Microsoft Confirms Windows 7 Family Pack

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Good news for those of you with multiple PCs planning on upgrading to Windows 7. Microsoft has confirmed that rumored Windows 7 family pack we've been hearing about but, the bad news is, no word on pricing just yet.

The software maker acknowledged the move as part of a blog entry Tuesday afternoon. However, it still isn't saying how much it will charge for the family pack, which allows three installations of the home premium version of Windows 7.
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question is... do i prebuy a couple of copies at 40quid here in the uk... as we will most certainly get price gouged on the family pack.

Or sit and wait and maybe... maybe getting a nice surprise when they post the price.
 
Well, I hope they offer a decent price break for such a small bulk order.
 
Nice gesture but I'll skip. It's Ultimate or nothing.
 
rally round the windows 7 family pack, pocket fulla cd-keys
 
Interesting! I hope it will be a decent discount.

Since I will be needing a copy for my computer, the GFs computer, and my HTPC. All are running 7 RC now. 3 licenses is perfect! Haha.
 
i ment. get a single for 40 now or get the family later? if its more than 120 quid i'll be pissed thou. for 3 licences.

i'm thinking its going to be closer to 200 thou :-/
 
why would it be 200 for 3 upgrades? logic dictates it cant be more than 40 per license, or ~100 or whatever their charging for full.
 
AceGoober said:
Nice gesture but I'll skip. It's Ultimate or nothing.
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Same for me

On that note however, I bought 1 OEM copy of Vista 64 ultimate and run it registered on 3 different computers without issue..soo not really sure what they are selling here. /shrug :confused:
 
Now you know that people are just going to reuse the same disk.. plus, who would buy anything other than Ultimate?
 
mercyground, no Family Pack in EU. That is another "USA only" thing. And i will say it again - they will wonder why is the piracy so high in country with average monthly wage of €700 and Windows Home Premium Retail pack for €199 or Pro for €309 or Ultimate for €319.
 
screw that then. Well done MS. Another pissed off non-customer. I'll get 7 for the otherhalfs lappy and i'll go abuse a linux distro for mine.

Whens Google's OS out? That should be fun to try.
 
oh and the EU side? That is definatly "I'm taking my ball and going home" pathetic response.

If they hadnt screwed with web standards and stuck 2 fingers up to the world and dog they wouldnt be fined. If i was the EU and USA judges? I'd force them to remove all support for anything below IE8 and make them sign a commitment to uphold webstandards. Then we wouldnt have all this crap with browsers rendering differently.

Shipping 7 without IE is a stupid knee jerk fuck you. Childish in the extreme. But then again. MS is never gracious in defeat.

Sub note? Why in the age of digital distribution cant i buy it from amazon and just download. It doesnt REALLY matter where i am. I'm just buying a licence and then downloading software. Its my choice which market i buy it from. (The whole point of a global market. Just like shopping around to find cheapest price)
 
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/07/22/windows_7_aug_rtm_family_pack/

LeBlanc also confirmed Microsoft does indeed plan a family pack for installation on up to three PCs but that it will only be available in selected markets.

LeBlanc noted the pack followed feedback from beta testers and enthusiasts during the last three years that "we need a better solution for homes with multiple PCs".

He supplied no further information on the family pack, but based on what we've seen already, you should expect to pay $149.99 for the three-license pack.
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hmm so 150quid.... (cos u know it will be 1:1)

instead of me being able to buy it at USD prices with discount. Grr.
 
mercyground said:
Sub note? Why in the age of digital distribution cant i buy it from amazon and just download. It doesnt REALLY matter where i am. I'm just buying a licence and then downloading software. Its my choice which market i buy it from. (The whole point of a global market. Just like shopping around to find cheapest price)
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Yeah, that would be great. Maybe someday the borders will be more open, at least it could be regarding digital distribution.
This would also make many things much cheaper and competitive also.. Hate to order something from elsewhere e.g. because enormous prices.
 
FoxhoundOp said:
What does Ultimate come with that justifies its price point anyway?
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Well for those that are dumb enough to buy retail, I couldn't answer this. For the rest of of us, OEM there is rarely more then a $20 price difference and at that point, Why not?

