I have been waiting for the Vista doorbusters for years now. WinXP came with some cool free/cheap things. USB memory sticks, mp3 players, etc. Vista’s doorbusters can be summed up in one word, “lame”.
BestBuy
Buy a Vista and get one of these:
Free TaxCut, Laptop Memory, MS Live OneCare
Save on 6200 video card, printer/scanner/copier, 7.1 megapixel camera, Nero 7, Paint Shop Pro 11, Wireless N Router
TaxCut – don’t need it
Laptop memory – don’t have one
OneCare – free for a yr then $50/yr
6200 video card – 2 generations ago, this is an attrocious deal should be 7X00 card
printer/scanner/copier – don’t need it
7.1 camer – don’t need it
Nero 7 – maybe
Paint Shop Pro – don’t need it
Wireless Router – don’t need it
OneCare is really a trick to get you to buy it next year and it’s MS’s own product. Does that really count as free?
Circuit City
Buy a Vista and get one of these free after Mail in Rebates):
printer/copier/scanner, wireless G router, MS Live OneCare, SpySweeper, TaxCut Premium, Norton Internet Security ‘07
I don’t need any of these things. It doesn’t seem worth the hassle to buy, resell, and wait for rebates to come in. SpySweeper and Internet Security shouldn’t be necessary for Vista. The biggest upgrade over WinXP was it’s security system. I won’t touch an MIR with a 10 ft pole, so all of this stuff is out.
Office Depot
Buy Vista or Office 07 get software for free (after Mail in Rebates) and $50 off a printer
Software List: Aquazone Open Water, Professor Teaches Office 07, Professor Teaches Vista, Hoyle Casino 07, Symantec Antivirus, 07, Spyware Doctor
According to MS, you don’t need the antivirus or spyware software for Vista (at least not as much). The teaching software is probably dirt cheap. Same with the casino and water (screensaver?) programs. Also the spyware and antivirus can be rolled into yearly subscriptions like MS OneCare. Dito, on the MIRs.
Office Max
Buy Vista and save on these applications no Mail in Rebates
Norton Antivirus 07, SpySweeper, Professor Teaches Office 07, PC-cillin Internet Security 07, Print Shop 22, System Mechanic 7, Norton Internet Security 07.
Again software Vista shouldn’t need and most of it is a yearly subscription to keep it up.
Summary
I’m deeply disappointed in these deals. They are pathetic. MS spends a lot of money on product launches, but I don’t see it here. Maybe the developers had one massive $100 million party.
And what’s with all the software. A few months back MS was talking about shutting security vendors out of Vista guts. Is this part of the appeasement deal? Or did someone actually line these products up intentionally. Either are bad prospects.
The printers aren’t much better than the software. Everyone knows they run on the “razor blade” model of ultra cheap printer (razor) and expensive ink (blades). The common thread seems to get you to spend more money at a later date. There is no incentive to buy from any of these stores unless you want one of those items.
There’s one last possibility. MS is selling Vista through downloads on their site. Since Vista is almost the same price everywhere. Cutting retailers out of the chain means a higher margin for MS. Maybe they don’t want to support the retailers, because every dollar to them in incentives is a two dollars less to MS from a downloaded copy. I tend to think downloads should be cheaper. You can buy a copy of Vista and be installing an hour later. Try and download 3+ GB in an hour. And you’ll have to provide the media. No beautifully hologrammed “genuine” discs.
If you want the best price, Amazon seems to have it. Home Premium Full $226.99. Yes, you save $12.96.