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Microsoft Pulls Plug on Windows 7 Family Pack

By - Source: Tom's Hardware US | B 74 comments

Looks like there won't be a focus on family throughout this holiday season.

Family packs of operating system licenses are great products. Apple started the trend with its family pack, which seeks to ensure that five-users around a Mac-using household are all running the latest operating system. Thankfully, Microsoft finally followed suit with Windows 7, offering a family pack that contained three licenses of Home Premium Upgrade.

Family packs are great as most households have more than one computer, and having everyone running the same, latest version of software generally makes things easier.

Sadly, for reasons that still confuse, Microsoft is pulling the plug on the Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade family pack. Paul Thurrott reports that the family pack has apparently sold out in the U.S. Thurrott was told by Microsoft that the family pack would be a limited-time offer in the U.S., Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK.

Ed Bott reached out to Microsoft for a comment of his own, and he received the response, "The Windows 7 Family Pack was introduced as a limited time offer while supplies last in select geographies. Response has been very positive and in some cases, the offer has sold out.  Customers interested in upgrading their PCs should purchase Home Premium, Professional or Ultimate upgrade products."

Microsoft allowing the Windows 7 family packs to dry up just six weeks following the OS's launch seems like a move made a bit too soon and rash. We'd like to see the family pack stick around indefinitely, as it's a good option for consumers and will speed up adoption of the new OS – something that Microsoft definitely wants. Now we're all just left scratching our heads at what Microsoft could be thinking in its move to end this offer just weeks before Christmas.

As a side note, those of you in Australia will have a bit longer, as Microsoft just launched family pack last week.

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Top Comments
  • 30 Hide
    thomaseron , December 7, 2009 5:38 PM
    Goodbye family pack, hello piracy...
  • 20 Hide
    mr_tuel , December 7, 2009 5:42 PM
    Ok, so I will use bittorrent then. Good job.
  • 18 Hide
    wildwell , December 7, 2009 6:10 PM
    That was NOT My Idea, Microsoft! :na: 
Other Comments
    Display all 74 comments.
  • 3 Hide
    randerson , December 7, 2009 5:37 PM
    figures
  • 30 Hide
    thomaseron , December 7, 2009 5:38 PM
    Goodbye family pack, hello piracy...
  • -9 Hide
    randerson , December 7, 2009 5:38 PM
    Figures
  • 3 Hide
    aznguy0028 , December 7, 2009 5:39 PM
    i knew it was too good to last long! >_>
  • 20 Hide
    mr_tuel , December 7, 2009 5:42 PM
    Ok, so I will use bittorrent then. Good job.
  • 11 Hide
    NapoleonDK , December 7, 2009 5:46 PM
    This is disappointing to say the least. I just finished a build for my parents, and I'm planning a new one for myself in January. I even had everything on a wishlist... :(  What an utter fail this is.
  • 1 Hide
    Regulas , December 7, 2009 5:47 PM
    Let me see, not enough profit or is it fear of piracy with the licensing scheme? My guess, a little of both.
  • 1 Hide
    bison88 , December 7, 2009 5:47 PM
    If 80% of my business came from 90%+ consumers who use my operating system, I would want to capitalize on profits too! lol
  • 13 Hide
    hannibal , December 7, 2009 5:50 PM
    Too good deal to customers I supose... This is the worst part of having monopoly in OS front...
    I really hope that they would not cut this family pack deal. It was a good option to any family with many computers.
  • 5 Hide
    AdamB5000 , December 7, 2009 5:51 PM
    I was looking forward to purchasing a Win7 family pack for my main pc and a couple older pcs. Blah.
  • 0 Hide
    p05esto , December 7, 2009 5:55 PM
    My advice, don't be too hasty. Who knows what's cooking, maybe MS just lowers the price all together? I have 5 PCs, and would like to upgrade them all. Or maybe just 2 PCs. Or, how about an increasing percentage discount for each additional license sold? That would even make more sense.

    The news graps for stories and the reporting is like tabloids these days. All sensational rap really.
  • 5 Hide
    paesan , December 7, 2009 5:57 PM
    Sold out............lol.
  • 2 Hide
    sunflier , December 7, 2009 5:58 PM
    Sadly, for reasons that still confuse, Microsoft didn't pull the plug on Windows Vista when release.
  • 5 Hide
    Jenoin , December 7, 2009 6:00 PM
    You don't have the safety or security of Unix/Linux... are you quoting some other idiot, or did you make that up yourself?
  • 8 Hide
    ssalim , December 7, 2009 6:00 PM
    Looks like Balmer wants a new car...
  • 0 Hide
    soo-nah-mee , December 7, 2009 6:00 PM
    I'm glad I jumped on it when I did; this really sucks though. I knew a few people that were going to buy the family pack per my advice, and now they are S.O.L.
    It was the same thing with the $49.99 home premium upgrade preorder sale that lasted, what, a week? B.S.
  • -9 Hide
    dark_lord69 , December 7, 2009 6:01 PM
    AWE!!! THAT SUCKS I WISH I WOULD HAVE KNOWEN THAT!!!#@$%^*(*&^@%#$%@%^@
  • 0 Hide
    cruiseoveride , December 7, 2009 6:01 PM
    Weird move. If its selling, why did they stop supplying.
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