Buying Vista Mid-Year Could Mean a Free Windows 7 Upgrade

Windows 7 might not be here for a while, but if you get a fresh copy of Vista around mid-year it may not all be bad news
By Kevin Purdy from LIfehacker Australia 2 Comments

Windows 7, coming to a PC near you: Lifehacker Australia

A tech site noted for getting its Microsoft leaks right has posted details of a Windows 7 upgrade program, which would give buyers of the higher-end Vista versions a free copy of the new OS.

According to Tech ARP's details, pulled from a document sent to computer manufacturers in early December, a consumer who buys a copy of Windows Vista Ultimate, Business, or Home Premium on or after July 1, 2020, through Jan. 31, 2010, could obtain a free upgrade to Windows 7.

Those dates can be shortened or modified by the manufacturers themselves, but Microsoft, in its Technical Guarantee Program, seems fairly set upon July 1 as a start date. And if the documents are right, Vista upgraders will get the equivalent copy of Windows 7 for free—Windows Vista Home Premium goes to Windows 7 Home Premium, Ultimate to Ultimate, and so on.

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Tags

Gear & Gadgets, COMPUTING, lau, operating system, PC, vista, windows, Windows 7, Windows Vista

It's not an entirely new program for Microsoft to offer free upgrades within a certain calendar radius of a new release, but it seems like a valuable bit of information for anyone reluctant to buy a new system because of Vista concerns—mid-year, in other words, might be a safer jump-in point. But check the fine print with any system maker before going ahead, of course.

Story from Lifehacker Australia

2 Comments

Comments

We_Major
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 02/13/09 at 7:19 pm

It makes a lot of sense this move. With people hesitant to buy Vista because of the negative feedback it's been getting, this will hopefully encourage them as they won't have to wait too long (in theory) for a copy of Windows 7.

It also works for Microsoft. Statistically speaking, they'll be pulling in higher numbers for sales of Vista. Some people may even stay with it, but I imagine the majority are then going to convert over to Windows 7 when it comes out, exactly what Microsoft wants us to do - have the latest of their OS on our PC

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Ulyssus
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 02/13/09 at 9:50 pm

Definitely going to boost the sales for Vista and perhaps even get people to actually try Vista for themselves instead of avoiding it because of second-hand information (although most of the problems stated are true). I'm looking at getting a new desktop PC sometime this year and am not too enthusiastic about getting Vista with it, but this info might just change that.

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