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Filed under: OS Updates, Windows, Microsoft

Windows 7 upgrade editions, Family pack to be available in Europe

Windows 7
You know how we told you last week that you could pick up some versions of Windows 7 in the UK for half the US price? It sounds like that's going to change pretty soon.

Basically, Microsoft has decided to offer full versions of Windows 7 in select areas at similar prices to the upgrade version in the US. That was because Microsoft was not planning on offering the upgrade version of the operating system in Europe. Customers were supposed to buy a full retail copy of Windows 7 whether they planned to upgrade from Windows Vista or an earlier operating system.

But now Microsoft has changed its tune... and it all has to do with the ballot screen that will allow European Windows users to decide which web browser they want to use when setting up Windows. Basically, by adding a ballot screen option, Microsoft is complying with a European Union anti-trust ruling, and the company no longer needs to offer a Windows 7 E version. So Europe will get the same version of Windows 7 as the rest of the world, including upgrade versions.

The long and short of it is that starting soon, customers in Europe will be able to order the upgrade version at normal upgrade pricing... and the cheap full versions of Windows 7 will probably disappear. So get 'em while you can. The good news is that Microsoft will also offer a Windows 7 Family Pack in Europe. The Family Pack lets you install the operating system on 3 systems fat a deep discount over the price of buying 3 licenses separately.

Filed under: OS Updates, Windows, Microsoft, Browsers

How to install a browser if you don't have a browser (Windows 7 E)

Internet Explorer 8 order CDs
Once upon a time, the internet didn't just mean the World Wide Web. If you wanted to download a file, you could fire up a gopher or FTP session and connect to a remote computer, often using a command-line interface. Theoretically, you can still do that in some cases, but it's a dying art. And that leads to a basic question for many PC users in Europe: Since Microsoft will be shipping Windows 7 E without a web browser, how are people supposed to install their own?

There are a number of answers. Probably the simplest is to download the installer file for your browser of choice on another computer and copy it to your PC after installing Windows 7 E using a USB flash drive, CD, or other removable storage media. For instance, if you've got a PC running Windows XP and you want to upgrade it to Windows 7, just download the Firefox, Opera, Safari, Google Chrome, or other installer files, store them on a flash drive, and then go ahead and upgrade. In fact, this is pretty much what Microsoft recommends European users do before upgrading.

Another option is to order a CD with Internet Explorer on it when you purchase Windows 7 E. Microsoft is selling IE8 installation CDs for about 3,90 € or £3.44.

You can also purchase Firefox on a CD for $4.20 from the Mozilla Store.

[via gHacks]

Filed under: OS Updates, Windows

Windows 7 now available for pre-order in the UK

Windows 7 E
Microsoft has started taking pre-orders of Windows 7 in the UK. Windows 7 Home Premium E is available for pre-order for £49.99, while Windows 7 Professional E will set you back £99.99.

Pre-orde pricing will be available until August 9th, or while supplies run out, whichever comes first. Of course, Microsoft isn't actually going to run out of pre-order licenses. It's software, after all. But the company has decided how many pre-orders to take, and hasn't bothered to tell the rest of us what that number is.

The BBC is reporting that Amazon UK sold more copies of Windows 7 in the first 8 hours that the operating system was up for pre-order than it sold of Windows Vista pre-orders in the 17 weeks it was available for pre-order. Whether that's entirely due to the positive buzz Windows 7 has been getting, the discount pricing, or some huge surge in the popularity of buying software from Amazon in the UK isn't entirely clear.

[via Engadget]

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