The one-and-only Robert McLaws has taken Microsoft enthusiasm to the next level. Some say Windows Vista is a rip-off. Some say Window Vista is more bang for your buck. But Robert wanted to find out scientifically if the value of Windows has changed over the years from the pocket which matters the most.
It’s been 22 years since the Windows operating system. 22 years since Steve Ballmer had to appear on TV to sell Windows. 22 years since Reversi was a selling point. 22 years since a sub-$100 operating system. What has changed in the last 22 years? Is Microsoft really greedy? Or should Windows Vista be in the bargain bin?
Robert has the numbers, the tables, the graphs and over 10 years of never-before-seen press releases for Windows 1.0 up to 95 and today. There’s no denying he did his research. But if he told you Windows Vista was the cheapest Windows operating system ever released, would you believe him? If you don’t, prove him wrong. “Understanding the true cost of Windows“.
One problem with that analysis is that the price of PCs has been dropping drastically. In 1995, a relatively well equipped PC would cost about $2k. Today, a relatively well equipped PC costs about $600-700. So in terms of percentage of ones overall PC purchase, the price of windows has gone up dramatically.
But my ana,ysis had nothing to do with OEMs, as I stated at the beginning of the article. This was about Retail box copies of Vista. OEM sales are much harder to track, and vary wildly over time.
Interesting article! 😀 By the way Long…got my cap today (Netherland, Europe). Thanks! 😉
Well, for a steal, it sure feels expensive.
In the UK and Europe Vista is much more expensive.
See, I never figured out why people were whining about how much more expensive Vista was. Home Basic is the same price as XP Home. Home Premium ain’t a whole lot more (does it match XP MCE? I don’t know). Business is the same price as XP Pro. (Correct me if I’m wrong about anything I’ve just stated.) And Ultimate? Heh, who needs Ultimate? Not any normal user, and probably not even hardcore users.
And based on this little article, people are whining over even less of a difference than I thought. Jeez. If Microsoft had crippled Home Premium in some way (like removing DirectX 10 or disabling other advanced graphical…stuff) and made Ultimate basically a requirement for gamers like me, then I’d be whining too. But, as it stands, I’m getting plenty of bang for my $240 Home Premium bucks.
My only wish would be that there was a version (or a post-purchase upgrade option) with all the features of Premium and Business combined, but taking out BitLocker and all the other unnecessary Ultimate junk.
why not stick with winxp ? or switch to linux (whatever the distro it’s your choice) ?
cost = 0, productivity doesn’t go down 🙂
With the declining value of the dollar, yes it is less except for our export market friends.
Remember how bad DOS was and how much say a productivity suite like Symphony was? Probably about $2K in today’s dollars.