More on the Windows 7 upgrade program

Although Microsoft is on track to deliver Windows 7 for the holidays, the new operating system will miss the back-to-school buying season.

For that reason--and to prevent the stall in sales that can precede any new operating-system release--Microsoft has been working for months on the free-upgrade program it announced earlier Thursday.

(Credit: Microsoft)

Under the program, those who buy a PC with Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, or Ultimate will get a free upgrade to the comparable version of Windows 7, once it is released in October. Microsoft is hoping that will help juice PC sales a bit.

"With PC prices out there, there is probably no better time to buy a PC, especially for students," Brad Brooks, a Microsoft corporate vice president, said in an interview. Technically, the upgrade program runs through the end of January, since Microsoft knows that it will take that long for the Vista machines to work their way through the channel.

Although there had been speculation that Microsoft would charge PC makers for the upgrade rights, Vice President Brad Brooks said Microsoft decided to offer it free of charge. PC makers can still charge a shipping-and-handling fee, or another small fee, if they want.

"We are not going to charge them for it," Brooks said. "How they implement it is up to them."

Hewlett-Packard, for example, on Thursday said it will offer the upgrade free. After Windows 7 ships, it plans to give buyers of Vista PCs a disc with Windows 7, as well as a second disc that has utilities, drivers, and other software. Asus said it will offer the upgrade free in the United States, while customers elsewhere will have to pay a shipping and handling fee.

Acer (including its eMachines and Gateway brands), Fujitsu, Lenovo, and Toshiba are also taking part in the program, though it is not immediately clear if those companies are planning to charge a fee for the upgrade.

There are some changes in the logistics from the last time Microsoft did such a program. With the Vista technology guarantee, Microsoft had a hand in how the upgrades were managed. This time around, Microsoft says it is leaving things up to the PC makers.

"They felt they could handle it better and we agree," Brooks said. "They handle the images; they handle the process."

Things get tricky in Europe, though. Although Microsoft will offer the upgrade program, users will have to do a clean installation of the operating system to move to the comparable Windows 7 version, as Microsoft is offering only a browserless "E" version in Europe, in an effort to pre-empt regulatory action there.

Microsoft has said Windows 7 will arrive on new PCs and on retail shelves on October 22.

[jiakai_ln]

did youre previouse article say it is going to cost 50(premium) for the limited time offer and 120(premium) for the release on october

[compbry15]

This is for people who buy a PC from now (or whenever it starts) to October, so they don't need to pay to upgrade a brand new system. If you have a year old computer with Vista on it, I'm sure you won't be eligible for the free upgrade. On the other hand those PCs will be able to take advantage of the limited-time offer of discounted prices.

[JPNY24]

I AM CONFUSED! so if you have an Windows Vista Home Premium machine can you upgrade for free or do you have to pay $50 like you said in the previous article . Cause I have a HP laptop with Home Premium and I really need Windows 7 cause Vista stinks.

[mediocrates--2008]

The free upgrade is for new machines purchased between now and October 22nd. You'll have to buy the upgrade for your present computer.

[dabalgobin]

Many of us have already purchased computers loaded with Vista - only to find out just how bad this OS is. The offer to upgrade free to Windows 7 should be extended to all exising Vista users - the case for this is good, as the typical OS lifetime is (or should be) around 10 years - While Vista should never have seen the light of day (SHAME on you Steve Balmer!!) this OS has only been around for a fraction of what should have been it's service lifetime. Therefore call DELL, Gateway - or whoever your favorite Computer Vendor is and let them know in the strongest terms that as a VISTA user you should receive the upgrade to Win 7 free or at least at a significant discount.

[lvcsslacker]

To be fair, Windows ME was pretty craptastic too.

[keano12]

To be honest, there is no such thing as "The Typical OS lifetime is (or should be) around 10 year" even if it was an opinion and say it should be, you believe that any OS should last 10 years before having to go under a new one? wow that was funny. Anyway, Vista isn't really that bad, considering your probably basing your opinion on all the other idiots who comments on Vista negatively without ever trying it previously before they commented upon it. Idiots.

[Inconnux]

Vista is bad... slow and unintuitive.

