Did you buy Win7 retail 13 years ago? Then you can still use it with Win11 today.

This is the case today. For Win7 itself, you had to buy an upgrade package, since then the upgrade is free but Retail package cost is unchanged. I agree that you can use these keys for a long time now and that this part is valuable, but that’s only because Microsoft has been “generous”; There is no guarantee They do this with Windows 12 as well.

And this is for a part of the program that is the basis of the entire PC and can last for a long time, so is the price so wrong?

I agree with you in principle, and during the Windows 7 era I totally agreed with you. But since then, Windows has become a product that wants to work with all kinds of paid Microsoft services and wants to hang on your clothes, during installation, even a Microsoft account is required (And soon also for the special 11 Pro) and after installation, all kinds of unwanted files are installed which is likely to bring in a lot of money. In addition, Windows regularly crashes in important areas (think printing, which was demolished a few days ago) and Microsoft listens very poorly to the community.

With this marketing (is that a word?) is it still justified to pay so much for a license, or is the value now in a gateway to their other services where they get paid from you over and over again? Isn’t that smarter for them, because apparently they want tons of money from you, lower the price and then lure those who get it through illegal means to pay directly to Microsoft? Something with supply and demand, supply is now more fun in other places. Perhaps for a relatively small group compared to system builders, but still.

You can also say that Windows as a product has grown both positively and negatively and this justifies the higher price.

This turns out to be a personal rant partly out of frustration and opinion-based, but my point is that Microsoft is making Windows more and more commercial, frustrating its users (I’m certainly not alone in this), without them realizing the issue with licenses it seems to raise. Whereas these licenses are in place to bring money into the cash register.