Analyst suggests MS give Win7 away free to Vista Ultimate users.

[FelixDeCat]

http://www.reuters.com/article...idUS184649393320090512

Microsoft Corp. should give Windows Vista Ultimate owners a free upgrade to Windows 7, an analyst said Monday.

"I'd like to see a free upgrade [to Windows 7] for Vista Ultimate users," said Michael Cherry, an analyst with Directions on Microsoft. "It would buy them a lot of good will, and I don't think it would cost them much."

Cherry cited Microsoft's failure to deliver on the promise of "Ultimate Extras" as his reason for urging the company to compensate users.

Ultimate Extras was one of the features Microsoft cited in the months leading up to the early-2007 release of Windows Vista Ultimate to distinguish it from lower-priced versions. According to Microsoft's marketing, Extras was to regularly provide "cutting-edge programs, innovative services and unique publications" only to Ultimate users.

But users quickly took Microsoft to task for too few add-ons and a too-slow release pace. Five months after Vista's launch, critics began complaining and Microsoft said that it would do better.

Two months later, users again blasted Microsoft as the company's self-imposed deadline for delivering more add-ons came and went without any new downloads. The last time Microsoft delivered Extras was in September 2008, when it released a puzzle game, some sound effects and three screensavers.

Last February, in fact, Microsoft announced that it would drop the concept from Windows 7's Ultimate edition. "Our new approach to planning and building Windows doesn't have the capacity to continue to deliver features outside the regular release cycle," a company spokeswoman said at the time.

Cherry's suggestion that Microsoft give users a free upgrade to Windows 7 would be welcomed by some Ultimate owners. "Like an idiot I purchased Vista Ultimate expecting the 'extras' only Ultimate users would receive," said a Computerworld reader identified as "Garygfd" in a comment on a February story about Extras. "How-freakin'-ever, all I got was useless crap that I wouldn't download anyway. What Microsoft should do is give us Ultimate idiots a big break on Windows 7."

Microsoft has not yet disclosed the pricing for Windows 7's editions, although the company will reportedly offer free or discounted upgrades to users who buy Vista PCs after July 1. According to those reports, people who buy Vista Ultimate after that date will be upgraded to Windows 7 Ultimate.

"Pricing is always the last thing for them to decide," Cherry said.

Free OS? Microsoft?! What planet is this guy from?

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

Originally posted by: FelixDeKat
Free OS? Microsoft?! What planet is this guy from?

Planet X?

 

[Lonyo]

Free to people who effectively paid twice the price of a copy of Vista without getting much extra.
He has a point, it would do MS a world of good when it comes to PR with minimal impact on sales. Why would people who got burned with Ultimate want to buy Win 7?

 

[FelixDeCat]

Originally posted by: Lonyo
Free to people who effectively paid twice the price of a copy of Vista without getting much extra.
He has a point, it would do MS a world of good when it comes to PR with minimal impact on sales. Why would people who got burned with Ultimate want to buy Win 7?

I guess I wouldnt know. Im still using XP.

 

[KeithTalent]

I wouldn't expect a free copy of Win7, but a reduced cost upgrade would be good, which I believe they always offer. Giving it away for free would be silly, they are a business after all, and their shareholders would be pissed.

KT

 

[Stuxnet]

I've actually thought this, myself. I don't own Vista, but for those who got burned by it, it's certainly the right thing to do. Racing a new OS to market because you obviously botched the last one is akin to admitting the last one wasn't viable. Customers who purchased that product deserve restitution.

 

[Hacp]

I want an upgrade copy for 50 bucks! I'm running business.

 

[videogames101]

Analyst: Stupid

Vista Buyers: Idiots, it performed bad upon release and by the time(now) that vista performs comparably to XP we have 7 around the corner, bad purchase decision.

(Windows 7 coming soon wasn't really a secret)


"It's OK for stupid to hurt"


(Not to mention, if you really think there is really no noticeable difference between Vista and 7, stick with Vista, and you don't get burned.)

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: jbourne77
I've actually thought this, myself. I don't own Vista, but for those who got burned by it, it's certainly the right thing to do. Racing a new OS to market because you obviously botched the last one is akin to admitting the last one wasn't viable. Customers who purchased that product deserve restitution.

Botched? How is it botched? Been working fine for me since RC1.

KT

 

[krylon]

I'll be the minority here: Vista SP1 has treated me well

 

[FelixDeCat]

Originally posted by: Hacp
I want an upgrade copy for 50 bucks! I'm running business.

You run ultimate on business computers? How many copies?

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

Originally posted by: videogames101
Analyst: Stupid

Vista Buyers: Idiots, it performed bad upon release and by the time(now) that vista performs comparably to XP we have 7 around the corner, bad purchase decision.

(Windows 7 coming soon wasn't really a secret)


"It's OK for stupid to hurt"


(Not to mention, if you really think there is really no noticeable difference between Vista and 7, stick with Vista, and you don't get burned.)

I've found Vista to be superior to XP for my usage, since it's release.

 

[her209]

I have Windows Vista Ultimate on me laptop.

 

[krylon]

I would like to add that the amount of useless hate and misinformation still being spread about Vista is worse than the actual problems that existed before SP1. It's okay, though. I understand that it is cool to hate Microsoft.

