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Microsoft Cuts Off its Nose... (updated)
June 25, 2009
Posted by: Glyn Moody
… to spite its face. This is insane:
Windows 7 will go on sale in the UK, the US and other territories on 22 October. However, unlike previous versions of Windows, there will be no upgrade price option for EU users.
Instead, all EU customers will have to pay for a brand-new licence, regardless of whether they are an existing Windows user. This situation is a result, says Microsoft, of it having to produce an 'e' version of its OS that doesn't come with the Internet Explorer browser preinstalled.
So Microsoft expects us to believe that it is no longer in control of its pricing structure, or that it was utterly incapable - because of the laws of physics - of offering the same upgrade pricing for the “e” version?
Call me cynical, but I don't think that's going to wash with the punters. They will rightly see this as Microsoft throwing a pan-galactic strop, and doing all it can to be as nasty as possible to the European Union – forgetting in its rage that the ones it will most upset are those people formerly known as locked-in users.
Except that nowadays, they aren't so locked in. Improved cross-platform compatibility for apps means that alongside GNU/Linux (admittedly still something of an acquired taste), there's also Apple's hardware, which is becoming increasingly popular on the desktop. Or why not simply stick with XP and forget about Windows 7 *just* like everybody forgot about Windows Vista?
Thanks, Microsoft, you've just made the autumn several hundred per cent more interesting.
Update: It looks like the pricing details quoted above aren't quite right: you *can* buy an upgrade, which is good. What's not so fine, though, is the fact that it appears you can't *do* an upgrade: you have to carry out a clean install, with all that that entails. (I think: as this indicates, I'm still confused about what can and can't be done, and I'm sure I won't be alone. Thanks to Jack Schofield for attempting to guide me through the minefield.) So Microsoft is still being intentionally awkward by removing IE in the first place, and causing all this kerfuffle.
As for alternatives, I'm sure Firefox and Opera would have jumped at the chance to be on a startup menu option for Windows 7, so I don't think there would have been any licensing problems with taking that route. Microsoft choose not to, I would guess, because it really doesn't want people to have the option to choose so easily. Instead, it's come up with a super-inconvenient approach that pays lip service to the EU's requests to do something, while making things worse in practice. It will be interesting to see how the European Commission responds.
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Comments received
Daniel Fisher said on Thursday, 25 June 2009
I think that's totally fair to charge EU customers full-price. After all, it was the EU that continually fine Microsoft for petty reasons. For example, anyone can download and use a different media player. It's just the cost of Microsoft doing business with the EU, and vice versa.
Glyn Moody said on Thursday, 25 June 2009
Well, it will be interesting to see if EU users agree...
Rodrigo Saldaña said on Friday, 26 June 2009
I think the 1st commenter is barely computer literate to call the EU's fines motivated by 'petty reasons'. Hopefully this will motivate all the big software companies to finally pick a Linux toolset to run their software on. Mozilla does this on Linux, they have a list of libraries that are minimum and a list of libraries that make it work better, and you can run Firefox on any linux that has those. Admittedly, GNU/Linux is hard on people used to Microsoft's version of user friendly (the hide the advanced options as deep as you can method), but anyone willing to get their hands dirty will find that 1) it's not that hard to have a linux distro up and running and 2) that 'slow' machine that could barely run Vista practically flies on almost anything else.
Cheers.
OzyJohn said on Friday, 26 June 2009
"you have to carry out a clean install.."
Poor lazy EuroTrash slobs!
Bitch to the EU.
Maciej Bartkowiak said on Friday, 26 June 2009
Being a citizen of EU, I am surprised that a person who sticks to the lamest operating system family on the market, instead of making the tiny effort of switching to something new, calls ME a lazy slob.
Of course Microsoft can charge any price for Windows in EU as far as I am concerned. Let them get rid of the remaining users.
steve hill said on Friday, 26 June 2009
so we pay more for getting less thats good
Joe Schmoe said on Friday, 26 June 2009
HAHA. Be careful what you ask for EU. You might just get it.
Rob Ferguson said on Saturday, 27 June 2009
I stopped using MS Windows six years ago after growing tired of the company's design decisions. However, I think Microsoft's response to the EU's concerns about IE bundling has been entirely appropriate. Where will the EU's demands end? You've got China requiring Green Dam on all computers; you've got the EU requiring that MS provide multiple browsers. Does anyone really believe that increased state intervention in PC software is a good trend? Sure, MS is a bully, but let's be honest about the marketplace. There are lots of other options out there if you've got half a brain.
David Gerard said on Monday, 29 June 2009
Note that you could only do an upgrade in place from Vista to 7 anyway. You were always going to have to do a fresh install to get from XP to 7. So the target market for 7 would have had to do a fresh install anyway.
Louis C-W said on Monday, 29 June 2009
This is all down to the EU and Opera being vengeful at the end of the day! You don't see them doing this to OS X and Safari (not that they should)...
Well look at it this way:
You buy a Toyota car, the dealer doesn't say:
Right, what Engine do you want? Ford, BMW, Honda etc
or
Hang on you can't have a radio bundled, you'll have to buy that separate!
The one problem I see is the fact that there is NO upgrade option.. Just think for the more unknowledgeable users who have never done a clean install before, and have windows vista that want to keep their progames+data? They won't have a clue, and will end up accidentally loosing everything and incorrectly blaming Microsoft!.
For me, it's better, as I want the 64-bit, and I wouldn't have been able to upgrade anyway, so at least I'm paying less for a full version!
But, this could seriously hurt Microsoft, and it's all down to the Eu and Opera- and nobody uses Opera now! That's why! Opera's jealous!
Ben said on Tuesday, 30 June 2009
Lets drop the assumption that Microsoft (or Apple!) would ever want to "help" people, make things easy, make things cheap, or do anything "nice". I've already seen all the techos here getting wet over W7 and I'd imagine they'll find some incomprehensible jargon to confuse management into thinking it's going to "add value" to the business. Conscious-minded, logical thinking adults all know it's balony and we can run all the worlds businesses on Excel 97 and Access 97 but we might as well yield to W7 and save ourselves the time.
Daniel Thomas said on Thursday, 02 July 2009
First citizens in EU territory can get the upgrade price, and its not that involved to reformat a hard drive. Second why would windows carry Firefox or the google browser when they make a perfectly good browser? The EU are the ones who need to re-think their illogical demand. Whats next will Ford have to use Chevy motors in their vehicles to sell them in Europe??