Microsoft Confirms Windows 7 Family Pack

News
By Marcus Yam
published

The Windows 7 Family Pack is real and it's coming.

We've seen fairly clear evidence that there is going to be a Windows 7 "family pack" deal where a single purchase will include three consumer licenses for use in a single household.

Today Microsoft confirmed all speculation. Windows communication manager Brandon LeBlanc wrote today, "I know there have been some rumors going around about a 'family pack' for Windows 7. We have heard a lot of feedback from beta testers and enthusiasts over the last 3 years that we need a better solution for homes with multiple PCs."

LeBlanc continued, "I’m happy to confirm that we will indeed be offering a family pack of Windows 7 Home Premium (in select markets) which will allow installation on up to 3 PCs."

Other than the brief confirmation, there weren't any other details released by Microsoft. This may be relief to some who decided to pass on the pre-order deal, though those who did may feel a slight sting if the price of the family pack ends up being less than $150 (the price of three Home Premium Upgrades at the discounted price).

For more on the Windows 7 Home Premium family pack, check out our previous stories:

Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
25 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Microsoft copies Apple again! They even called it the same thing LOL. If I had a dollar every time Microsoft copied Apple I'd be a millionaire. Unfortunately for Microsoft customers are going to find out that there is the same darn vista registry and dlls under Windows 7. Have fun PC users.
    Reply
  • grieve
    ""This may be relief to some who decided to pass on the pre-order deal, though those who did may feel a slight sting if the price of the family pack ends up being less than $150 (the price of three Home Premium Upgrades at the discounted price).""


    I have suspicion that the Family Pack will NOT be less than a single license... Just a guess.

    It would be pretty cool if the Family Pack is only $50 more than a single license.
    Reply
  • djackson_dba
    "Microsoft copies Apple again! They even called it the same thing LOL."

    Apple invented the term Family Pack?

    Both side copy each other constantly. Only a narrow-minded fanboy would think any different. Apple didn't invent the GUI interface either... which may be a shock to you. They copied what they saw at PARC.
    Reply
  • KyleSTL
    techreader: do you even know anything about OSX's inner workings or system files?

    Yeah, didn't think so. Hooray for affordable OS's! While it probably won't affect people buying pre-built PCs, those of us who choose to assemble our own systems have much to be happy about (so long as it isn't $300 for a 3-pack).
    Reply
  • geof2001
    Why just home premium 3 pack, where is the ultimate 3 pack?
    Reply
  • matchboxmatt
    Because a typical household family generally wouldn't need Ultimate or Professional's features.
    Reply
  • matchboxmatt
    techreader102Microsoft copies Apple again! They even called it the same thing LOL. If I had a dollar every time Microsoft copied Apple I'd be a millionaire. Unfortunately for Microsoft customers are going to find out that there is the same darn vista registry and dlls under Windows 7. Have fun PC users.
    Mac OS X basically has the same thing in the form of kext files and extensions.

    But no, you're totally right, how an operating system communicates with its software and hardware is stupid. We should all follow your example and proceed to hate and bash things that we don't understand.
    Reply
  • brendano257
    LOL....and Leopard Snow is $29, and $49 for a *5* pack. All I'll say is, Windows is for some people, Mac is for others. And it just happens that Windows is the majority although Mac would be MUCH better for a large amount of Windows users. (The users who could care less about each and every detail, and would just like something that is very little maintenance than worked)
    Reply
  • brendano257
    As for Windows copying Apple. It happens WAY too often, and Mac usually has their own features. Sidebar is an adaptation of a Mac feature from OSX, Mac had a pull over menu that covered the whole screen that had "Widgets" when OSX Tiger (I think) came out...and then when Vista came out after....all of a sudden there was "Sidebar" with "Gadgets".... coincidence? I don't think so.
    Reply
  • Regardless of who originates the ideas Mac OS X tends to be far more stable running the same features due to their control over the hardware and drivers whereas Microsoft writes code that runs poorly on everything.

    "Because a typical household family generally wouldn't need Ultimate or Professional's features."

    A typical household family doesn't need a castrated version of Windows!
    Reply