gHacks Technology News | Latest Tech News, Software And Tutorials » windows 7 family pack http://www.ghacks.net A technology news blog covering software, mobile phones, gadgets, security, the Internet and other relevant areas. Sat, 11 Feb 2012 21:54:04 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Windows 7 Family Pack Returns For Windows 7 1-Year Anniversaryhttp://www.ghacks.net/2010/09/01/windows-7-family-pack-returns-for-windows-7-1-year-anniversary/ http://www.ghacks.net/2010/09/01/windows-7-family-pack-returns-for-windows-7-1-year-anniversary/#comments Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:34:31 +0000 Martin Brinkmann http://www.ghacks.net/?p=33798 The Windows 7 Family Pack was a limited offer by Microsoft that basically offered three Windows 7 Home Premium licenses for the price of one. It had a few limitations, but was considered to offer the best bang for the buck for all customers except students, who were able to get a deal of their own.

To celebrate the 1-year anniversary of the Windows 7 operating system, Microsoft has decided to reanimate the Windows 7 Family Pack. Starting on October 3, the family pack will be once again available at participating retailers and the Microsoft Store.

The Windows 7 Family Pack will be available for $149.99 in the US, and contain three Windows 7 Home Premium upgrade licenses.

Considering that one upgrade license for that operating system retails for about $110, it is a good deal, if at least two of the licenses can be put to use in a household.

And while it is a legal requirement to have a Vista or XP license on every computer in the household to upgrade it, it is not a technical one.

International users will also be able to grab a Windows 7 Family Pack starting October 22. It will be available in Canada, UK, Germany, France, Australia, and according to Microsoft in “many other markets” as well.

In the best case, the Windows 7 Family Pack saves about $150 if the household has at least three computer systems where the operating system can be installed on. For two computers, it is still about $50 cheaper than buying the OS separately.

Still, only Windows 7 Home Premium is offered as a family pack. That should be fine for most customers, considering that the Professional and Ultimate editions cater to a business and professional audience. (interested users may look at this page for information on Windows 7 Home Basic, and how it compares to the other editions). (via Windows Team Blog)

]]> http://www.ghacks.net/2010/09/01/windows-7-family-pack-returns-for-windows-7-1-year-anniversary/feed/ 4 Windows 7 Family Packs And Upgrade Editions In Europehttp://www.ghacks.net/2009/08/25/windows-7-family-packs-and-upgrade-editions-in-europe/ http://www.ghacks.net/2009/08/25/windows-7-family-packs-and-upgrade-editions-in-europe/#comments Tue, 25 Aug 2009 04:29:34 +0000 Martin Brinkmann http://www.ghacks.net/?p=15710 windows7With the start of Microsoft’s new operating system around the corner it was time to clear some confusion that build up over the last couple of months. The confusion could mainly be attributed to Windows 7E, a version that has been specifically designed by Microsoft to meet the demands of the European Union. Microsoft’s initial plans were to ship Windows 7 without Internet Explorer – actually without Internet browser at all – in Europe. This did mean that European customers were not able to upgrade to Windows 7. It also meant that they needed to install a web browser. On the positive side pre-order prices for the full version of Windows 7 in many European countries were equal to upgrade versions in the United States or Canada.

A new proposal to display a browser ballot screen to users after installation was announced by Microsoft a month ago which turned all things upside down once again. Windows 7E got canned and Microsoft announced plans to ship the same Windows 7 editions worldwide. This meant that European customers were once again able to purchase Windows 7 Upgrades or full retail versions of the operating system.

Customers who have already pre-order Windows 7E in the European Union will now receive a full version of Windows 7 (which includes Internet Explorer). The price will remain the same for these customers and anyone else who is purchasing Windows 7 before September 1.

Microsoft mentioned in the same blog post that the Windows 7 Family Pack will be sold in seven European countries as well as the United States and Canada. The Family Pack ships with three Windows 7 Home Premium licenses that can be installed on computer systems in the same household. The European countries that will also receive the Windows 7 Family Pack are the UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands and Sweden.

Windows 7N will still be sold in Europe. This version of Windows 7 comes without Windows Media Player. Good news for European customers. Anyone who has not pre-ordered Windows 7 yet should do so before September 1 to benefit from the reduced pricing for the full version of Windows 7.

via Windows Team Blog

]]> http://www.ghacks.net/2009/08/25/windows-7-family-packs-and-upgrade-editions-in-europe/feed/ 3 Windows 7 Family Pack And Anytime Upgrade Pricinghttp://www.ghacks.net/2009/08/01/windows-7-family-pack-and-anytime-upgrade-pricing/ http://www.ghacks.net/2009/08/01/windows-7-family-pack-and-anytime-upgrade-pricing/#comments Sat, 01 Aug 2009 13:20:31 +0000 Martin Brinkmann http://www.ghacks.net/?p=14950 windows 7The Windows 7 Pre-ordering period was not like many users, especially from Europe, would expect it to be. Microsoft promised discounts on Windows 7 Home Premium and Windows 7 Professional for a limited time which turned out to be so limited that Amazon Germany for instance sold out after 5 minutes of offering the pre-order discount. Pre-orders are currently still accepted but for a either a smaller discount or no discount at all.

It was therefor welcome when rumors about a Windows 7 Family Pack emerged on the Internet. This family pack was supposed to contain three Windows 7 licenses so that the operating system could be installed on three computer systems in one household.

The pricing for the Windows 7 Family Pack and the Windows 7 Anytime Upgrade was announced yesterday in an official blog post over at the Windows Team Blog. The features remain the same: Customers can buy a Windows 7 Family Pack consisting of three Windows 7 Home Premium licenses to install the operating system on three computers in one household. Windows 7 Home Premium is the only edition of Windows 7 that is offered in the family pack. The price for the Family Pack has been set to $149.99 in the US. It should be noted that the editions are upgrade editions and not retail editions which means that users need a Windows XP or Windows Vista license to perform the update.

The Windows 7 Anytime Upgrade pricing was announced in the same blog post. Anytime Upgrade refers to the possibility to upgrade a Windows 7 edition to another edition by paying a certain amount of money. This process does not involve installing the operating system anew and could be interesting for users who purchase a computer system with a Windows 7 edition that they want to upgrade because of the increased functionality that the upgraded system offers.

windows7_anytime_upgrade_premium_ultimate

Three different Anytime Upgrade editions are available. It is possible to upgrade Windows 7 Starter, a version aimed at primarily at the netbook market, to Windows 7 Home Premium. It is furthermore possible to upgrade Windows 7 Home Premium to either Windows 7 Professional or Windows 7 Ultimate. The prices for the different versions are as follows:

  • Windows 7 Starter to Windows 7 Home Premium: $79.99
  • Windows 7 Home Premium to Windows 7 Professional: $89.99
  • Windows 7 Home Premium to Windows 7 Ultimate: $139.99

The pricing looks to be expensive considering that the Windows 7 Home Upgrade sells for $119.99 currently. Users safe between $40-$70 when performing the Anytime Upgrade instead of buying a retail upgrade edition of Windows 7 instead.

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