Vista
Is anyone else taking the plunge? Here’s the cost breakdown of all the versions:
- Vista Home Basic - $191.99 - $199.99
- Vista Home Basic Upgrade - $99.99
- Vista Basic OEM - $99.99
- Vista Home Premium - $226.99 - $239.99
- Vista Home Premium Upgrade - $152.99 - $159.99
- Vista Home Premium OEM - $119.99
- Vista Business - $283 - $299.99
- Vista Business Upgrade - $191.99 - $199.99
- Vista Business OEM - $149.99
- Vista Ultimate - $378.99 - $399.99
- Vista Ultimate Upgrade - $249.99 - $259.99
- Vista Ultimate OEM - $199.99
Confused yet? I’m sure you’ll notice that OEM versions are about half the cost of retail. Who actually buys retail, anyway? From what I can tell based on an article from PCMag, the only differences between retail and OEM versions are:
- Retail includes 1yr support from Microsoft — OEM does not
- Retail includes a manual — OEM does not
I’ve heard that OEM licenses are more restrictive, but the same article says a Microsoft rep. said the re-activation is very similar to XP. If you change enough hardware, you have to call up Microsoft to re-activate. Technically, Microsoft’s OEM license forbids the software from being transferred to a whole new machine, from scratch, once it is installed on the original target machine. This means that if you build a completely new machine, you aren’t supposed to transfer the copy over. However, there’s a gray area there. If you slowly morph your computer into the new one — it seems to be allowed. i.e. Change your hard drive. Then change the motherboard. Then processor — you get the picture. Eventually, every component may be different from the original PC. It’s more of a philosophical debate, at that point. If you start off with a car, and replace the engine, is it the same car? Now change the door. Same car? etc. If you transplant someone’s brain into a new body, is it the same person? and so on…
I plan on installing Vista Ultimate with an OEM license on my machine. I’ll probably order it from Newegg.com. Microsoft is, for the first time, allowing customers to purchase and download Windows Vista from its Windows Marketplace website. Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student, Professional, and Standard editions will also be available for download.
Another new feature to Vista is Anytime Upgrade. If you buy Vista Home Basic and later decide that you want some of the feature in Home Premium, you can pay $79 and upgrade. According to Paul Thurrott, every version of Vista is already installed, so the new features simply start working. While it is cheaper to just buy the version you want from the start, it’s a good option. I expect to see more software vendors following Microsoft’s lead on this. The cost breakdown for Anytime Upgrade is as follows:
- Vista Home Basic to Home Premium $79
- Vista Home Basic to Ultimate $199
- Vista Home Premium to Ultimate $159
- Vista Business to Ultimate $139
1/30/2007 Update: The OEM version is tied to your motherboard. If you get a new motherboard, you’ll need to purchase a new license of Vista. Retail versions are “transferable”, meaning you will be allowed to activate it on a different computer. Also, the “Upgrade” license actually invalidates your Windows XP license. In other words, when you activate Vista, your XP license is invalidated — preventing activation.