ZDNet’s Ed Bott is reporting that the license for Windows 7 Home Premium appears to make provisions for a family-pack version that would permit three installations of the OS, presumably at a discounted price. (Apple sells a five-user Family Pack edition of OS X Leopard for $199.)

Folks have been asking for a Windows family license for a looooong time, so if it’s good news if such a deal is indeed in the works. It would also be consistent with Microsoft’s strategy of making Windows 7 a little eaiser on the pocketbook than Vista was.

At first, I wondered why Microsoft would hold back on announcing a family pack–especially since other versions of the OS are already available for pre-order. You’d think the company wouldn’t want anyone to order multiple copies of Windows 7, then discover that he or she qualified for a cheaper family license. But at the moment, Microsoft is offering copies of the Windows 7 Home Premium upgrade for only $49.99, a discount of more than half off. If Ed’s right in his guess that a three-user Home Premium Family Pack would go for $189, the current discounted price of just under $150 for three licenses would be cheaper still, and nobody who ordered now would be out any money.

Maybe Microsoft’s holding off announcing the Family Pack until the big preorder discount ends on July 11th. Any guesses?

 
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