Newsletter Archives

• Windows 7 Family Pack Back

  Posted on September 1, 2010 at 20:51 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Microsoft just announced that the old 3-pack of Windows 7, known as the Family Pack, will be available in the US on October 3.

  If you haven’t yet bought licenses for all of your computers, wait a month. $ 125 for three licenses of Win7 Home Premium Edition rates as a first-class buy.

  I know a lot of people who live overseas who’ll be asking their friends in the US to snag a box.

  Windows News Windows 7 Family Pack

• Win7 to sell in UK for half the US price? Nawwwww…

  Posted on August 20, 2009 at 08:04 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Nate Lanxon at CNet UK has an article that breathlessly declares that you folks in UK will be able to get Windows 7 for half the price charged to us Yanks.

  In the UK, full versions of Windows 7 Home Premium — not an upgrade edition — are going to cost around £65. That’s less than the price the Yanks have to pay just for an upgrade version — $120 (£72) — and half what they’ll have to cough up for a full version — $200 (£122).

  What Nate says is absolutely true. But he doesn’t mention the Windows 7 Family Pack, which should give those on the left side of the little puddle three licenses for Windows 7 Home Premium for a paltry US $ 150, or about £30 each.

  As I mentioned three weeks ago, it isn’t clear from Microsoft’s announcement whether the Family pack consists of three full licenses, or three upgrades. But, clearly, it’s difficult to put together an apples-to-apples comparison.

  Right now, if you live in the US or have a friend in the US, the best approach appears to be installing the RTM version of Windows 7 Home Premium, and buying the Family Pack. If you don’t need all three copies, you surely can find a couple of people who do. When the Family Pack arrives, use the keys in the box (or have your friend in the US email you the keys) and you’re in like Flinn.

  Windows News Win7 UK pricing, Windows 7 Family Pack

• Windows 7 Family Pack details announced – and Europeans get screwed again

  Posted on August 1, 2009 at 08:07 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Okay, I’m shocked.

  I’ve read and re-re-re-read Microsoft’s announcement about the Windows 7 Family Pack, and I have to come to the conclusion that the Family Pack contains the Windows 7 “full” DVD, and three licenses for Windows Home Premium. The announcement doesn’t say a thing about the Upgrade version.

  That means you can buy a Windows 7 Family Pack and install fresh, clean, perfectly valid copies of Windows Home Premium on three PCs (the announcement doesn’t say anything about “PCs owned by one family”), even if the PCs are currently running pirate or “Ungenuine” copies of Windows. In fact, as best I can tell, you can put Windows 7 Home Premium on PCs running Linux – a boon for netbook users.

  Read the announcement and tell me if I’ve wrong.

  The Family Pack lists for US $150. Expect it to be available for $130 or so. That’s a tremendous deal – cheaper than the $49 pre-sale promotion, and (again, I think) it’s the full version,  not the promotional upgrade. Microsoft says it’s only available “until supplies last.” We’ll see if supplies ever run out.

  As I hinted before, this is a great way for individuals (with two of your closest buddies?) to get legal. Whether small (family?) businesses qualify for the license remains to be seen.

  Oh. The same announcement gives outrageous prices for the “Anytime Upgrade” from Windows 7 Pro to Ultimate, as explained in Ed Bott’s blog, and the prices for Win7 in the UK and Europe (note that there’s no mention of Windows 7 E) for Anytime Upgrades are up to twice as much as they are in the US.

  Windows News Anytime Upgrade, Windows 7 Family Pack