Microsoft Matches Snow Leopard Price With Windows 7, But Only for Students

[AidenShaw]

thanks LTD, that sort of helped. but i still need to know if this "student version" is going to install on a mac without a previously owned copy of windows.

so my question still stands



Can I order this and install it on a mac mini running Vmware?

I looked at the sites FAQ but its horrid...absolutely horrid.

The FAQ clearly states that a clean installation is supported (for example, if you go from 32-bit to 64-bit, a clean install is required).

The FAQ also clearly states that this is the retail kit, not an academic version.

[Yakuza]

Snow Leopard has made Windows wake up I think!

You think?

ohh i am very sure!

Once again Apple as shaken winfroze for waking up....but they're just to damn numb...lollollolloollooll



:apple: POWER

[maestro55]

I find it difficult to compare the cost of Windows 7 vs. the cost of OS X as Apple is a hardware company and Microsoft as traditionally been a software company (with some exceptions, obviously).

But doesn't matter if Windows was free, I have no interest in using it as my primary system.

[Yakuza]

Microsoft is a software company...lol indeed it is, but after all this years they just dont have no stable, simple to use software.

[pr5owner]

Microsoft is a software company...lol indeed it is, but after all this years they just dont have no stable, simple to use software.

if windows was simple to use, it wouldn't be powerful enough for a corporate environment. (you have to sacrifice ease of use with functionality)

MS expects that the IT Department of a company isnt filled with n00bs that think they know everything because they have an iphone an they know how to setup gmail on it.

Could be any number of reasons . . . ignorance, money issues, fear of leaving a platform they feel tied to, or they're simply PC people - gamers, tinkerers, etc. Or they just don't care one way or the other.

or on the other hand i use a PC at home because i dont feel like being bent over and ripped off by apples ridiculous policies and prices.

after the initial cost of my PC (only about $450) my PC is still running faster than any Mac after 2 years even for twice the price TODAY (Core2duo E4500 overclocked to 3.14GHz). there is no additional cost for maintenance if you actually know how to use a computer, macs are simply just too damn slow for my needs. (a notebook processor on a desktop package for $1800? LOL PLEASE....)

Why the hell should I? Why should anyone? It isn't a car.

Why should there be a learning curve? If there is a solution that requires no maintenance and no substantial learning curve on my part, why the hell wouldn't I choose that?

OMG Why should anyone need to learn how to drive? why cant the car drive itself?
or learn how to ride a motorcycle?
or why is my oven so hard to use? why cant it just program itself to cook my turkey?
why do i have to learn how to mow the lawn?
why do i have to learn how to wipe my ass after i go to the bathroom?

you sound like a spoiled child that has everything handed to him/her on a silver platter

if everything is supposed to be so easy, this world would be filled with IDIOTS and the human race would just perish because no one would know how to feed themselves. (it partially is but even more so than it is now)

also the same goes for cars, if you own one, you should at least know how it BASICALLY functions and what is required to maintain it, you should even know what size of tire it needs when you replace it. being completely ignorant on the subject is only your own dumb fault if something goes wrong.

[theLastBeatle]

The FAQ clearly states that a clean installation is supported (for example, if you go from 32-bit to 64-bit, a clean install is required).

The FAQ also clearly states that this is the retail kit, not an academic version.



sure but how does one install an OS downloaded from a site? Not only that but how is my osx going to run vmware to run windows which is just a download on my computer?

i cant run a windows executable on my mac. unless vmware allows me to point to a windows install app thats sitting on a mac harddrive.

[CQd44]

sure but how does one install an OS downloaded from a site? Not only that but how is my osx going to run vmware to run windows which is just a download on my computer?

i cant run a windows executable on my mac. unless vmware allows me to point to a windows install app thats sitting on a mac harddrive.

If it's an ISO, you can burn it to a dvd or just mount it with VMware or whatever it is that's used to run virtual machines in Leopard. There has to be a wizard for easy setup in the program you use.

[La Porta]

Ok, bottom line: can this thing be installed without previous windows being on there? Anyone tried it?

[pdjudd]

Ok, bottom line: can this thing be installed without previous windows being on there? Anyone tried it?

Per AidenShaw:
The FAQ clearly states that a clean installation is supported (for example, if you go from 32-bit to 64-bit, a clean install is required).

The FAQ also clearly states that this is the retail kit, not an academic version.

[pdjudd]

sure but how does one install an OS downloaded from a site? Not only that but how is my osx going to run vmware to run windows which is just a download on my computer?

i cant run a windows executable on my mac. unless vmware allows me to point to a windows install app thats sitting on a mac harddrive.

You do it from a Windows computer that Microsoft assumes you already have access to for the purchase. MS is targeting PC owners here, not Mac users in a VM environment. That doesn't mean that you cannot use it in said environment, but MS just isn't making things convenient for them.

