I'm not in IT right now, but it is a large part of my skillset and I do own my own company (though it is mostly inactive.)  If I do get back into it it'll be good to know a lot more about what Microsoft offers overall.  I'm keeping my $50 7 preorders active since it does infer that these evals are not meant for live or development systems, and I'd like to get into coding very soon.

If I wasn't so sick of waiting for 7, I suppose I might not have gone for it   But it could get me a job someday, so there is that.

That's what is bothering me... that my usage/intended usage would probably not qualify, thus I'm thinking I'll just can the idea.

As an alternative way of getting Win 7 on our 3 currently functioning PC's I looked into going the 'Family Pack' route, which allows installation on up to 3 machines.  However, I was unable to find any clear/conclusive information regarding its pricing or even its availability here in Australia.... just a lot of conjecture, assumptions and a bunch of what ifs/maybes.

One article suggests the Family Pack will not be available here (only the US, Canada, Japan and 6 EU countries); another gives possible pricing on both the upgrade and full retail versions; another suggests it will only come as an upgrade version for the Australian market... while Microsoft Australia has no information about it whatsoever, which to me is piss poor just 10 days out from the official release.

I fired off an enquiring email to Ms Australia, so hopefully I'll get a conclusive answer in the next day or so.... though I'm thinking MS will lose some sales here if it's not.  I'd be quite happy to pay a bit extra for a 3 pack family license (as a few friends and other family members have also indicated) but it is highly unlikely, to no chance at all that I'd put Win 7 on more than one rig if we can't get the 3 pack license.  To get Win 7 Home Premium (full) on our 3 working rigs would cost $997 AUD... $1299 if we put it on the 4th when it's finished.  Nah, it just ain't gonna happen, not in this economy and not at those prices.... not when Apple is offering Aussies a 5-fer family license on its OS-X 10.5.4 from $229.99 AUD.

Apple does do some smart things, but you still pay for it with the expense of their hardware.  Plus, we get service packs that massively improve the OS...I've no experience with their products mind you but I've heard they often get to pay for it.

Seriously though, buy OEM copies of Windows if you can.  Sure, it's locked to one machine but it's somewhere around half to a third of the expense.  I can't justify the retail prices at all.

starkers...I dunno what your issue is....the TechNet Subscription is definitely the way to go....

starkers,

I also agree with jafo regarding the technet sub.

when I worked in some software development companies, THEY were using the technet licences ONLY on the inhouse development and testing machines, just not on the admin/accounting machines.

and I am about to put my technet sub in as soon as I can arrange the funds

harpo

So what you're saying, then, is that a hobbyist, home user who tinkers a bit with alphas and betas here and there, doesn't write software or code and don't work in IT, is gonna be 100% Ok with a Technet (evaluation purposes only) sub??? 

AND that MS wouldn't question my usage/eligibility because they'd be more than happy I'd have spent $384 AUD, rather than not/nothing at all?

Yeah, it is that important for me.  $384 is like 6 - 8 months of saving like buggery for me... so parting with it HAS to be an informed decision.  If it (the Technet sub) went guts up/got revoked for whatever reason, it would end up taking me 12 to 18 months and around $750 all up to eventually get a legit copy of Win 7 (would be Home Premium) on my machine.

It's a big investment for me, so yeah, I'm seeking/needing assurances.

Yes...

PLEASE don't do that...........

Oh well, it'll have to wait for another time.... looked at finances and decided to pick up a couple of copies of Win 7 Home Premium x64 for $129 AUD each.  That's $258 as opposed to $384, a saving of $126 that'll come in handy right now... another PC expense may have arisen today.  My pimary HDD died yesterday morning.... yes... AGAIN.  At 3-4 months old it should be covered by warranty, but Pat (my PC guy) has had issues with returns on Seagate drives lately, so I may have to purchase another if I want a different brand, probably a WD @ 10.000.  I certainly don't want another effing Seagate... two in a row have just died without warning (supposedly there have been some bad batches) and I'm not risking another one of those bastards.

Fortunately I have Acronis and a full backup was made the day before... so I'll run that to reinstall the OS/proggies, etc.

It's not the alphas or betas... not even the dickhead hobbyist... but the effing HDD.  Yup, another one, and only 3 -4 months old.  Could be 6 to 8 weeks before I get any joy from Seagate, so it looks like I'll have to fork over for a WD cos I'll want something decent as a primary when I install Win 7, and when the Seagate is replaced/comes back I'll use it for a storage drive in the rig I'm building... no way I'd ever use one for an OS again.

What a bastard... and I'm having to run my XP box until my Vista one comes back from the shop... thank goodness for the lipstick (WB/IP betas), otherwise this pig 'd be unbearable to look at.  And yes, I sent it into the shop... had other important stuff on and I just couldn't be bothered messing around with it

sorry to hear about you hdd death, but I personally AVOID seagate when ever possible, but a person I know has had several samsung's die on them. regarding the seagates I have seen more seagates die than all other brands together, so I avoid them.

harpo

Well I've seen two too many die now, both inside 6 months, so yeah, I'll be avoiding them like the plague from here on.... tho I guess I'll have to accept a Seagate replacement for this one.  Not to worry, tho, I'll just use it for a (infrequently used but backed up) storage drive in the rig I'm building.

I'm considering a Western Digital SATA to mount my primary OS on, but the 10,000rpm's are all out of my current price range (having spent $258 yesterday on Win 7 Home Pemium x2), so it'd probably be a 500gb @ 7200rpm for a tad under a hundred bucks AUD if I go WD. 

In fact, I might take a trip down there now and see what he's got.... so long as it ain't a POS Seagate... and if he hasn't got a suitable drive I'll get him to grab me one on his Friday afternoon pickups.

Hmmm, looking forward to installing Win 7.

Well I finally got a definitive answer from Microsoft regarding this... the Family Pack will NOT be made available in Oz, according to the email I received not long ago.

Bah!  Aussies are predominantly Windows users and one of Microsoft's better markets... yet we are snubbed, given the bums rush and neglected.  It pisses me off that MS sets our base price at $50 higher than the US base price... and then it creates elite markets by selling family licenses to a select few. 

What Bollocks!

Anyway, I fired MS off another email to say that I'm totally disgusted and probably will not upgrade to Win 7 at all now, not in the absence of a Family Pack.  I mentioned lost sales - lot's of them because several friends and family members have expressed the exact same sentiment - and that I'm now considering a switch to Mac OS-X, which would cost me under $200 for a 5 pack family licence.

Hehe, must have hit a raw nerve somewhere... just got an apolgetic email back from a customer rep saying that he'll discusss my concerns/situation with his superior and get back to me with: "news that should please you". 

Hmmm, I wonder what that might be??

Get used to it be buggered. Given several conversations just today, Microsoft (other software/hardware devs too) will have to pick up its act and get a better attitude toward Oz customers  Quite a few people are saying that Win 7 here is overpriced, as compared to the US base price, particularly in light of the weaker greenback. and that without a family license option here they'll be giving it a big miss.

For a company that wants Win 7 on as many PC's Worldwide as possible, they're doing a fine job at alienating Oz and other consumers.