Windows 7 upgrade : not for me

If you have a PC and are connected to the web, you know that Thursday October 22nd is the big day : the launch of the latest/last of the Windows family product, Windows 7. Our regular readers already know that he discussion between the EU and Microsoft have ended on the good side for consumers : it will be possible to upgrade from XP or Vista to W7 without going through a full reinstall. Out goes the infamous E version.

Now the bad news : Microsoft will try to get as much as possible from you for this upgrade. If you are a consumer with 3 PC at home (not that average), you'll be somewhat fine : about 150€ for 3 upgrade is somewhat reasonable. However, if you are a professional, be ready to spend 289€ !! (seen on fnac.com for France). This is the price for 1 upgrade of 1 PC, just for the OS. Let me summarize my thinking as a professional:

• My 2 years old laptop is running Vista very happily. I know Vista has a bad press, but as far I am concerned I am very happy with i : no crash in 2 years. And I have for a coffee before I start working in the morning (and my PC boots)
• An average business laptop costs about 1000€
• As a small company, we don't have access to the interesting line of pricing at Microsoft
• All reviews on Windows 7 are very good, but as far I am concerned this is just the OS

Bottom line, I can either pay 300€ just to upgrade or wait next year, buy a new laptop (better and more powerful) and get Windows 7 and Office 2010 at OEM price, most likely around 1000€. That's simple : I'll wait.

To be exhaustive, this thinking is valid only for small companies. If you are managing a whole fleet of PC and have buying power, this is a whole different game.

Comments

[Delores Snider]

Thanks for the information it sure gives me alot to think about.

[shari sandoval]

I guess its ok

[Tigger]

Thank you for sending this to me. I was not aware of the cost it is going to bring with it.
Warm regards tigger