Windows 7

Marty_J

spaceboy wrote: »

I'm afraid it is daylight robbery. And that is not the way to work out if something is good value or not.

Working out the cost of something over its lifetime isn't the way to work out if something is good value?

Please, enlighten us.

gt94sss2

Iconic wrote: »

The main reason I am holding back is software and hardware compatability. My printer will not work properly with XP but uses Vista's own drivers and works well. One of my network cards does not work properly with XP and Vista so I assume Windows 7 will not improve this. And what about software?

No harm in waiting but if something runs on Vista, it will run on Windows 7, so your printer should be fine.. though as you say your network card doesn't sound that promising.

Most software should also be fine but there is a Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor you should run and see what it says for your own system.

There will also be a Windows XP mode for Windows 7 but your hardware (especially the CPU) has to support it.. (mine doesn't)

Regards
Sunil

Dime_Bar

How do you come to the conclusion that it is day light robbery then?

What have you got to compare it against?

You can't against Googles Chrome OS as its not out yet and the specs are unknown, plus it is not a commercial product.

You cant against the free flavours of Linux as again these are not commercial products.

And you can't against OSX as you cannot buy a Mac without an OS and cannot install the OS on anything but a Mac.

So the only comparison would be with one of the paid for Linux flavour like Red Hat Enterprise which is $80 per yer so not much different over a 3 year period.

Have you ever seen how much development goes into an OS or even just a large application?

spaceboy

Marty_J wrote: »

Working out the cost of something over its lifetime isn't the way to work out if something is good value?

Please, enlighten us.

A better way is to compare with prices from other retailers, and in other countries, and also the cost of computers that come with the software pre-installed. All those comparisons tell you £147 is well over the reasonable.

Saying it will cost 90p a month of 3 years doesnt really tell you much, if it cost £1.20 a month would you still be saying it seems reasonable? £1.50 a month? You probably would because you're not comparing it against anything similar.

custardy

have a look how much photoshop cost even as an upgrade

https://store2.adobe.com/cfusion/store/index.cfm?&store=OLS-UK&view=ols_prod&category=/Applications/Photoshop&distributionMethod=FULL&nr=0&sdid=EQLTZ#

Nilrem

Odd way of working out if something is good value...how would you do it?

The OS is rather like the keyboard/mouse/monitor on a computer.

A good one can cost a LOT compared to the other options, however just because it's fairly expensive doesn't mean it's not good value for money if it's getting a lot of use*.

It's also worth remembering that Windows 7 will be available at "OEM" pricing even after the launch, normally for about £70-85 (going by OEM prices of Windows XP etc), with the main difference being that you are largely stuck with using it on a single machine for it's life.
Given that most people will keep their basic machine running for at least 2-3 years, that £70 works out at about 60p a week over 2 years (or about 40p over 3), I won't even try to work out the cost per hour of use.
It's certainly a much better value in terms of use than pretty much any games I've ever bought.


*I'll pay £30-50 for keyboards and mice, and my last monitor cost £450 (4 years ago as an early 20" LCD) - each of which was "expensive" compared to the other options I had, but very good value for money given the use/comfort I get out of them (I never skimp on the keyboard/mice/monitors/chairs when buying them, as they can affect health so if need be i'll spend on them and skimp a little on say the video card).

spaceboy

This is how I'm working out that £147 is a rip-ff:

It's £68 at amazon.co.uk

It was £40 from Tesco

It's much cheaper in america

Tell me any other products that have such a huge price saving before launch??? The £147 represents huge mark-ups.

custardy

so buy from amazon then

spaceboy

custardy wrote: »

so buy from amazon then

Ideally I'd like it cheaper

prowla

Iconic wrote: »

I am thinking of getting Windows 7 because most people think it's a big improvement on Vista and better than XP. My main machine is XP but I do have access to a Vista laptop.

Whether it's a BIG improvement is questionable; I think it's more of a minor upgrade.