Posted on 10/04/2009 9:37:21 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Pics from Engadget:
(Excerpt) Read more at hardocp.com ...
I notice the boxes say upgrade...
If you haven’t tried the latest rev of Ubuntu, 9.04 do so - it’s amazing.
I might get Windows 7 for the kids computer, but personally I’m finally loving linux on the desktop (and this is from a unix admin).
Because everyone already has Vista or XP.
I plan on buying the Professional upgrade when it comes out.
This might sound stupid but will there by a system update for Vista users to this Windows 7? Not that I want it, just curious.
I personally wouldn’t trust it. I’ve had the same install of XP running for the past four years and am loathe to jack it up.
One of the secrets is to put the swap file in it’s own partition like a “real OS”. :-)
Caution - NEVER get a new Windows OS version until AT LEAST AFTER the first service pack is released ...
REMEMBER WINDOWS VISTA - Version 1 ???
Sellers are using the online auction house to hawk Microsoft's new operating system weeks before official release—but buyer beware.
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By Paul McDougall
October 4, 2009 07:25 PM
PC users don't have to wait until Windows 7 is officially launched later this month to get their hands on Microsoft's new operating system—it's already for sale on eBay and at cut rate prices.
A copy of Windows 7 Ultimate was selling for $167.50 on Sunday, while a copy of the Professional version was going for $132.50. Numerous other eBay sellers are hawking other editions, at varying prices.
Officially, the full version of Windows 7 Professional is $299, with upgrades going for $199. Windows 7 Ultimate is priced at $319, with the upgrade version at $219. The full version of Windows 7 Home Premium is priced at $199, with an upgrade from Vista or XP costing $119.
Some sellers are pitching retail boxed versions of the software while others, the majority, are offering registration keys that allow users to activate a previously downloaded copy of Windows 7. Microsoft has already released Windows 7 to businesses, so it's possible the sellers obtained access to the software keys through their jobs or other professional contacts.
Fry’s was running a one day sale yesterday for the Professional at 129.00.
Have 9.10 Beta running here as well as 9.04...and the Beta is behaving nicely as I type this and has a few new features.
For what it’s worth, if you follow Microsoft’s ‘academic discounts’ links you end up on a page that students (college email address required) can order Home premium for $30 (download) and an option to buy a backup disk for another $13. Apparently students attending colleges which require students to connect ‘directly’ to the school’s domain are able to buy the Windows 7 Professional for $30 as well.
I had a hard time finding the link for the pro version discount and after I used it, that link only pointed to the Home Premium version so apparently the discount for the Pro has to come via the college (i.e., the school has to register with MS that it requires direct connection to its domain and then students regsitering with their school email address get the ‘right’ link.)
Home Premium does not allow users to connect directly to a domain the way that Pro and Ultimate do. Also - Pro has a feature that is intended to let users run ‘many’ older XP programs and Premium does not. In case you have any students in the family, I will include the link below. In MS FAQ page MS says that it’s an academic license but not an academic version of the software.There is a one-copy limit per student.
http://windows7.digitalriver.com/store/mswpus/en_US/DisplayHomePage?resid=ilOFSwoBAkYAAAAiq3AAAAAV&rests=1254718733974
ping
FWIW - per my post re: academic discounts through Microsoft, you can buy Microsoft Office Ultimate for $60 (and same kind of deal on Visio) at this link:
http://www.ask.com/bar?q=microsoft+academic+ultimate+deal&page=1&qsrc=0&ab=0&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.microsoft.com%2Fstudent%2Fdiscounts%2Ftheultimatesteal-us%2Fdefault.aspx
Relaax. Win7 is just a Vista Service Pack. Let's say SP3.
Don't believe me? Vista was NT 6.0, and Win7 is NT 6.1. It's not that different, but it's much better.
Frankly, I like Win7 a lot, and I'm converting (most of) my XP boxes to the RTM (and before that the RC) with excellent overall results. I hate the changes to the Windows Explorer GUI (I favor the old Win2K look-and-feel), but everything else pretty much rocks.
Very stable, very fast. Think of it as Vista the way it should have been two years ago.
(BTW, I'm a Unix-head, not a Windows fanboy, and I'm typing this on my MacBook. I don't do OS wars.)
Hmmm...that has upgrade on the box too.
Windows 7 “Recall” Boxes Hitting the Shelves”
You can get the Student discount for Professional by clicking a link that says “I need access to my college’s network” or something like that. I guess Home edition doesn’t have that feature, so the link takes you to a page that lets you buy the Professional upgrade for $30. That’s the one I bought.
I haven’t seen any Win 7 boxes that don’t say upgrade. I believe the reason is that most machines area already running XP and Vista. I believe we are looking at whole package PRICES on the cover of an ‘upgrade’ product. On the MS website, you can read what versions can upgrade ‘in-place’ (i.e. Vista Home Premium can upgrade to Win 7 Home Premium ‘in-place’) But those of us who have something not on the ‘supported’ upgrade path can still use the upgrade package to upgrade Windows XP to Win 7 or Vista Home Premium to Win 7 Ultimate but it won’t be an ‘in-place’ upgrade - it will have to be performed as a ‘clean install’ meaning from the ground up wipe out all that existed before and you may need to do your own driver upgrades etc.
Thank you, that’s a great link.
By the 22nd, there will be OEM full versions available from places like Newegg.com. They usually cost the same as upgrades, but don’t deactivate the old product ID code, so you can still reinstall your old version of XP or (shudder) Vista if you don’t like Win7.
The downside is that you will have to do a fresh install rather than an upgrade.
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