New technical support prices from Microsoft Australia mean that Vista users will pay up to $80 for each support incident related to the operating system.
General assistance for Office 2007 will cost $80 per incident, as will general assistance and peripheral set-up for Windows Vista. Although
Microsoft Australia says it will continue to help customers at no charge for inquiries on security or virus issues, the new Vista and Office fees are
significantly higher than previous assistance charges.
“The new fee-based support options account for new technology usage and customer implementation,” says Microsoft on its Web site.
“Support incident prices have not been increased for many years and Microsoft will continue to make an investment in services for home users,”
the company adds.
Microsoft insists that the charges were arrived at through “analysis of competitive offerings” and “in reference to GDP per capita.” The prices took
effect on January 30.
New retail customers get 90 days support free of charge.
