A lighter box is definitely an important aspect of an OS - NOT!

I guess if apple did that, it would be the smartest thing since slice bread.

^ agreed. Microsoft gets a lot of bashing and not enough credit...

Microsoft is perfecting every aspect of there products, they should've done that before.

I actually like their approach. Makes more likely that I will keep the box and manual instead of tossing it away. Also, less clutter is always a good thing, regardless of the product. Thumbs up for the initiative.

New case must cost less to produce, then they put a "green" spin on it to make it appear as if the environment is their number one concern when in reality money is.

Come on guys at tomshardware, with so much news about Windows 7 you are creating a hype, I really feel like a stupid consumer wanting to buy this product after seeing all this "commercials". Thank god I will get legit Win 7 Pro for free from MSDNAA otherwise I would feel miserable, I steel feel kind of underprivileged, I won't be getting this beautiful box though...

Every aspect of a product needs to be there for the retail market. That includes "shelf appeal".

Personally i think it looks nice and with it not being so large I can actually keep the whole case instead of just the cd sleeve inside. Whatever the reason, monetary or otherwise, going green and reducing waste isn't a bad thing.

I still use my windows xp box to shove all my cd's in for my computer.

i liked the original xp packaging.

hate the fancy vista packaging, disks fall all over the place and it takes a degree to figure out how to open it.

i guess the windows 7 packaging is an improvement over the vista one, at least people with low iqs, like myself, can figure how to open it without having to get help or take additional courses. ;-)

if you want green, get a paper envelope and buy OEM.
for a 1$ disc with 90% profit margin profit for MS,
I want my DVD in a fancy packaging.
it's not like you are going to throw away the box since most likely you will need to re-install some day in the next few years.

Keep jerking each other off...

"some will be paying for it over the counter..."
really? people do that?

As far as operation of the OS, it's not important, but as far as marketing goes it is very important - Imagine going to a fancy restaurant but the food they serve up looks horrible, you've made your decision about the meal even before you've tasted it. That is exactly what customers do when they see the shiny box on the shelf, they make first impressions before trying it!

Once upon a time I pirated everything, OS, games, office suites, you name it. I eventually got tired of trying to keep up with all the workarounds, keygens (the viruses that came with em!), and opted to 'go legit'. I must say its been a good feeling by and large.

So I purchased Vista and had a first experience... I didnt know how to get into the #$%^ing packaging! In the end, I litterally clawed my fingers into a crack, and split the thing open, and ruined the package for all perpetuity. I thought to myself, "Self, if this is what paying for software is always going to be like, MS better pay for all the Bandaids needed to hedge the bleeding opening their packages causes".

The moral of the story... Good job MS, just let me open the thing nice and easy so I can spend the next 3 hours tracking down serials to old software and locating drivers that are still in beta.

Good thing cause I damn near destroyed my Vista case to get into it..

Does the plastic case still crack the DVD?

OEM Vista. Easy to open and came with SP1 built in

So the Win 7 logo is now part of the green movement?

microsoft is reaping the rewards for listening to customers which is way opposite to what they did with Vista.

When I first got Vista, I was so confused just how to open the damn case for a couple minutes.

Regardless of the whole green spin on things, I'm a fan of making things clean and minimalistic. I'm all for it.

I just hope the thing comes with x64.

Looks like Vista has turned around COMPLETELY on they're new OS design. xD and it is makeing me very happy. =)

Less plastic to make the case, neat, so let's get a lower price ok?

Also make the OS lighter too... as well as the price.

Lighter packaging means cheaper to ship, less fuel to transport. The previous boxes were fancy and all... but more difficult to open than they needed to be for something that maybe used once.

But honestly... a clear generic thin DVD case would be just as good.

Back in the OLD days when real people used computers. This C=128 manual was about 1" thick... for just the computer. No drives, modem, etc.
http://www.old-computers.com/MUSEU [...] unit_1.jpg

Even the floppy drive manuals were about 50~80 pages.

Thank God we don't do that anymore!

More companies need to reduce waste with their packaging. Microsoft is doing good on this one.

“We’ve reduced the number of elements in the package down to three: the plastic case, the paper sleeve, and a simple Getting Started Guide."

What, no DVD?

lol thats what i said to myself

I like my XP paper package the best...easily slides onto a shelf or into a drawer.

lol i had the same issue with my first MS$ package like that. Once i riped it apart i relised how simple it is to open.

I have successfully opening 100's of these now

**The need to be like a smoke pack, i get those open in 2 seconds flat.

I guess Microsoft is now paying attention to ALL aspects of presenting a product to the consumer in as well as appearance and ease of opening it up -- hint hint