Monday, February 26, 2007

Technology Review: The puzzling story of why Microsoft prevents some users from upgrading to Vista

Hmmm...  Well, if someone is willing to pay the Mac price premium (relative to comparable Windows Vista PCs), perhaps a full copy of Vista or Ultimate isn't a price elasticity issue either. 

The price of the virtualization software does not include a copy of Windows. And to get that copy, buyers have to agree to Vista's license agreement -- a legally binding document. Lurking in that 14-page agreement is a ban on using the least expensive versions of Vista -- the $199 Home Basic edition and the $239 Home Premium edition -- in virtualization engines.

Instead, people wanting to put Vista in a virtualized program have to buy the $299 Business version or the $399 Ultimate package.

Macs account for less than 5 percent of personal computers in the U.S., but Ben Rudolph, Parallels' marketing manager, says they nonetheless represent a market he's surprised to see Microsoft present with roadblocks.

Source: Technology Review: The puzzling story of why Microsoft prevents some users from upgrading to Vista

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