Re: Gateway's "Response Team" says no upgrade to MCE 2005
From: Peter Near [MCE MVP] (peter_at_thenears.com)
Date: 10/29/04
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Date: Fri, 29 Oct 2004 14:13:13 -0400
Yes, that is a very valid point. It's a matter of opinion as to what
level of OS upgrade consititutes a new package. I think that Windows
2000 to Windows XP is a less relevant example than Windows 98 to Windows
98 SE.
The SE edition had some significant application additions, but
relatively few actual OS updates. At that point, the SE version was
sold as a new OS and not offered as an upgrade. This would suggest a
precedent (they took alot of flak for that decision, but it is a
precedent nonetheless). Incremental OS upgrades do not necessarily come
for free.
Now I'll look at another example from not so recent memory, and that is
when a major new OS is about to launch. My personal experience with
this was when I bought a Gateway Windows 3.11 machine in 1995. At that
time, Gateway offered a free upgrade to Windows 95 as part of the
condition of sale. Windows 95's launch was so well known that everyone
would have held off on purchasing a PC because they knew it was coming.
Sure enough, I bought a new PC and then Gateway shipped me Windows 95
after it was released. Again, this is precedent setting for people who
are purchasing a computer within a short timeframe of the next version.
In this case, no PC or software manufacturer has an obligation to
provide the upgrade for free. However, it is seen as the right thing to
do especially for those who just bought their PC a few months ago. It's
a matter of customer service, and a choice for those OEMs to provide an
extra level of service. Consumers also have the right to factor that
into consideration when judging the overall value of any given OEM.
If HP US goes the extra mile, then certainly people will view the
competition in a negative light. Next time around, they'll be more
likely to trust, and recommend, a company who goes the extra mile.
It's capitalism. Vendors have the freedom to charge whatever price they
want, and customers have the freedom to be upset by those decisions.
And I have the freedom to shame someone for *not* treating their
customers as well as the competition.
Pete
Toby Groves wrote:
> In article <ewWK1sVvEHA.200@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl>, Peter Near [MCE MVP]
> <peter@thenears.com> writes
>
>> Agreed, shame on those OEMs who don't provide an upgrade.
>
>
> I'm honestly surprised that so many here seem to think they are owed a
> free upgrade from their system suppliers.
>
> If you'd bought a PC with Windows 2000 on it, you'd not have expected a
> free upgrade to Windows XP when that was released.
>
> I'm not trolling here, I'm honestly confused as to the difference twixt
> these scenarios.
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