Gail On Tech

Limited number of Windows 7 Family Packs for Australia

Microsoft Australia announced today that it would make the Windows 7 Family Pack available here on a limited basis. The Family Pack, which was available at launch in many other countries, has not been available here until now. It lets Windows users purchase Windows 7 Home Premium licences for three machines at a cost of $249.

It’s about time that Microsoft addressed the reality of multi-PC households, which security software companies have acknowledged for some years — in fact, I remember asking the question at a journalists’ briefing before Windows Vista launched, so it’s been a long time coming.

However, this good news does come with strings attached — there are only limited stocks available. And you’ll be feeling pretty miffed if you’ve already upgraded to Windows 7 and already had to shell out for the extra licences.

By way of compensation, Microsoft is offering those early adopters who purchased three upgrade licences for Windows 7 Home Premium a Microsoft Comfort Desktop (wireless keyboard and mouse combo) for each licence. You can ring Microsoft on 13 20 58 to check if you meet the requirements. However, most people already have a keyboard/mouse setup that they are perfectly happy with, so it remains to be seen if this offer will be enough to placate those affected.

The Windows 7 Home Premium Family Upgrade Pack will be available from the following retailers: Betta Electrical, Bing Lee, David Jones, Dick Smith, Harvey Norman, JB Hi Fi, Myer, Officeworks, Retravision, The Good Guys, and WOW Sight and Sound.

On a positive note, Windows 7 seems to have got the thumbs up from the punters if the latest results from Webtrends is anything to go by — Webtrends is a customer intelligence company that reports monthly on hot social media topics. In its first Webtrends Social Measurement report, it reveals that the response to Windows 7 has been overwhelmingly positive, with 74.3% of the social media community saying they liked the new operating systems and a further 18.4% declaring that they loved it. That’ll be music to Microsoft’s ears after the less-than-enthusiastic reception that Vista received at launch.