Packaging revealed for Windows Vista and Office 2007
Posted by Rob Wright on 31 October 2006 - 01:28 · 143 comments & 113750 views
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(3 replies)
#1 Posted by Kristian on 31 Oct 2006 - 01:30
- Extremely nice-looking!
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#1.1 Posted by
slimy on 31 Oct 2006 - 03:35
- UPDATE (Courtesy of Neowinian General_Brazil69)
http://uploads.neowin.net/download.php?fil...me=Untitled.jpg -
#1.2 Posted by The Teej on 31 Oct 2006 - 07:51
- Re-uploaded again to my Photobucket just incase:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v203/Tja...officeboxes.jpg
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#2 Posted by jbsuperman on 31 Oct 2006 - 01:31
- NICE!!!
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#3 Posted by purplehaze32 on 31 Oct 2006 - 01:33
- Simple and sweet - I just hope everything goes as well as the packaging looks.
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(1 reply)
#4 Posted by AresXP on 31 Oct 2006 - 01:34
- That looks very good... Vista sounds promising, except I won't be upgrading soon

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(6 replies)
#5 Posted by yakumo on 31 Oct 2006 - 01:34
- "the new packaging is a small, hard, plastic container that’s designed to protect the software inside for life-long use."
life long meaning until you try to reinstall on changed hardware for the 11th time, or something else b0rks up with the activation crap.
sigh -
#5.1 Posted by +Ironman273 on 31 Oct 2006 - 02:33
- Yeah, because nowadays no one has phones to make a quick 5 minute phone call.
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#5.2 Posted by phantasmorph on 31 Oct 2006 - 02:38
- Quote - Ironman273 said @ #5.1Yeah, because nowadays no one has phones to make a quick 5 minute phone call.
Yep, 5 minutes to call, 30-45 to try to make sense out of the butchered english your ears are subjected to by the outsourced support center... -
#5.3 Posted by random_n on 31 Oct 2006 - 02:50
- It's not that bad - I've made dozens of those calls (Windows XP has been around for five years now!
. They take about 15 minutes, and the only thing that really needs to be understood are the numbers zero to nine. If the calls are so annoying, then stick with Windows 2000, or pick a non-Microsoft OS.
I wonder though, will they change the Windows XP piano ditty on at the start of the activation calls to the Vista sound, or will they get new phone numbers?
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#5.4 Posted by werdwerdus on 31 Oct 2006 - 03:50
- Or buy a Volume Licensed copy that doesn't have activation. That's what I have.
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#5.5 Posted by seamer on 31 Oct 2006 - 09:09
- Quote - werdwerdus said @ #5.4Or buy a Volume Licensed copy that doesn't have activation. That's what I have.
You -are- aware that future VLK's will require activation, yes? -
#5.6 Posted by mr_da3m0n on 31 Oct 2006 - 13:27
- Quote - werdwerdus said @ #5.4Or buy a Volume Licensed copy that doesn't have activation. That's what I have.
Awesome. You have a Select Licensing subscription? I wish I had spare money like that just for my Operating System!
At least you didn't call it "Corporate".
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(1 reply)
#6 Posted by Sp3ctranova on 31 Oct 2006 - 01:34
- I'm definately buying Office 2007 as soon as it hits stores - like it a lot.
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#6.1 Posted by tiagosilva29 on 31 Oct 2006 - 01:44
- They will eventually license it for my university so, I will get it for free.

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(3 replies)
#9 Posted by Vexed on 31 Oct 2006 - 01:54
- I hope PC games adopts this packaging.
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#9.1 Posted by joeydoo on 31 Oct 2006 - 02:11
- Why? It looks like a ridiculous waste of space.
DVD boxes are fine. -
#9.2 Posted by theyarecomingforyou on 31 Oct 2006 - 08:13
- @joeydoo - Exactly.
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(1 reply)
#10 Posted by funnyperson1 on 31 Oct 2006 - 02:00
- Sweet, finally $400 software doesn't come in a half cent cardboard box.
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#10.1 Posted by Xerxes on 31 Oct 2006 - 03:18
- Yeah that really annoys me! especially when the software comes in a huge box and then when you finally open it all you get is a glossy (thin) manual and a CD/DVD in a paper sleeve!! So yeah I'm liking the Vista/Office 2k7 packaging
at least it looks like they made an effort 
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(1 reply)
#13 Posted by iverson0881 on 31 Oct 2006 - 02:07
- Reminds me of their Office Mac 2004 box. I guess they like that style much more :-P
Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac
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#15 Posted by +NI3NOR on 31 Oct 2006 - 02:11
- Pretty nice I must says.
