costs that has decreased, partially functionality. Their OS change was also a brilliant move. This also bears closer watching.

You may also wish to study sales figures and trends.

>so MS must be doing something right.
Yep. They got your money for their next marketing exercise :lol:

However, the bottom line is that where I run a business and render support services, I will most likely have buy Vista somewhere down the road when my clients do. The proprietary nature of Windows dictates that unfortunately! However, it will always be a grudge buy enforced by obsolescence. Each time a few of my clients migrate to something else. Thankfully I do not see a mass migration towards MS.

Rachael:

Why does it not surprise me about the exuberant price of vista! I suppose they have to recoup development costs somehow. But then again they do make billions ....

Anonymous:

Australians are being gouged $70USD, or 35%, of the RRP for the USA release. Why?

Aus home edition = $385AUD; USA home edition is $199USD. $385 AUD less GST is $270 USD.

Anonymous:

if i got a lifetime warranty with vista i would purchase it possibly, other then that i think its a rip off

Anonymous:

As at 31-01-2007, you can order Ultimate OEM online for $287.10 AUD (inc. GST) at Centrecom.

That *IS* OEM though. Centrecom enforces the purchase of a new computer system with every copy of Vista OEM sold :(

So try another retailer... one of 'em gonna break the rules, it's just a matter of time til ye find ;)

Anonymous123454321:

/------------------------\
|****TOLL GATE AHEAD**** |
|Please Have Money Ready |
\------------------------/

But seriously what are you going to do about it? Monopoly is wonderful thing.

I guess ill be getting my copy soon as some decent DX10 software comes out!

Move along,

Anonymous1:

The OEM version can legally be sold without any hardware, CentreCom is behind the times or haven't read the OEM licence carefully enough. There have been a number of articles posted online quoting Microsoft reps clarifying this. You don't get any support with the OEM version and it can officially only be installed on a single PC, ie it can't be transferred even if the PC dies. Other Australian online retailers are selling OEM versions of Vista and Office 2007 without any restrictions (eg Australian PC Market in NSW).

tcs:

Wait 'till you see what Apple leopard offer before reaching out to your wallet. 2cts

Bill Pilgrim:

How is it that advertised prices in Canada are a fraction of the suggested pprices for upgrades in Audtralia. I know there are diffrerences in currrency conversions, but that doesn't make up for the extra costs in Australia. May be we should stay with XP Pro or change to Linux

Ubuntu lover:

I have stopped to use Misrosoft products four years ago. Now happily living with linux on my machines: mine with xfce on ubuntu, and my wife is with a plain ubuntu 6.06 setup. I feel great being not a Microsoft slave.

Nick Price:

Hi folks,

I am Nick Price, product manager from the Microsoft Vista blog site.
I'm here to explain the general pricing policy of Vista for the Australian market.

Ok, firstly its a question of fair economics. In Australia, sales of genuine versions of Vista are significantly lower than pirated versions which quickly circulate the regions. In that respect, we need to mark up the value of a legitimate copy in order to generate appropriate revenue to compensate for the piracy.

Next its a question of value for money. Vista is a major improvement over all our previous releases. We spent 5 years developing the best O/S ever. More secure, faster, smarter, and solid. We incorporated for example, DRM technologies to bring you additional (and exclusive) functionality.

Lots of advanced technology is itegrated into Vista. After using Vista for a month you'll be overcome by all the stunning features within the system. Your product fluidity will be enhanced as well as your enjoyment and satifaction of owning a superior operating sytem.

What you should take into account therefore is, buying Vista is just like buying a luxury motor. You want the best then you need to pay the premium.

Enjoy the "Wow" moments to come!

Sincerely,
Nick

raindog:

Studebaker had a similar philosophy Nick and you know where they are in today's marketplace.

No vendor has the luxury of setting prices for very long, ultimately on this small blue/green planet of ours, the marketplace sets the price. The question for business is can they make a quid at market price.

If Microsoft can bundle ultimate as a $199 upgrade with a Dell box how can Microsoft possibly justify a $751 retail tag? That's way over the odds and shows utter contempt for the user base.
Same applies for $75 edition of office for a narrow student base. They'll snap up the bargains but will be just as quick to bin your wares if they feel got at in the future.

As for the claims of more cracked copies of Vista than legitimate ones in this country, that is a crock? Vista has only been out in the marketplace for five minutes and if that's Microsoft's claim then it makes all their claims of improved Vista security a crock!
Regardless of whether this latest piracy claim is true or not, can you explain to me how persecuting and financially disadvantaging legitimate users is justified as compensation for alleged piracy.
Pirate copies could likely soon abound within the bad hygiene set but I seriously doubt it there would be many using them in a business environment.

Essentially Microsoft has become poor value for money unless bundled with a name brand box, and exclusivity of purchase from one or two select name brand vendors is not a foregone conclusion when doing the TCO sums for business PCs.
A spend of up to $751 per seat that requires a bucket-load of hardware upgrades makes the funding of support costs for alternate operating systems become more than worthwhile.

The only "Wow" I can see is "Wow how can Microsoft have gotten so out of touch" Value for money how do you work that one out?

Nick Price:

I'm not clear as to why the relatively small amount of legitimate Australian Windows owners are raising concerns over the $751 price tag. We are somewhat bemused that they are unable to recognise the great value of our new operating system. In terms of productivity, user satisfaction, a wealth of highly integrated features, new technologies. The list is huge.

Just to clarify the pricing issue - Fewer geniune copies of Vista are sold in Australia so its a matter of scaling the retail price approriately to reflect the revenue streams from each region.

Bear in mind also that the "Ultimate" edition is aimed at a more sophistated demographic.
Our initial intention was to sell the "Basic" version only for the Australian sector which would fit nicely with the current demographic.

APC administrator:

LOL, that was a nicely written forum troll if ever I saw one :-)

raindog:

"Aimed at a more sophistated demographic" Your redmondians cannot even spell sophisticated. You had better get the boys doing the Office 2007 spell check to have a look at that.

"A matter of scaling to reflect the revenue streams from each region" Those copies destined for Uzbekistan must have a hefty price tag then.

This has to be possibly the 3 most patronising paragraphs ever typed. Go supersize your salary, but it invest it well, at $751 a copy odds on the revenue stream wont last much longer.

Dan Warne:

I have a sneaking suspicion that that post wasn't really written by a Microsoftie, but rather someone who wanted to stir the pot and see what would happen :)

raindog:

I have a sneaking suspicion you could be right there Dan, odds on its from one of the nobody bloggers with the new Ferrari notebooks. Regardless the contempt for the pricing regime still stands. :>

AnonymousAz:

Bill Gates could afford to buy everyone(who has a computer) in the WORLD a copy of Windows Vista Basic and still stand to make profit from the upgrade to Windows Vista Ultimate. DAMN YOU MONOPOLY GUY!