The most surprising thing about today’s Windows 7 pricing announcement isn’t the pricing, but how Microsoft directly delivered news about it. While Microsoft issued a press release, the most substantive information comes from the Windows Blog, which the release links to. For anyone still clinging to the fantasy that there is some magical separation between Microsoft public relations teams and its bloggers, wake up! There really is none.
Yesterday, someone asked me if “Apple has got a realistic chance with Snow Leopard?” competing against Windows 7. He was particularly interested in Macintosh uptake in the enterprise. I gave him my answer, which I will blog here with additional analysis.
Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference 2009 keynote was the strangest ever—and not just for CEO Steve Jobs’ absence. Apple cut prices where unexpected, while keeping them high where Wall Street analysts expected cuts. The $29 Snow Leopard upgrade is simply stunning.
Everyone should ask: Why is Apple is asking so little for seemingly so much? That from a company that normally charges more for products.
This second installment of Quick Quotes focuses on Apple’s announcements from the Worldwide Developer Conference.
Windows 7 will go on sale October 22, according to a post by Brendon LeBlanc at the Windows Team blog. That puts Windows 7’s release to manufacturing sometime in July (or even early August). More importantly, the announcement signifies Microsoft’s confidence that the release candidate is near prime-time ready.
