Microsoft announces direct downloads of Vista

Broadband internet access has truly come to the masses. At least Microsoft if hoping that’s the case. Starting January 30th, you’ll be able to download your new Vista installation directly from Windows Marketplace. Now, I’ve known for quite sometime that you would be able to upgrade "on-the-fly" to any version of Vista after you make the initial purchase. But I had no idea Microsoft was going to be this ambitious. And then, get this. Microsoft is going to offer a family discount for Vista. If you’re a US or Canadian retail purchaser (sorry for the rest of the world, you don’t get to participate), you’ll be able to purchase up to two copies of Vista Home Premium online for $49.99 each. This sort of flies in the face of everything that MS has done in the past with their operating systems. Normally, if you wanted to install Windows on more than one computer, you had to shell out another couple of hundred bucks to make the purchase. Most people didn’t do this, they’d just install their copy of Windows on another computer. And another. And another. And then pass it along to friends. Who passed it along to their friends. Of course, this presents another problem that Microsoft has tried to nip in the bud with their Genuine Advantage program. Gotta make sure that everyone has that valid copy of Windows. Or better yet, MS just wants to make sure they aren’t losing any money to anyone. I understand completely a company or individual wanting to protect their investment, especially when you are talking about a project as massive as Windows Vista. Probably one of the largest software development projects ever, Vista has cost Microsoft millions of dollars and thousands of man-hours to finally get this thing out the door. But at what point do you go from protecting your investment to gouging people unnecessarily. Why do they need to offer a family discount? Shouldn’t a family be able to purchase one copy of an operating system and install it on every computer in their house? Call me crazy, but I think that’s only fair. You don’t have to pay for having more than one phone in your house, just for a second phone line. Now, before somebody goes nuts and thinks that I am supporting piracy of software, stop. I don’t support that at all. Pay for what you get. You’ll be thankful in the long run, if for no other reason that you’ll be able to get support from the company. But I don’t think that you should have to pay for a copy of Windows for every computer that you own. One purchase should be sufficient. And that’s what I think. Read [Ministry of Tech] Technorati Tags: vista, operating systems