Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Hey, if Bill can give away tens of billions of dollars, the least we can do to celebrate his last day is to give away some Microsoft-powered stuff, right? Next up: a full, non-upgrade copy of Windows Vista Ultimate.

• Leave a comment below. Tell us about your favorite Microsoft-powered product. Or your favorite Apple product, too, since Bill totally bailed those guys out back in ‘97.
• You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you’ll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.)
• If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you’ll be fine.
  
• Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don’t make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
• Winner will be chosen randomly. That winner will get a brand new full, non-upgrade copy of Windows Vista Ultimate. Approximate value is $200.
• Entries can be submitted until Sunday, June 29th, 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
• Full rules can be found here.

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Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Great news for those of you enrolled in Microsoft’s Windows Feedback Program. In exchange for giving Microsoft access to your computing habits for the last 3 months, your free copy of Windows Vista Ultimate, Office Ultimate ‘07, Money Plus Premium, Encarta Premium or Streets and Trips (depending upon your enrollment selection) should be delivered in the next 4 to 6 weeks. Oh sure, the price for the most popular choice — Vista Ultimate — has dropped $80 since you flittered away your privacy. It’s not like the MyFaceSpaceBook types have anything left to hide anyway. And free is free no matter the cost, right?

[Thanks, Gal C, Anthony, and everyone who sent this in]

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Filed under: Desktops

The whole consumer motivation for (PRODUCT) RED is that a donation is made to those in need at no (obvious) additional expense to you. It’s The Man who makes the donation, you’re just pulling the trigger with the purchase of something presumably wanted anyway. But the (PRODUCT) RED XPS One confuses this whole system, at best. The RED XPS One costs an extra $300 over the regular XPS One’s base configuration. For that, you do get a bump — but it’s software only. More specifically, your $300 premium upgrades you to Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 (found online for ~$100 or less) and Vista Ultimate (~$300 or less), instead of stock Microsoft Works 8.5 (~$15) and Vista Home Premium (~$200 or less).

Based on those retail prices, you’re locked into almost $200 in add-ons that Dell and Microsoft will happily mark-up to $300 — $80 of which is donated to the Global Fund. Never you mind that the full-featured Vista Ultimate (even with RED-themed desktops, screensaver, and widgets) adds very little value to the vast majority of home users when compared to Vista Home Premium. Or that Microsoft says that “Vista Home Premium is the preferred edition for home desktops.” So why bother with Ultimate on the XPS One in the first place, except to up the perception of greater value? It’s not like this all-in-one desktop will ever step foot inside of an enterprise cubicle. Our advice: save your $300 and just give some cash directly, it might work out better for your taxes anyway.

[Thanks, Justin M.]

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Filed under: Desktops

var digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/hardware/Dell_s_XPS_One_PRODUCT_RED_a_charitable_rip_off’; The whole consumer motivation for (PRODUCT) RED is that a donation is made to those in need at no (obvious) additional expense to you. It’s The Man who makes the donation, you’re just pulling the trigger with the purchase of something presumably wanted anyway. But the (PRODUCT) RED XPS One confuses this whole system, at best. The RED XPS One costs an extra $300 over the regular XPS One’s base configuration. For that, you do get a bump — but it’s software only. More specifically, your $300 premium upgrades you to Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 (found online for ~$100 or less) and Vista Ultimate (~$300 or less), instead of stock Microsoft Works 8.5 (~$15) and Vista Home Premium (~$200 or less).

Based on those retail prices, you’re locked into almost $200 in add-ons that Dell and Microsoft will happily mark-up to $300 — $80 of which is donated to the Global Fund. Never you mind that the full-featured Vista Ultimate (even with RED-themed desktops, screensaver, and widgets) adds very little value to the vast majority of home users when compared to Vista Home Premium. Or that Microsoft says that “Vista Home Premium is the preferred edition for home desktops.” So why bother with Ultimate on the XPS One in the first place, except to up the perception of greater value? It’s not like this all-in-one desktop will ever step foot inside of an enterprise cubicle. Our advice: save your $300 and just give some cash directly, it might work out better for your taxes anyway.

[Thanks, Justin M.]

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Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Yesterday, we told you about an offer wherein you could completely sacrifice your privacy for a free software bundle from Microsoft which included Windows Vista Ultimate and Office Ultimate ‘07, amongst others. Well, apparently the big M has decided to pull the offer of free software — but still wants to track your digital footsteps and pry into your private dealings. Here’s Redmond’s official line to those inquiring about the discontinued offer: “Thank you for your interest in the feedback program. Due to high volume, we have reached our ‘while supplies last’ limit and have closed our free product incentive on 12/11/2007 at 2pm.” Needless to say, they’d still love to have a look at your browser history, emails, IM logs, crash reports, and blood type.

[Thanks, Jerry]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Microsoft’s been keeping its record pretty clean of late, but we suppose it couldn’t end the year without a parting shot meant to cheese off the ultra-private, Microsoft-eats-children types. The company’s latest diabolical plan involves giving away free copies of Windows Vista Ultimate, Office Ultimate ‘07, Money Plus Premium, Encarta Premium or Streets and Trips — scary, we know. All you need to do is fill out a few surveys now and then, and download a little app that lets Microsoft watch your every move for three months. If you can manage to be a good little pod person for that long, you get a free copy of whatever software title you selected in the mail. But really, can you put a price on dignity? Exactly, you can’t, so sign us up!

[Via NotebookReview]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!