I did my own benchmarks and a 2yr old desktop running XP outperformed a mid ranged Toshiba laptop (comparable CPU's, laptop had 1gb more ram) at over double the speed (Fritz 10 benchmark). After spending a whole day scouring the Internet for tweaks for improving Vista, I did improve the speed (to slightly under twice as slow). The problem is that Vista apologists generally just use their systems for word processing, web browsing and email. Those of us who run performance sensitive applications know just how much of a Dog Vista really is. I will say that when an application crashes under Vista the whole system doesn't go down (unlike XP), but this is the only improvement that I have seen.

For those who cry 'ubuntu ubuntu'... I installed ubuntu on the same laptop and there was noticeable increases in speed, but with that came many headaches... Ubuntu is nice and relatively user friendly but I wouldn't give it to people who aren't computer savy... Wireless problems were a pain and then I've had a couple crashes already that have caused kernel panics. Linux is great for those of us who like to delve into the guts of an OS, but on the desktop it will always be relegated to those of us who consider ourselves techies.

[slapppy]

Silly pricing scheme. Should be two prices. One for server, one for all else. Period.

[talking poo]

Completely agree. Way too many SKUs. Why not give every customer the best. From my experience, its not I use every function in an operating system, but its nice to know its there.

[ivorycruncher]

"Silly pricing scheme. Should be two prices. One for server, one for all else. Period."

"Completely agree. Way too many SKUs. Why not give every customer the best. From my experience, its not I use every function in an operating system, but its nice to know its there."

So, you're telling me that you'd gladly go out and buy a fully loaded Cadillac Escalade, just so you "have all the features", when a Chevy Malibu would do everything you need? If you seriously want only one option, be prepared to pay top dollar for it. Extra features are not free. It amazes me how consumers are now complaining about having too many choices, after complaining for so long about not having enough choice. Apparently they didn't factor laziness into the equation. That is, being too lazy to figure out which option works best for you and saves you money. To openly admit you don't need the extra features but still want them is stupid, because you obviously know the differences in features and are just wasting money on features you don't need, which in this economy is a bad idea. Besides, if you honestly need more features later, the features are already there, and you just need to purchase a code to unlock them. However, if you feel the need to have it all right away, go buy the Ultimate edition. Have fun with all your useless features.

[chrisx1]

Don't worry about all the SKUs. Walmart and BestBuy are not going to have all the SKUs sitting on their shelves. Maybe only Home Premium and Business will be widely available.
Not confusing.

[thisnamestoolong]

"If you seriously want only one option, be prepared to pay top dollar for it. Extra features are not free."

Umm... would you mind doing me a favor and explaining to me why they aren't free? If anything, they have to put extra work into purposely crippling the lesser versions and shutting things off, the lesser versions should be more expensive. The only reason the less hobbled version costs more is because they can get away with it. The only way it is ever even close to excusable for a piece of software to cost $300 is when there is a very limited market for it (i.e. -- specialized software where sales will number in the tens of thousands). This is NOT true for an O/S and CERTAINLY not true for Windows, $300 for even the Extra Super Mega Ultimate Nuclear Gamer Media Center Windows 7 Professional is quite simply price gouging.

[atcocoabeach]

@thisnamestoolong

Why does Apple charge for their iLife and iWork addon's? Should those just come free with the OS? And why the recurring maintainance fees for MobileMe? That's insane.

Seems to me Apple has multiple editions. They all have multiple editions.
They all charge for "extra" features. Deal with it.

[thisnamestoolong]

@atcocoabeach -- I would certainly agree with you that Apple's extra fees are ludicrous, they are more or less as ridiculous as M$. OSX is certainly a very high quality O/S, but it realistically costs $300-$1000 if you really analyze the prices (Mac computer price vs. bare bones system with the SAME EXACT hardware). You will not catch me defending Apple's price scheme for one second. If it is not costing the manufacturer extra to have it in there (and in the case of Windows it is not, the features are simply removed in lower versions), then it should not cost extra. Period.

And they don't "all" have extra fees, and I will certainly not "deal with it." Download Ubuntu, it is faster, totally open source, far more stable, infinitely more secure, 100% customizable, and it is entirely free. No extra fees for extra features.

[ckh1272]

"by atcocoabeach June 25, 2009 11:45 AM PDT
@thisnamestoolong

Why does Apple charge for their iLife and iWork addon's? Should those just come free with the OS? And why the recurring maintainance fees for MobileMe? That's insane.

