“Microsoft likes to make money, hence the Windows 7 tax, but their main reason for setting the price so high is to get us all to buy new computers. That brings Microsoft less revenue per unit but more revenue overall as businesses, for example, decide to upgrade a whole office with new PC’s rather than pay $119.95 per desk just for new software. New PCs come with dramatically lower support costs for Microsoft than do retail upgrades. The pricing ploy makes Microsoft very popular, too with its Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) like HP, Dell, and hundreds of others.” - × × ×

Windows 7 Drives a 49% Spike in PC Sales: http://www.internetnews.com/hardwar... “However, those figures are actually down somewhat, percentage-wise, when compared to the Vista launch in early 2007. PC sales growth during the week of the Vista launch jumped 68 percent over the prior year's sales and 170 percent over the week preceding the launch.” - × × ×