But it stupid the way that they announce it "strength" and other "big" words that they use...
It's just a plastic package, like any other that we get with any games nowadays, I doubt that this round corner make it better than other packaging...
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(5 replies)
#17 Posted by cyberfox2004 on 31 Oct 2006 - 02:15
- Sweet, finally $400 software doesn't come in a half cent cardboard box. Agreeed
Nowdays buying anything above USD $100 has 1-Year Limited Warranty too.
are they providing Warranty too?
and where we can get the price tag for each editions? -
#17.1 Posted by Syphonic on 31 Oct 2006 - 02:32
- On Amazon.
The prices are stupid though...they need to drop them massively. Then again, I can't believe they still charge £230 for XP Pro. So many people are going to pirate Vista. -
#17.2 Posted by yakumo on 31 Oct 2006 - 03:01
- I'd much rather it DID come in a cardboard box tbh, very few people keep hold of such things however 'spiffy' they are, and a cardboard box is a HELL of a lot healthier for the environment.
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#17.3 Posted by seamer on 31 Oct 2006 - 09:11
- Quote - yakumo said @ #17.2I'd much rather it DID come in a cardboard box tbh, very few people keep hold of such things however 'spiffy' they are, and a cardboard box is a HELL of a lot healthier for the environment.
Tell that to the trees the cardboard comes from, or the fauna dying from the bleaches and dyes used to make that cardboard pretty colours
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#17.4 Posted by +M2Ys4U on 31 Oct 2006 - 10:43
- Quote - seamer said @ #17.3Quote - yakumo said @ #17.2I'd much rather it DID come in a cardboard box tbh, very few people keep hold of such things however 'spiffy' they are, and a cardboard box is a HELL of a lot healthier for the environment.
Tell that to the trees the cardboard comes from, or the fauna dying from the bleaches and dyes used to make that cardboard pretty colours
...unless the materials that are used are recylced and recyclable. Granted the dyes and bleaches are still a problem, but still. -
#17.5 Posted by kronix2 on 31 Oct 2006 - 22:10
- Quote - M2Ys4U said @ #17.4Quote - seamer said @ #17.3Quote - yakumo said @ #17.2I'd much rather it DID come in a cardboard box tbh, very few people keep hold of such things however 'spiffy' they are, and a cardboard box is a HELL of a lot healthier for the environment.
Tell that to the trees the cardboard comes from, or the fauna dying from the bleaches and dyes used to make that cardboard pretty colours
...unless the materials that are used are recylced and recyclable. Granted the dyes and bleaches are still a problem, but still.
Exactly - people forget that we can recycle animals.
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(2 replies)
#19 Posted by TEMPNEGROQ on 31 Oct 2006 - 02:21
- crackers don't need boxes.....
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#21 Posted by +guylaroche on 31 Oct 2006 - 02:32
- Looks sweet

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(2 replies)
#22 Posted by thenay on 31 Oct 2006 - 02:36
- Life long use huh? Please tell me who here has Win95 running or older?
I'm sure in 20 years Vista won't even run on current PC's at that time. -
#22.1 Posted by
markjensen on 31 Oct 2006 - 16:36
- I have just over 500 robots that run Windows 95. So I guess I would be one of those who still deals with really old Windows software.
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#23 Posted by ninjamunky on 31 Oct 2006 - 02:37
- looks nice, but think of the employees at thousands of computer stores across America trying to stack that box lol
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#24 Posted by Ravensworth on 31 Oct 2006 - 02:44
- Looks ok, but it's still cheap and plasticky. You know who had great packaging that lasted forever...IBM. I miss those days.
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#25 Posted by rseiler on 31 Oct 2006 - 02:52
- It's heartening to know that MS is not discriminating against future archaeologists with these "hard plastic containers." If these had been biodegradable, the lawsuits would have been flying by tomorrow.
When someone finds one of these intact in 12006, what will they think it is?
All products on earth will have been made by Google for several thousand years by that point--even earth itself will be called Googleplex Prime.