Seems to me Apple has multiple editions. They all have multiple editions.
They all charge for "extra" features. Deal with it."

@atcocoabeach--Show me the multiple editions from Apple (other than server), and I won't call this FUD!!!

[abysseyez2]

OK, seems like none of you truly thought of this, first it isn't just a code when you do the upgrades you need internet access and it does download missing parts for the features. Second, the reason for the multiple platforms is so Bob who only does simple browsing, maybe word processing and normal everyday things, doesn't have to buy a super video editing, game busting machine just so it can run its OS at a decent speed.

[atrauzzi]

Microsoft passes down such a deranged and impractical concept of what an operating system is. Everything they do is so arbitrary, yet people pay top dollar to be fed the same garbage over and over again. In spite of all claims, Windows 7 is still for the most part Vista. Whatever performance gains you're being told about, remember that they are marketed as compared to *Vista*. The bar hasn't exactly been set very high!

Time for some perspective, install Ubuntu and:

o Never have to deal with the pointless splintering of operating systems into editions.
o Pay nothing.
o Get security updates and patches as well as free regular feature releases.
o Never have to think about a virus or trojan again.
o Access a gigantic repository of quality software.
o Recover a stunning amount of performance from your system.
o Play tons of games through the ever amazing WINE (yes you can) and otherwise.
o Never think about a driver ever again.

I know countless people of varying skill levels who have switched and never look back.

Cue the outdated opinions.

[wojx]

Ubuntu still isn't as popular as Windows or the Mac OS's. I'd like to try Ubuntu, but I always wondered is it worth the hassle?

[Inconnux]

Thats kind of funny.. just installed ubuntu on a Toshiba laptop and nothing but problems with getting wireless to work... so much for your 'never think about a driver ever again'... Please, if you are going to be a linux evangelist please be honest about what it takes to get the systems running properly... (and no I'm not a linux noob... ive been using linux since kernel 1.2.3)

[Otto Holland]

Nice article! Go ahead and use Ubuntu and have fun but don't expect everyone to be like you. I use Vista and have not had a problem since day one. What caused your problem? Are you trying to run Vista on a "Pinto" ? Perhaps!

Where people complain about too many versions; there are reasons for them so pick wisely. Home users should use Home Premium, business- use business for all the networking features.

Forget about the server versions; why would a small shop want Datacenter when regular server does the required job? I prefer Enterprise version because it's far more robust and much more enterprise class.

These are not the days of DOS and Windows 3.1 or 3.11 and things change. Why spent 25 Grand when all you need cost 300?

As far as Ubuntu is concerned; go for it if it makes your day but it sure does not pay my bills, nor do I earn my living by using it. Different folks, different strokes and everyone has the right to choose what float his/her boat.

[thisnamestoolong]

@wojx & lconnux -- Ubuntu is definitely worth "the hassle" -- as there usually is not any. I say usually, as sometimes (as lconnux apparently found out) there are issues that can be rather difficult to resolve. For the most part, though, I have found installing and running Ubuntu to be more painless than installing and running Windows. I mean, the install runs off of a Live CD, and you can browse the Internet while it is installing! Out of the box driver support tends to be better than Windows, but as lconnux here rightly states, they can become a bit more of a pain to resolve in Linux IF you have problems. Fortunately, there is a great amount of support out there and if you are willing to do a little bit of research, you can find answers to any of your questions. I would recommend trying it out on a LiveCD, it is no risk to you whatsoever. If you like it, you can run the Wubi installer, and run Ubuntu as a Windows program, again, without losing anything on your Windows drive. There is no reason not to try it, and it really is a much better O/S in nearly every way, the only thing MS has over it is market saturation which results in better support from third parties.

[gorgeclimber]

The Ubuntu description sounds great until you install it. Unfortunately, it has inadequate drivers for doing wireless network connections. Also inadequate drivers for videos or graphics. It looks pretty, but is next to useless like Linux.

