From the press release entitled Industry Testing of Windows Vista Release Candidate 1 Begins we learn
Microsoft Announces Estimated Retail Pricing for All Windows Vista Editions
With
Windows XP, customers often had to make tradeoffs in features and
functionality as the Windows XP editions were aligned with specific
hardware types. With Windows Vista, customers now have the ability to
make choices between editions based on the valuable features they
desire, which are now available as standard features of mainstream
editions. For example, 64-bit support and Tablet PC and touch
technology are standard features of the Home Premium and Business
editions.
Pricing information for all Windows Vista editions is available online, along with additional information on the various editions of Windows Vista.
It looks like my next choice of operating system will have a suggested retail price for full package product of $399.00 and a suggested upgrade retail price of $259.00. Given that I'm running Windows Server 2003 at home it looks like I'll be paying the higher price.