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#26 Posted by hapbt on 31 Oct 2006 - 02:56
- MMM
Must buy
Pretty packaging
MMM so pretty
Will pay anything
So pretty
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#27 Posted by +Kushan on 31 Oct 2006 - 03:00
- For some reason, when I use the older neowin theme, the image of the box art doesn't appear.
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#28 Posted by virtorio on 31 Oct 2006 - 03:02
- Looks quite nice, more like the kind of packing I'd expect from Mac unit at Microsoft.
I'd prefer the background of it to be something similar to the rich "nature" images plastered all over the Vista web site, but it's still good.
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#29 Posted by unkle stu on 31 Oct 2006 - 03:30
- a news-worthy story immediately bogged down by the same old comments, now that's worth a sigh.
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#31 Posted by Gamerhomie on 31 Oct 2006 - 03:39
- I actually thought whoa! when I saw that packaging. I really like it.
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(1 reply)
#32 Posted by Draje on 31 Oct 2006 - 03:43
- I would rather have a simple DVD box instead of this crap.
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#33 Posted by CrisCr0ss on 31 Oct 2006 - 03:45
- very slick. I think this is a great marketing scheme to move the product out to stores. A new invented package to identify a new invented OS.
Think about it most ppl do not know about the bugs of vista (my dad doesn't even know what vista is) except when he buys a computer it will prbly come with vista and only then will hes realize that it isnt windows xp
but i must say that packages is the nicest I have yet seen. Maybe now you can make a Case collection (similar to books)
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#34 Posted by werdwerdus on 31 Oct 2006 - 03:54
- I still prefer the OEM envelope thingy. lol
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#36 Posted by pied_piper on 31 Oct 2006 - 03:55
You can find Vista Ultimate here: http://www.istartedsomething.com/20061031/vista-news-leaks/
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#40 Posted by Webgraph on 31 Oct 2006 - 04:37
- Whoa! Finally, Microsoft didn't use too much clutter for its packaging and instead, used a pretty clean interface!
Cheers for that! 
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(2 replies)
#41 Posted by hapbt on 31 Oct 2006 - 04:40
- I have to ask though, how secure is this new packaging? With this added complexity perhaps there are things they have overlooked. Maybe someone can crack the package open to remove the CD.
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#42 Posted by mrmckeb on 31 Oct 2006 - 04:44
- I saw this a few weeks ago at a 'secret' event. I was under an NDA and I wasn't able to take any photos - but they fold out and stuff and are very shiny!
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#43 Posted by Sinzen on 31 Oct 2006 - 04:46
- Gasp! A modern design for packaging from Microsoft? They must have farmed this to some design firm in Europe somewhere. There is no way this design came from them.
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#44 Posted by meamog on 31 Oct 2006 - 04:47
- Nice, I like this alot. Seems more expensive and tactile, like pricey software should be.
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(2 replies)
#45 Posted by jb23fan on 31 Oct 2006 - 04:50
- LoL lots of idiot comments here..I especially like the one of bashing Microsoft for using plastic because it hurts the environment, that made me laugh pretty hard. Anyways - The packaging looks great, very unique and the shape should still allow the boxes to be stacked and shipped well.
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#45.1 Posted by rseiler on 31 Oct 2006 - 06:53
- Yeah, particularly since only millions of these are going to be made and then go straight into landfills days after purchase. MS could have made a real statement by using something enviro-friendly, but of course they didn't.
Apple's starting to do it, but I guess MS didn't know that. -
#45.2 Posted by kronix2 on 31 Oct 2006 - 22:33
- Quote - rseiler said @ #45.1Yeah, particularly since only millions of these are going to be made and then go straight into landfills days after purchase. MS could have made a real statement by using something enviro-friendly, but of course they didn't.
Apple's starting to do it, but I guess MS didn't know that.
Yes, Apple, the maker of disposable electronics containing toxic chemicals. http://www.greenpeace.org/apple/
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#46 Posted by Tech_Dude_5000 on 31 Oct 2006 - 05:29
- ones talking about wast of space. its problty the smae size as a box. and in 20 years you can put more stuff in it. I'm sure its gonna hold more then 1 DVD.
funny, the fourm discustion is all postive and this one you guys are talking about crackers and braking in to the boxes?
come on..... just wait till you see it up close. it will be nice.
kind of like the new nano cases...
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#48 Posted by +Shadowdruid on 31 Oct 2006 - 06:14
- Bandwidth Exceeded!