[thisnamestoolong]

@gorgeclimber -- Have you ever tried it? I have installed Ubuntu on 7 different machines now and have had no issues with wireless working out of the box. What kind of graphics card do you have? Ubuntu works BETTER than XP without graphics drivers (no painfully slow screen redraws!), comes standard with drivers for Intel graphics, and gives you an option to install NVidia drivers right from your desktop. It appears from your comment that you have no idea what you are talking about, especially since you compare Ubuntu to Linux. Linux is not an O/S, it is a kernel that many O/S'es are built on (incl. Ubuntu, but also Fedora, Slackware, Debian, SUSE, Arch, etc.). So Ubuntu IS Linux. It is also very far from useless, it is capable of anything that Windows is capable of, as well as much more. Like I said before, the only drawback is that Windows has better third party support, but this is becoming less and less of an issue all the time. In my experience, Ubuntu at the very least as easy, and in many cases, easier to use than Windows. This is certainly not true of many other, non-beginner distros (Arch, Gentoo), but the end-user experience in Ubuntu 9.04 is nearly seamless. Try it, you might be surprised.

[El_Segfaulto]

I love Linux! I have Ubuntu installed on my Media computer (hooked up to my TV) and Fedora on my file server. However my workstation is still Vista (and when it comes out 7). The honest truth is that there are some apps that will not run well in Wine. Photoshop being the most obvious. I try not to be a Linux evangelist simply because I don't think it's ready for prime time yet. I spend too much time in the terminal doing basic maintenance. Regular users would panic at that. On the two laptops I have installed Ubuntu on it has correctly detected the wireless NICs, however I know anecdotally that this is not always the case. Do yourself a favor and use Clonezilla to image your hard drive before experimenting with Linux just so you can go back if things get too rough.

[Lucky Bob]

@atrauzzi

"Time for some perspective, install Ubuntu and:

Never have to deal with the pointless splintering of operating systems into editions."

Absolutely! Just choose from this one and only ONE edition:

Ubuntu Desktop
Ubuntu Server
Ubuntu Studio
Kubuntu
Xubuntu
Edubuntu
Gobuntu
Fluxbuntu
Mythbuntu
...etc., etc., etc...

[SniperSlap]

To all the people who appear to ONLY cite issues with wireless...

I suspect you have pigeonholed one issue for the sake of your entire argument.

When someone is saying "are you running Vista on a pinto", consider your own asinine argument when looking at the WiFi groans here. Most WiFi cards that don't work in Ubuntu have very windows-centric implementations.

If your wifi doesn't work in linux nowadays, its because you have a junk card. Jack in, run an update, there's a good chance ubuntu will find it. If not, you have a really junk card. I won't deny, I have one that needs ndiswrapper. But your nic works, your video works, your sound works. When I bought a new laptop, I paid the $30 extra to get an intel 3945 wireless card. Intel supports it themselves.

Speaking of pintos and wild accusations...if I can find a Wifi card that works, why can't you?

Get over the hardware debate. You're splitting hairs and making yourselves look like desperate sycophants.
Let's remember, Windows XP (the most popular version of Windows still!) doesn't support just about any new hardware out nowadays with a fresh install. Not to mention the 8+ reboots needed after applying a tedious chain of updates and jumping through paranoid security hoops.

Thank you for not addressing all the benefits of Ubuntu, you obviously must agree that performance, stability and security is better as there wasn't a single mention against it.

MS boosters are all the same.

[L33tLuXX0rz]

Does this mean that I can buy a new laptop, Sony Vaio, for example next month and in October or so they will give me a free upgrade disc to Windows 7? I do not want to wait until October 22 to buy a new computer when the new school semester starts in August...

[shellcodes_coder]

Good for billions of Windows users out there :)

[ColinABQ]

I tend to agree with some other folks here - the K in SKU must stand for Konfusion. It is good, in many ways, that there are tiers to choose from, especially the lowest (netbook) and highest (server) ends. On the other hand, well, for crying out loud! Between the SKU mixes of XP, Vista, and 7, and now the upgrade paths and options and qualifying requirements ... someone (Ina) needs (or Microsoft) to make (not me) a great big table/matrix of this. Or maybe a highly specialized, Microsoft co-branded Rubic's Cube will hit the market before October. Could be a big seller for the holidays.

[WildBill67]

After being burned by Vista 64, why would I pay anything for another Microsoft untried and untested product?? Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. I have a open SR with Microsoft which has been open for 7 weeks for Vista 64 and they will not even return my emails.

[xtrasico]

I have 4 PC's and 2 laptops. None give me problems.

This is the distribution:
PC's:
2 with XP (each of my kids). No problems. Ever. Not even one.
1 with Win98, XP, Win7 (testing), BackTrack3 and Ubuntu. (mine) No problems. Ever. Not even one.
1 IPCop - Router Firewall. No problems. Ever. Not even one.