 

[Slick5150]

Originally posted by: KeithTalent

Originally posted by: jbourne77
I've actually thought this, myself. I don't own Vista, but for those who got burned by it, it's certainly the right thing to do. Racing a new OS to market because you obviously botched the last one is akin to admitting the last one wasn't viable. Customers who purchased that product deserve restitution.

Botched? How is it botched? Been working fine for me since RC1.

KT

The launch of Vista was most certainly botched. It was buggy, didn't support all teh features it claimed to, other features didn't work properly. Its a far better product since SP1, but prior to that people were absolutely getting burned by it.

You and I could fault them for not knowing better than to buy a MS operating system at launch, but I'd certainly hope MS wouldn't fault them for that.

 

[her209]

Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle
I've found Vista to be superior to XP for my usage, since it's release.

Not in Windows XP x64. The lack of driver support drives me nuts!

 

[zerogear]

Originally posted by: KeithTalent

Originally posted by: jbourne77
I've actually thought this, myself. I don't own Vista, but for those who got burned by it, it's certainly the right thing to do. Racing a new OS to market because you obviously botched the last one is akin to admitting the last one wasn't viable. Customers who purchased that product deserve restitution.

Botched? How is it botched? Been working fine for me since RC1.

KT

Vista is miles better than XP. As for Win7 is really more of a GUI and networking upgrade makeover for Vista. But I do agree with free upgrade to Win7. Simply because I'm cheap

 

[SAWYER]

Vista bashing is all the rage, all the cool kids are doing it

 

[AstroManLuca]

The only reason I have Vista Ultimate is because it was the only edition my school sold. Otherwise I'd never waste money on MS promising extra crap down the road. Why would you pay up front for software that hasn't even been described yet? That's basically what Ultimate Extras are.

 

[zerogear]

Originally posted by: Slick5150

Originally posted by: KeithTalent

Originally posted by: jbourne77
I've actually thought this, myself. I don't own Vista, but for those who got burned by it, it's certainly the right thing to do. Racing a new OS to market because you obviously botched the last one is akin to admitting the last one wasn't viable. Customers who purchased that product deserve restitution.

Botched? How is it botched? Been working fine for me since RC1.

KT

The launch of Vista was most certainly botched. It was buggy, didn't support all teh features it claimed to, other features didn't work properly. Its a far better product since SP1, but prior to that people were absolutely getting burned by it.

You and I could fault them for not knowing better than to buy a MS operating system at launch, but I'd certainly hope MS wouldn't fault them for that.

Lack of driver support for an new OS is not Microsoft's fault. Blame the companies like Creative/Norton who says that the change in architecture made their drivers not work. Where products actually said that they were not supported by the OS. Which is stupid.

 

[FelixDeCat]

Originally posted by: her209
I have Windows Vista Ultimate on me laptop.

I have Vista home on my laptop. But this may the first time Ive ever skipped a Mircrosoft OS upgrade since 1991 for my desktop. :shocked:

ps. Im dont dislike Vista, I just want to stick with XP.

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: Slick5150

Originally posted by: KeithTalent

Originally posted by: jbourne77
I've actually thought this, myself. I don't own Vista, but for those who got burned by it, it's certainly the right thing to do. Racing a new OS to market because you obviously botched the last one is akin to admitting the last one wasn't viable. Customers who purchased that product deserve restitution.

Botched? How is it botched? Been working fine for me since RC1.

KT

The launch of Vista was most certainly botched. It was buggy, didn't support all teh features it claimed to, other features didn't work properly. Its a far better product since SP1, but prior to that people were absolutely getting burned by it.

You and I could fault them for not knowing better than to buy a MS operating system at launch, but I'd certainly hope MS wouldn't fault them for that.

Well as I said, I had been using it since the semi-early beta and never had any real issues, which is why I bought (well I actually traded for it here) Ultimate when it was released. I enjoyed it much more than the XP I had been running prior to that.

It is, of course, entirely possible I just did not use any of the features that were causing problems for people. All of my hardware was quite new at the time, so I think that helped as well, since I recall people having issues with older hardware/drivers.

KT

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: krylon
I'll be the minority here: Vista SP1 has treated me well

I don't really think we're in the minority, I run Vista on three PCs at home (a desktop and two laptops) and have had very little trouble with it.
Only one of them is Ultimate, and it came with the PC from Dell's Outlet

 

[lokiju]

I'd be down with that.

Only because I have Vista Ultimate though

I wonder if that'd work for version like the one I got for free from MS for doing their surveys...

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: krylon
I'll be the minority here: Vista SP1 has treated me well

That's not a minority. That's the truth, once you push past all the bullshit.

Vista is a damn fine OS. Remarkably stable, and yet still maintains the functionality of the Windows brand.

Windows 7 is essentially an improved, dressed up version of 7, and I will definitely upgrade within a few months of release.

Vista was simply tarnished at release due to terrible driver support (a few companies still hasn't gotten around to providing quality legacy drivers, but whatever, not Microsoft's fault by any means). UAC annoyed/pissed people off, but I'd argue it was a remarkable feature that keeps the system stable with the less 'capable' crowd.