Yes it's a bit arrogant, but that's how MS chooses to do things.

[balamw]

If it's an ISO...


Yes it's a bit arrogant, but that's how MS chooses to do things.

Microsoft/Digital River may be arrogant, but they can learn from their mistakes. They have made an ISO available for those who have trouble with the installer.

http://gizmodo.com/5391268/microsoft-fixes-windows-7-student-edition-upgrade-problems

Here's a direct link to the ISO: http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65733/X15-65733.iso

B

[AidenShaw]

You do it from a Windows computer that Microsoft assumes you already have access to for the purchase. MS is targeting PC owners here, not Mac users in a VM environment. That doesn't mean that you cannot use it in said environment, but MS just isn't making things convenient for them.

Yes it's a bit arrogant, but that's how MS chooses to do things.

I don't understand the comment at all.

If you work from the VM, all is fine. You download the stuff from the VM, and run it like you would from a non-emulated Windows environment. The MS installer has no idea that there's an Apple underneath.

If the download is an ISO, you put it on the host OS and attach the ISO to the emulated DVD on the guest, and install normally.

So, the new ISO download option is for both Apples and PCs that are doing bare metal installs, not running the installer from Windows.

[pdjudd]

I don't understand the comment at all.

The fact that MS assumes that all of their customers are using using windows and not the possibility that you are running in a Mac under a VM environment since you can't run EXE's on a Mac. Despite of course the fact that you are allowed to use Windows in a VM.. That was what I meant. A bit of course.

If you work from the VM, all is fine. You download the stuff from the VM, and run it like you would from a non-emulated Windows environment. The MS installer has no idea that there's an Apple underneath.

I was addressing the scenario of a person who is starting fresh with the exe they downloaded from MS without a pre-existing VM to use. They would be stuck with having to do the whole rigmarole on another computer

If the download is an ISO, you put it on the host OS and attach the ISO to the emulated DVD on the guest, and install normally.

When all they were offering was an EXE my point made perfect sense. You could not use an EXE with a VM. Buy you had to go and screw up a perfectly good rant and point out that they now offer ISO's. :D

So, the new ISO download option is for both Apples and PCs that are doing bare metal installs, not running the installer from Windows.
That's the source of your confusion - at the time I was unaware that they did it as an ISO (which is what they should have done from the get go and with all of their products that have large sizes).

[AidenShaw]

The fact that MS assumes that all of their customers are using using windows and not the possibility that you are running in a Mac under a VM environment since you can't run EXE's on a Mac. Despite of course the fact that you are allowed to use Windows in a VM.. That was what I meant. A bit of course.

I was addressing the scenario of a person who is starting fresh with the exe they downloaded from MS without a pre-existing VM to use. They would be stuck with having to do the whole rigmarole on another computer

When all they were offering was an EXE my point made perfect sense. You could not use an EXE with a VM. Buy you had to go and screw up a perfectly good rant and point out that they now offer ISO's. :D

That's the source of your confusion - at the time I was unaware that they did it as an ISO (which is what they should have done from the get go and with all of their products that have large sizes).

So, Microsoft realized that the initial download conditions missed a small fraction of the potential customer base, and moved to fix that omission. Why not "good job, Microsoft" instead of "arrogant"?

[pdjudd]

So, Microsoft realized that the initial download conditions missed a small fraction of the potential customer base, and moved to fix that omission. Why not "good job, Microsoft" instead of "arrogant"?
Obviously my impressions changed once MS changed their process. My initial posting reflected the fact that, at the time, it was EXE only. A legitimate gripe.

Its invalid now that that it's an ISO - making it moot. Your being a bit too harsh here. My original comment was reflecting inaccurate information. I acknowledged my mistake and explained my thought process at the time. I did it humorously. Calm down.

[AidenShaw]

Obviously my impressions changed once MS changed their process. My initial posting reflected the fact that, at the time, it was EXE only. A legitimate gripe.

Its invalid now that that it's an ISO - making it moot. Your being a bit too harsh here. My original comment was reflecting inaccurate information. I acknowledged my mistake and explained my thought process at the time. I did it humorously. Calm down.

Fair enough, sorry about the temporal anomaly.

[NT1440]

I was rather annoyed by them using Digital River and having the whole fiasco with their .box crap. That said, thankfully after just a bit of geek tweaking, I got my iso and installed it.

Great price.

[pdjudd]

Fair enough, sorry about the temporal anomaly.

Apology accepted. Feel free to spoil my perfectly good rants with facts henceforth.

[AidenShaw]

Apology accepted. Feel free to spoil my perfectly good rants with facts henceforth.

You're welcome.