Laptops:
1 XP for road work. No problems. Ever. Not even one.
1 Vista Home Premium to edit video. No problems. Ever. Not even one.

I guess it all depends on what hardware you use for your selected OS and how well you configure it the first time. Just my opinion.

[lvcsslacker]

sorry: train of thought stopped before it got though the tunnel... :p

To be fair, Windows ME was pretty craptastic too.. Look at the jump XP was versus ME.

[damiandennison]

Look lets be real about Linux (any distro) it is not 100% ready to replace Windows or Mac in many situations. I am a Linux user now for many yrs and I love it but I know it's limitations. The biggest one are drivers. While they do a very good job with making basic drivers you hardly find a fully comparably Windows drivers for Linux. Sound cards is a big one.

I run vmware workstation on laptop, I need it for my work. Now I have run Ubuntu 8.x and 9.x, opensuse 10.x and 11.x and have had the same problem. You just can not get the VM and the guests to share the sound card at the same time while on windows you can and do not try to doc that laptop and expect the sound to transfer over correctly and then un-doc and expect to work again. That is just one example.

AS I said before it is not 100% to replace Windows in all circumstances but it can do a dam good job.

I do agree with the above post about the upgrade to Windows 7 being free for every Vista PC and it not it should extend to the start of this year and anything before that pay no more than $50 to upgrade.

I really can not compare Windows to Mac because there is just something I do not like about the Mac, I do not know what it is but I just do not like it. I hear people say how easy it is to use and so one, I do not agree, I think Windows is easy to use.

[Smudge57]

Am I missing something? We're seeing LOTS of action in the netbooks category and many, many reports of how well Windows 7 runs on netbooks. But many of the best netbooks selling today come with Windows XP. What's the upgrade path there? Should be the same if they're really trying to push us all to buy new computers AND get us away from XP once and for all. ???

[topazhn]

My 530 came with Vista Biz Basic. The hardware's OK, but customer service at HP was BS. They claimed that they couldn't be certain that their 530 would work with XP ; I had asked to "down"grade ;-p

So I loaded ubuntu. The only thing I seem to have lost is the ability to adjust the contrast. The screen controls were rather lame under Vista too.

Now we hear how M$ is going to take it on the jaw and offer relief to Vista victims. And it's only gonna cost... F' em I'll stick with ubuntu.

Note to HP - Recently my HP photosmart conked. I replaced it with a Cannon; you lost me for good with your mealy mouth crap. I average $1500 in electronic purchases a year.

Here is my explanation for folks out there who are confused about the whole upgrade scene:

PCs bought BEFORE June 26, 2009 will not be eligibile for the free windows 7 upgrade offer, hence you need 49$ for the WIN 7 home basic or $99.00 for the professional edition. However, these are just introductory price offer meaning they're giving us a discount now; once the discount is over, they will be charging $129.99 for the home premium and $199.99 for the professional edition.

PCs bought June 26 and after:

You will get the free copy of windows 7, but some pc manufacturer may charge a small fee for windows 7 according to microsoft.

Hope this clears out the confusion. Cheers!

[geowmiller]

This is my question that perhaps merits another column: Now that I've made it to June 26 and the free upgrade, should I wait until October 22 to buy a new laptop? I'm ready for a new laptop to replace my XP laptop, but I'm afraid that if I get a Vista laptop now, then (of course) upgrade in late October to Win7, I'll be left with a lot of Vista legacy issues. I've read that the upgrade from Vista to Win7 is relatively smooth, but I've not read anything that speaks to the prudence of delaying a purchase due to having too much Vista left over on the machine after the October upgrade. Comments?

[andeyejah]

I don't care i know ill get ultimate or any edition i want for free infact any software i damn well please is available to me eventually for absolutely nothing zilch niente!

[Jelly11293]

Can you buy a vista computer from any store to be eligible for this program? (for exp. wal mart)

[deepen05]

the best deal for current vista users is to just get the 49.99 pre-order, which i plan to get this week.

The full version will cost 199 when it releases, so you might as well get it cheap while you can

[Save_Me_from_my_Govt]

So, where are the pre-order 64-bit versions? I don't see anything except the 32-bit, and I just bought this new laptop with this Vista crap on it...