Microsoft has announced pricing for upgrades to Vista Operating System with a new method known called Windows Anytime Upgrade. Unlike previous versions of Windows, all versions of Vista will either be shipped on a single DVD or pre-installed on a PC with the OS; however the user will only be able to use the version the product activation key they purchased. If the user wants to upgrade to a more featured version, such as from Home Basic to home Premium, they just need to buy the activation key to unlock the features of the version they purchased. The upgrade prices will be $79 for Home Basic to Home Premium, $199 for Home Basic to Ultimate, $159 for Home Premium to Ultimate and $139 for Business to Ultimate.
To encourage families of multiple PCs to upgrade their PCs to the Vista OS, Microsoft has also unveiled its Windows Vista Family Discount, where a customer who buys the retail boxed version of Vista Ultimate will be able to purchase up to two additional Home Premium licenses for $49 each, subject to eligibility verification.
Finally, for consumers who prefer to get their hands on the Vista OS without physically going to a shop to buy it or wait for the CD to be delivered, Microsoft will also sell their Vista and office products as downloads through Microsoft's Windows Marketplace website. Through its Digital Locker feature, customers will be able to come back to resume partial downloads and keep track of license keys for their online purchased products. However, the convenience of the online downloads has the drawback of being sold at the suggested retail prices despite the consumer note receiving any physical discs or packaging for their purchase.
As Microsoft can sell products online without any physical discs or packaging, it will be interesting to see whether they will ship out an authenticity sticker for the PC or some other documentation to show the user has actually bought their product. Up until now, Microsoft’s “How to tell” anti-piracy campaign use to show various methods of how to check if a product is genuine, such as looking at the product CD for certain holographic features, looking for the sticker on the PC, checking the holographic certificate and so on, all of which don’t appear to be included here. On the other hand, Microsoft is not the only one to sell products completely online as downloads, as a lot of software companies have been selling products online for many years.
The main advantage with consumers being able to write their own copies on disc, is that unlike most games that use non standard discs to protect their games against unauthorised copying, Microsoft relies on product activation. However, even this does not go well with some consumers, particularly those who regularly upgrade their hardware.
Further details can be read in this Yahoo press release.
