Petition Demands Vista Price Cuts in U.K.

As businesses and consumers grapple with Microsoft’s new operating system, Windows Vista, one question is increasingly being asked. Why is it so much more expensive to buy Vista in the United Kingdom than in the United States?

Anger over the issue has prompted an electronic petition on a government Web site that acts as a forum for public petitions. In less than a day, it collected more than 1,250 signatures with a regular stream of people signing up throughout Friday morning.

The petition is posted on the 10 Downing Street section of the government site and will be sent to the prime minister’s office after it closes on April 20. It calls on Tony Blair to put pressure on Microsoft, “to stop (it from) overcharging the U.K. for its Vista operating system.”

It points out the “huge difference in the price that people in the U.S. and the U.K. are paying for Windows Vista,” claiming that Vista Ultimate, the premium version, costs $683.80 (350 pounds) in the United Kingdom but can be bought for $293 (150 pounds) in the United States.

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