When Windows 7 was released, one of the most popular offerings was the Windows 7 Home Premium “Family Pack”, which allowed users to purchase three Windows 7 Home Premium upgrade licenses for $150. This was a significant discount as compared to about $120 per upgrade. As expected, it was one of the most popular offerings.
Microsoft said that the deal would run only while supplies lasted. However, I don’t think anybody thought that supplies would only last until about December 1st – just barely over one month from the October 22nd launch of Windows 7. And many stores report that they were out of the Family Packs weeks ago.
Not surprisingly, a major backlash has developed. Many people believe that Microsoft didn’t actually run out of supply, but rather intentionally killed the offer just prior to the beginning of the holiday shopping season. Regardless of the reason, this could turn out to be a significant PR black eye for Microsoft. As Microsoft is still vulnerable right now from its Vista hangover, angering customers around the holiday season could hurt the adoption of Windows 7 in the consumer market. Since many pundits feel that Microsoft is extremely vulnerable in the consumer market, this issue could quickly snowball. It will be interesting to see if Microsoft reverses course and just how soon they do it.
