Buy a WinXP MCE PC and get Vista for free?

M

MICHAEL

http://www.digitimes.com/systems/a20060904PB202.html
Only around 10% of PCs to be shipped in the fourth quarter of this year are equipped with MCE
(Windows XP Media Center Edition) and consumers who buy the remaining 90% of PCs will need to
purchase MCE to be able to upgrade to the upcoming Vista operating system (OS) for free next
year, according to PC makers quoted by the Chinese-language Apple Daily.
Microsoft has informed PC makers that free upgrades to Vista will only be available for MCE
users, the paper said. For Windows XP users, upgrading to the entry-level version of Vista will
cost US$116, wile upgrading to the premium version will cost US$269, noted the paper. The cost
may affect PC demand through the first quarter of next year, PC makers were quoted by the paper
as saying.

Also:

Microsoft sets pricing for Windows Vista

http://money.cnn.com/2006/09/05/technology/microsoft_vista.reut/index.htm

Software maker sets retail price for Vista at range between $199 to $399, from basic version to
'ultimate' edition.

SEATTLE (Reuters) -- Microsoft announced on Tuesday U.S. prices for Windows Vista, the
long-awaited new version of the operating system that sits on more than 90 percent of the
world's PCs.

Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker, also reconfirmed its plan to target a general
launch of the product in January after making it available to large-volume business customers
in November.

Windows Vista, already five years in the making, has been postponed by Microsoft several times.

The software maker set the retail prices for Vista from $199 to $399, ranging from the basic
version to the top-end "ultimate" edition. For customers upgrading from Windows XP, Vista will
cost between $100 and $259.

Microsoft released on Friday a test version of Windows, dubbed Release Candidate 1, and made it
available to more than 5 million customers worldwide.

Goldman Sachs analyst Rick Sherlund said the initial feedback on the test version of Vista is
encouraging.

"While substantial progress has been made with Vista, the timing is still iffy in our view and
feedback over the next few weeks will be critical," said Sherlund in a note to clients.
 
G

Guest

Many years ago, as XP was being released, I bought an eMachine desktop with
ME installed in it that offered a free upgrade to XP home. As I recall, I had
to go through eMachine and it cost me $10 S&H for the XP upgrade disk.
This artical seems to indicate that the same thing will be happening later
this year. Any more info??
FYI, in todays sunday paper ads, Circuit City and Best Buy ads are 100%
Windows MCE OS. Are the computer makers installing MCE exclusively now for
free upgrades to Vista?
 

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