Microsoft Posts, Then Removes Vista Prices

I'm so proud to be Canadian. ;-)

Months before its highly anticipated release, Microsoft Canada has -- accidentally it seems -- given the media an inside glance at Vista's pricing. Although the list was quickly ripped down, Ed Bott of ZDNet was able to take down many of the upcoming packages, and we'll share some of them with you here. (Source: microsoft-watch.com)

As we've discussed a bit in the past, there are two different schemes for installing (and paying for) Microsoft's new operating system. Those who have an OS upgradeable to Vista will save some significant moolah. For instance, an upgrade to Vista Home Basic will cost just $129 CDN, or $116 USD. If you're unlucky enough to have an older system not able to upgrade, you'll be spending $259 CDN, or approximately $233 USD. For those aggressively equipping their office machines, Vista Ultimate with upgrade will run $299 CDN ($269 USD), with the original install costing a whopping $499 CDN ($449 USD).

Most of the other packages fall within this range, as options are added and subtracted. For those interested in running Vista Business, the upgrade version -- according to Bott's list -- is $249 CDN, or $224 USD. The original install will cost $379 CDN or $341 USD.

For the most part, the Vista prices are similar to those presented by Microsoft with its XP operating system. The higher-end versions of Vista, like Ultimate for example, are higher, however. (Source: news.com)

Although Microsoft removed the Canadian prices soon after they were posted, the company seems content with what was presented for consumers north of the border. In essence, Canadian readers should probably expect these prices, or something close to it. Americans, however, are unlikely to see these exactly translated costs. US residents should expect to see more rounded numbers than "$116".

Stay tuned as Microsoft creeps closer to intentionally revealing its Vista price.