Microsoft Corp. will make its new Windows Vista operating system
available for sale and download online, marking a new step for the
software company, which has previously sold Windows only on
packaged discs or pre-loaded on computers.
A relatively low number of computer users are likely to get Vista
by downloading it from the Internet. But the mere availability
indicates that Microsoft is fiddling with distribution methods for
the extremely profitable franchise at the core of its
business.
The download program, announced late Wednesday by the Redmond,
Washington-based software maker, will also include the Office 2007
line of software when both are released for consumers January
30.
At least initially, the huge downloads will be available in North
America only.
Far more commonly, consumers will get Vista already installed on
new PCs bought after January 30.
The download process is targeted at people who are running the
prior operating system, Windows XP, and want to get Vista without
having to buy a new PC. However, Vista imposes hardware
requirements that not all Windows XP machines can meet.
For those who do buy Vista the normal way, Microsoft is launching a
new program that makes it easier to upgrade from one edition of the
operating system to another.
Here's how that will work. For consumers, Vista will come in four
flavors, Home Basic, which retails for $199, Home Premium ($239)
Business ($299) and Ultimate ($399). Though consumers will pick one
version when they buy a computer, higher versions will be embedded
on the machine's hard drive or packaged on discs that come with
it.
Anyone who wants to move up the chain -- from Home Basic to Home
Premium for another $79, Home Basic to Ultimate ($199), Home
Premium to Ultimate ($159), or Business to Ultimate ($139) -- will
be able to click a new "Windows Anytime Upgrade" function, pay for
the upgrade online and then receive a coded license "key" that will
unlock the more expensive edition.
Microsoft also plans a promotion that will let buyers of Vista
Ultimate get $50 copies of Home Premium for two other PCs.
Bill Mannion, director of consumer marketing for Windows, called
these three steps part of an overall effort "to give more
flexibility to end users."
Matt Rosoff, an analyst with Directions on Microsoft, said the
company likely was hoping to increase the incentives for consumers
to buy costlier versions of Vista.
Indeed, much of the marketing surrounding Vista will highlight
features available only in higher-end versions, such as the new
three-dimensional user interface and encryption functions.
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Weeee!!!! 
And it's cheaper too!
