Microsoft has said it will price the full editions of Windows 7E -- the "E" stands for "Europe" -- at the lower upgrade prices until at least Dec. 31, 2009.

So that's interesting. Until you realise  that Europe doesn't get any upgrade packages anyway, it's full clean install or nothing, because an upgrade from an existing system might leave bits of IE behind. So wow, we get a whole two months in Europe to get a cheaper version of Win7. That's "nice".

Of course it's still overpriced compared to the US upgrade prices:

The "full" version of Windows Professional will cost EU users €285, or $400.28, at Tuesday's exchange rate, even though that edition will be priced at the "upgrade" amount. In other words, EU customers will pay twice the $199.99 U.S. price.

giovanni said:

Thank you EU for trying to include another browser in the OS and forgetting that in general we pay 200% the price of software in the US...

... for less features: no voice recognition, no media center content.

ZippyV said:

giovanni said:

*snip*

... for less features: no voice recognition, no media center content.

My Media Center Guide works perfectly, but i guess you are talking about netflix and such?

Bas said:

I'm getting pretty tired of this crap. I wonder how much Macs cost in Europe compared to the US?

In the UK, substantially more; on mainland Europe? not that much. You'll have better luck outside the EU though since the taxes might be lower. I'd give Apple Russia a try first.

ZippyV: what's that about voice recognition?

W3bbo said:

Bas said:

*snip*

In the UK, substantially more; on mainland Europe? not that much. You'll have better luck outside the EU though since the taxes might be lower. I'd give Apple Russia a try first.

ZippyV: what's that about voice recognition?

English only.

ZippyV said:

W3bbo said:

*snip*

English only.

Not only is the voice recognition English only, you can't even dictate in English if you have a non-English UI. It just refuses to run.

Didn't stop them from advertising that feature with Vista, though.

Did I also mention that Snow Leopard will be $29 for the upgrade version?

Chadk said:

Not a chance I'm paying $400 for Windows 7, when I can get a Mac AND Leopard(Snow Leopard once that ships) for $800.

Did I also mention that Snow Leopard will be $29 for the upgrade version?

If you pay in US$ you won't be paying $400. Apple (and Adobe, and al.) all sell their software and hardware for twice as much in the EU compared to the US (sales taxes account for a difference of about 20% depending on the country).

Chadk said:

Not a chance I'm paying $400 for Windows 7, when I can get a Mac AND Leopard(Snow Leopard once that ships) for $800.

Did I also mention that Snow Leopard will be $29 for the upgrade version?

Uh, thats based on the fact you probably prefer OS X.. whilst imacs look great, I can't stand that pantsy * OS.. and I use it often.

Bas said:

ZippyV said:

*snip*

Not only is the voice recognition English only, you can't even dictate in English if you have a non-English UI. It just refuses to run.

Didn't stop them from advertising that feature with Vista, though.

Voice recognition is working in German, too. At least it did with Vista, I don't think it won't work in 7 anymore since it's basically the same.

Dodo said:

Bas said:

*snip*

Voice recognition is working in German, too. At least it did with Vista, I don't think it won't work in 7 anymore since it's basically the same.

There's a few languages that get voice recognition, including German, but Dutch isn't among them, and in all cases, your UI language must match the language you're trying to use.

Sven Groot said:

Dodo said:

*snip*

There's a few languages that get voice recognition, including German, but Dutch isn't among them, and in all cases, your UI language must match the language you're trying to use.

One more reason to use the English UI. Not a good one, I admit.

BHpaddock said:

If you're in Europe you get the FULL version of Windows 7 for less than the Vista upgrade version... so what exactly is the complaint about?

The fact that it's damned expensive.

Bas said:

BHpaddock said:

*snip*

The fact that it's damned expensive.

And it's reformat and reinstall time.

And it's a limited time offer. For all of two months from the release date (although to be fair maybe an upgrade version will appear after that)

blowdart said:

Bas said:

*snip*

And it's reformat and reinstall time.

And it's a limited time offer. For all of two months from the release date (although to be fair maybe an upgrade version will appear after that)

Can you not upgrade in the Full versions at all? I know it's possible in the RC, and I'd imagine it ought to be the same as that. Or is it just the E versions that can't upgrade?

matthews said:

blowdart said:

*snip*

Can you not upgrade in the Full versions at all? I know it's possible in the RC, and I'd imagine it ought to be the same as that. Or is it just the E versions that can't upgrade?

It's just the E version you can't upgrade. There is no upgrade version, at least at launch time.

The bad thing about this approach is that MS still insists sending you discs and packages instead of just selling the code so if you want avoid the retarded bit about transporting bytes in cardboard or plastic boxes then I guess Linux is the only option.

BHpaddock said:

If you're in Europe you get the FULL version of Windows 7 for less than the Vista upgrade version... so what exactly is the complaint about?

How is being forced to spend 60% more a good deal if you only want the Upgrade version? (The UK £=$ pricing means we're spending 1.6x the amount. Our VAT rate is 15% so charging us 60% more is ridiculous.)

Sure, it's a good deal (for a very limited time) if you actually want the full, non-upgrade, retail version, but who does? If you already have a machine then you've almost certainly already got XP or Vista and an Upgrade is all you need. If you're buying a new machine then you'll either get Windows 7 thrown in or, if you're building it yourself, qualify for the OEM pricing (which hasn't been announced yet AFAIK).

androidi said:

AFAIK (atleast in Vista) you get a better legit deal if you take your computer to someone who has the install disc, install it without putting key in and then wait till the 'trial time' ends. At this point MS offers to sell it to you directly and since that leaves the retail and distributor out of the equation it should be a bit less. Extreme case I'm aware of the 'bit less' has been 'quite a bit less'.

The bad thing about this approach is that MS still insists sending you discs and packages instead of just selling the code so if you want avoid the retarded bit about transporting bytes in cardboard or plastic boxes then I guess Linux is the only option.

 

Speaking of which, I wanted to preorder W7 through the Microsoft Store so I could get a download and not have a box cluttering up either my apartment or a landfill, but the store wouldn't accept my order because "there was a problem with either your billing address or your credit card info", wonderfully helpful error reporting there, so I ended up ordering a physical copy through Amazon instead. 

contextfree said:

androidi said:

*snip*

Speaking of which, I wanted to preorder W7 through the Microsoft Store so I could get a download and not have a box cluttering up either my apartment or a landfill, but the store wouldn't accept my order because "there was a problem with either your billing address or your credit card info", wonderfully helpful error reporting there, so I ended up ordering a physical copy through Amazon instead. 

What's with the pre-orders? In some countries you can pre-order, in others it's not possible and in Japan they are already "sold out".

bbc news about microsoft http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7266629.stm