Microsoft to offer free Windows 7 upgrade to [limited] Vista users

[skunksmash]

The Windows 7 Upgrade Program is designed to assist Microsoft's OEM partners in minimizing the number of end users who may postpone acquiring a new computer because of the impending release of the Windows 7 operating system. This program allows OEMs to offer an upgrade to Windows 7 to end users who qualify.

This is a consumer-oriented program targeted at individual consumers and small businesses that have purchased eligible PCs during the Program Eligibility Period. End users will have to meet these requirements to be deemed eligible for the upgrade to Windows 7 when it is released :

* End users must purchase a new PC that is pre-installed with an eligible Windows Vista Operating System (OS), during the program eligibility window.

* The PC must have a valid Certificate of Authenticity (COA) attached.

* The only Windows Vista® versions eligible for the program are :
1. Windows Vista® Home Premium
2. Windows Vista® Business
3. Windows Vista® Ultimate
* Microsoft Windows Vista® Home Basic, Windows Vista® Starter Edition, and Windows® XP (all editions) are not qualifying products under the program.

* The Program does not support multiple upgrades for medium, large, or enterprise customers. Customers that want to upgrade multiple PCs should use the appropriate Microsoft Volume Licensing program. See www.microsoft.com/licensing for more details.

* The following are the only valid upgrade paths under the program :
1. Windows Vista® Home Premium -> Windows® 7 Home Premium
2. Windows Vista® Business -> Windows® 7 Professional
3. Windows Vista® Ultimate -> Windows® 7 Ultimate

Do note that this is an optional program, so not all OEMs may choose to participate. OEMs that choose to participate in this upgrade program will have the freedom to determine how to best provide qualifying end users with the details.

source


sounds quite good for anyone looking to upgrade soon.... but all of us that already have it are out of luck


it states...

'' End users must purchase a new PC that is pre-installed with an eligible Windows Vista Operating System (OS), during the program eligibility window''

..now i have no idea when this ''window of opportunity'' is..?? or if ''we'' the public are entitled to it...??


i mean..... im not sure if the average person could just wait for this ''window'', go out & buy an OEM copy of vista & receive free W7..??

(would be nice to think the loyal, long standing users wont get left on the shelf....)






SK

 

[garysgold]

There will probably be a lower priced upgrade path for Vista users. Probably not free though.

Gary

 

[jbosa1]

Shoundn't it be the other way around...we get paid to use it...I mean...you only pay for something you want, ehh?

Microsoft wants us to use it and we do anything to avoid it...thats WHY ubunto is a HIT!

and that in spite that Ubunto, like so many other Linux distros, is pure GREEK for the normal user (whatever THAT is!)...if you install Ubunto you're not normal, just desperat looking for something that acually works...

and Linux dosen't work (unless you're so cleaver you got in on papper) as it should work...Windows does work but very, very SLOW...

That is...Windows Vista, I will say nothing against Windows XP...now that's an superb OP...the best realese yet from Microsoft and the big reason we hope so much that Windows 7 will be like XP...a superb op

That is what I hope for the beta version...

 

[sevsman]

Well i personally would prefer it if 7 is more like vista than xp. There's to many people out there that don't remember how buggy xp was until pretty much SP2.

I thnk most of the complaints people have about vista is compatability issues with hardware that they have. Well it's not supprising that 6 year old hardware wouldn't play nice with a fresh OS.

And as for all the problems that won't be there during the upgrade to 7, this is predominantly due to either the fact that people have upgraded when installing vista or the compatability setting is better due to the fact that it has been further refined than it was in vista.

Infact the only reason i use 7 is because i'm an absolute sucker for new things and even worse for eye candy. I never had a problem with vista even when it was RC. The only time i had issues was when it was in Beta, and there were many people having the same problems as me, and this was mainly due to the fact that vista was built from the bottom up and required new hardware that was designed to do the things that were being asked of it...

So being truthfull, how many people had big issues that where so bad even a hardware upgrade wasn't able to fix them? Not many i expect....


And jbosa1 please don't take this the wrong way, but your notebook is an entry level notebook, so vista would be a little slow on that...

 

[ambientmf]

Well i personally would prefer it if 7 is more like vista than xp. There's to many people out there that don't remember how buggy xp was until pretty much SP2.

This laptop I have is a laptop my college provided me with and of course, the school image is running XP Pro.

I totally agree with you, Windows 7 is magnitudes more stable than XP ever has been.
Hell, even AFTER SP2.

The only complaint I have with Windows 7 is my issues with x64, which is my fault anyways because I only have 2 GBs of RAM.