Here is a hint, any hardware purchase qualifies you online to purchase an OEM copy. The only thing the oem copy lacks is the pretty retail box and other marketing bs. Unless you like paying an extra $150+ for a box, I suggest paying $2.99 or so for a set of thumbscrews and buy the oem version for $180 when it hits. That and I quit buying anything from MS with the term "Home" in it years ago. Home for MS is their universal way of saying "Shit Edition", or at least it used to be. I do know this, I have zero issues out of Ultimate edition with activation or other annoying treat you like an idiot stuff. Most of my friends still complain about some of it in home premium, though the majority still come from home basic.
 
I like the idea of a family pack. What I don't like is the fact that they will be marketing it and selling it at places like Walmart to families that have no clue how to install the OS or whether their computer is compatible or whether the manufacturer is producing drivers for the 7.
 
Dekoth said:
On that note however, I bought 1 OEM copy of Vista 64 ultimate and run it registered on 3 different computers without issue..soo not really sure what they are selling here. /shrug :confused:
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Just because you could, doesn't mean it was legal. 1 OEM copy = 1 system.
 
what they should do is create a barebones o/s that you can build up on once installed... and if your an admin create your own image.

example: o/s (basic services)... then install browser, media player, software of your choice.
-microsoft can free/charge for their media player, browser etc... but keep it as a user's choice.

this would make a lighter o/s that doesn't require IE that is a shitmess.
 
yeh great, hurry up and pre order at a super low price before we offer a family pack deal..... assholes....
 
This is a good thing. I took advantage of the same licensing for Office 2k7 home/student in my house, and it just plain makes sense. It's not like I'm making any cash off using it on multiple machines at home! Home Premium is plenty good for me too, I don't need bitlocker. ;)

Hopefully this is available in Canada and the price is decent. No, I have not read any of the articles, just responding to comments here. :)
 
jroe52 said:
what they should do is create a barebones o/s that you can build up on once installed... and if your an admin create your own image.

example: o/s (basic services)... then install browser, media player, software of your choice.
-microsoft can free/charge for their media player, browser etc... but keep it as a user's choice.

this would make a lighter o/s that doesn't require IE that is a shitmess.
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They do it's called the EU editions.
 
Dekoth said:
Well for those that are dumb enough to buy retail, I couldn't answer this. For the rest of of us, OEM there is rarely more then a $20 price difference and at that point, Why not?

Here is a hint, any hardware purchase qualifies you online to purchase an OEM copy. The only thing the oem copy lacks is the pretty retail box and other marketing bs. Unless you like paying an extra $150+ for a box, I suggest paying $2.99 or so for a set of thumbscrews and buy the oem version for $180 when it hits. That and I quit buying anything from MS with the term "Home" in it years ago. Home for MS is their universal way of saying "Shit Edition", or at least it used to be. I do know this, I have zero issues out of Ultimate edition with activation or other annoying treat you like an idiot stuff. Most of my friends still complain about some of it in home premium, though the majority still come from home basic.
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Umm, XP's Home version was fine for the vast majority of people and Vista/7's Home version lack even less than XP's did (and even have things that the Pro version doesn't, like MC)... $180 is still wayyy too much to pay for Ultimate when you can pre-order Home Premium for $50, which is what I did, and what I imagine anyone who reads the news even occasionally did.

OEM prices are usually not much lower right after the OS has been released (much lower than Upgrade version prices anyway, dunno why anyone would buy the full retail versions when you can perform full installs w/the upgrades). Also, there's usually more restrictions on how freely you're allowed to move an OEM license around from rig to rig... They'll often let it slide for people who obviously bought licenses for DIY systems but not always.

Technically speaking any OEM license is meant to be tied to the original system (read: motherboard) that it was installed on, never to be moved or re-activated elsewhere. Either way, getting Ultimate is the same as pissing money away if you ask me.


On-topic, I like this family pack... I only pre-ordered one copy of Win7 for my main system but if later I decide to upgrade my netbook and the other (older) system I can now just go ahead and get the Family Pack I guess, good deal. Almost like an extension of the pre-order pricing for anyone needing multiple licenses...
 
If it happens to sell for less than I paid for my three copies of Win7 @ pre-order prices, I... wait, I can cancel if need be. Nevermind... I'll just sit and wait to see how this unfolds. Needless-to-say: it's about time! :D

- James
 
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