So Enjoy:



Last edited by Shadowdruid on 31 Oct 2006 - 06:19
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(2 replies)
#49 Posted by +Brandon Live on 31 Oct 2006 - 06:25
- wow, Ultimate looks badass
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#49.1 Posted by Stephen Dew on 31 Oct 2006 - 17:06
- Quote - Brandon Live said @ #49wow, Ultimate looks badass
Sure does! I like it!
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#50 Posted by billyea on 31 Oct 2006 - 06:29
- Ultimate kinda looks like the strokes left behind when the people swing the new iPod around in the recent commercial.
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(1 reply)
#51 Posted by badazzEVO8 on 31 Oct 2006 - 06:33
- wow you guys get all hard over a case
* shakes head *
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#51.1 Posted by OMEGA_RAZER on 01 Nov 2006 - 00:42
- Quote - badazzEVO8 said @ #51wow you guys get all hard over a hard casefixed
* shakes head *
okay, seriously I'm sleep deprived right now... and really shouldn't be here...
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#52 Posted by kaiwai on 31 Oct 2006 - 07:16
- Hmm, those cases almost look like the the packaging that is used for the Mac software - nice to see that they realise that the packaging is important; some of us want to keep out office nice and tidy rather than a garbage heap

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#53 Posted by PureLegend on 31 Oct 2006 - 07:27
- Ultimate is the best!
I prefer Office's though, dunno why...
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(2 replies)
#54 Posted by Alphanumeric on 31 Oct 2006 - 07:30
- They like nice, but what are you going to do with the box once it's installed??
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#54.1 Posted by Tech_Dude_5000 on 31 Oct 2006 - 07:38
- Quote - Alphanumeric said @ #54They like nice, but what are you going to do with the box once it's installed??
hmmmmm...Quote -
"Designed to be user-friendly, the new packaging is a small, hard, plastic container that’s designed to protect the software inside for life-long use. It provides a convenient and attractive place for you to permanently store both discs and documentation.
I guess your answer is right there
and notice the word "discs so that tells you this can hold more then 1 disc.
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(1 reply)
#56 Posted by windows95isg8 on 31 Oct 2006 - 08:03
- I dont know where, but im sure I have seen them before. think it was from here. and people was like, no it would never look that way, its fake. But its the real ones after all. I like them, as some people have said, normaly you dont get much in a box. now there is room for more books, and there will be a 32bit and 64bit disk in there to. So thats nice :-)
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#56.1 Posted by kaiwai on 31 Oct 2006 - 08:24
- Quote - windows95isg8 said @ #56I dont know where, but im sure I have seen them before. think it was from here. and people was like, no it would never look that way, its fake. But its the real ones after all. I like them, as some people have said, normaly you dont get much in a box. now there is room for more books, and there will be a 32bit and 64bit disk in there to. So thats nice :-)
True, I remember the good old days when you used to purchase software, you received up to 3 full size books covering everything from setting up, installing right to how to programme, configure and modify it
Would it kill Microsoft to throw something like a "Windows Vista Hand Book" in it? It would be good value for money IMHO.
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(3 replies)
#57 Posted by Chicane-UK on 31 Oct 2006 - 08:30
- Who cares about the box. Its the damn software I care about.. and thats a worry!
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#57.1 Posted by Yakkob on 31 Oct 2006 - 09:51
- Quote - Chicane-UK said @ #57Who cares about the box. Its the damn software I care about.. and thats a worry!
Exactly!
I can't believe peeps are coming in their pants over a box design. -
#57.2 Posted by jedimasterk on 31 Oct 2006 - 10:59
- Quote - Chicane-UK said @ #57Who cares about the box. Its the damn software I care about.. and thats a worry!
Yeh!. Look at Ubuntu, it comes in a paper sleeve and it is still ten times better then Vista Ultimate.
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Microsoft today revealed the retail packaging for Windows Vista and Office 2007, the eagerly awaited new products to be made widely available in early 2007. The boxes boast a completely revised and redesigned packaging. Writing on the Windows Vista Team Blog, Nick White said:
"Designed to be user-friendly, the new packaging is a small, hard, plastic container that’s designed to protect the software inside for life-long use. It provides a convenient and attractive place for you to permanently store both discs and documentation.
The new design will provide the strength, dimensional stability and impact resistance required when packaging software today. Our plan is to extend this packaging style to other Microsoft products after the launch of Windows Vista and 2007 Office system."