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by rufo 6178 days ago
Can someone explain to me how the whole half-price sale made sense?

The general tone of Windows 7 seems to be "Vista done right." As a similar example, Apple's tact with 10.6 is "Leopard, but better," and has decided to price Snow Leopard at $29 as an incentive to upgrade.

Microsoft seems to have far more at stake in Windows 7, and most average users who might be interested in upgrading have likely missed out on the half-price sale. (Hell, I'm about as tech-savvy as they come, and I completely forgot to order my copy.) Doesn't it make sense to leave it at $50 for quite a while longer to get people to upgrade?
2 comments
designtofly 6178 days ago
Well, I think the half price sale was a very smart move on Microsoft's part. By the end of the promotion, it was sold out on Newegg.com, and it dominated the software category on Amazon. This created a lot of buzz and demand over a short period and generated a lot of positive publicity.

Microsoft's biggest mistake with Vista was not controlling the PR. This promotional campaign lets Microsoft create a big enough lead-in demand so that it will continue to build until the actual release date.

In the end, IMHO, I think that Microsoft will continue to offer these promotions for its retail customers up to and after the official launch. Hopefully they realize that, for retail buyers, Windows 7 MSRP is still too high. They need as many people as possible upgrading, but not at the expense of the corporate buyers. Therefore, I think they will continue to offer promotions for retail buyers at pretty heavy discounts.

I'll also chime in to say that I was pretty impressed when running Windows 7 RC for a few days to test it out. Coming from XP, it was very fast and intuitive interface. I ordered 2 copies of the Professional Upgrade edition during the promotional period.

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rottencupcakes 6178 days ago
People keep trying to compare Snow Leopard to Windows 7, in an attempt to prove that Windows is overpriced.

You have to realize that Apple has already made their money off of you, since you bought a MacBook. OS sales are Microsoft's only source of profit in this space, and they got what, $20 dollars from the copy of Vista preinstalled on your laptop, so you can understand the higher retail price.

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