So I decided to hunt around a bit and see if I could quickly and easily buy a Windows Server 2008, Foundation Edition bundle. If my experience is any indication, you’re not going to have an easy time of it!
First I tried the Dell website. A search on “foundation edition” and “server 2008” brought up zero hits. OK, that didn’t look promising, so I moved on over to hp.com. There, I did at least find a product matrix showing which HP servers supported Foundation Edition (some of the ProLiant ML series, for example). But after a solid 5 minutes of trying, I couldn’t find either pricing information or any online package deals (remember, Foundation Edition is only sold as a bundle with a server). I sashayed on over to acer.com as they were listed as a partner for Foundation Edition on one of the press releases, but there was no information there on the new Microsoft OS.
Finally, I decided that maybe Microsoft could set me straight. I went to their Foundation Edition main page, clicked the link that took me to Microsoft Partners (their recommended pathway for buying a Foundation Edition system), and entered my search criteria as “foundation edition” and “server 2008,” my country (United States), and my zip code in Colorado. The search engine pulled up over 80 partner companies – in Austria!!
As the comedians say – you can’t make this stuff up.
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