Gateway Upgrade Policy for MCE 2005

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From: Whiting Toler (whiting_hatesspam_at_whitingandtracy.com)
Date: 11/10/04 

Date: Tue, 9 Nov 2004 16:40:12 -0800

Please see the Gateway Support FAQ at the bottom of this
post. Is this what MS intended the early adopter
experience to be? This amounts to a bait-and-switch by
Gateway with MS having plausible deniability via its OEM-
only model.

http://support.gateway.com/s/software/MICROSOF/7513249/751
3249faq220.shtml

Can someone from MS please respond directly to this?
Also, please tell us why MCE could not be sold off the
shelf with a Hardware Compatability List as waas done
with the NT line? Furthermore, what's to stop MS from
offering the upgrade directly, this wouldn't require the
OEM to support it and MS could include "upgrade at your
own risk" disclaimers. I think all of us (Gateway
customers or not) should continue to ask these questions
until we get a satisfactory response.

"Q: Can I upgrade my Media Center Edition 2004 operating
system to Media Center Edition 2005?

A: No. The Media Center Edition 2005 operating system
software that is offered on new Gateway computers is a
completely new operating system, and is not available for
upgrades. This software is only available from Gateway on
new computers, and is not available through Microsoft or
through retail channels.
The only way to receive Media Center 2005 from Gateway is
to purchase a new computer with it preinstalled."

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