Microsoft May Offer Free Update to Windows 7 for Vista Users

Now may be the time to buy that new computer with a pre-loaded version of Microsoft's Windows Vista

TechARP and Softpedia posted articles yesterday about a potential Microsoft Windows 7 update program. This program would provide users who purchased computers running a version of Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system with a comparable version of Windows 7. While Microsoft has not made an official statement about plans for an update program, making such a program available would be consistent with the company's Windows Vista launch strategy. When Windows Vista was released in January of 2007, Microsoft offered free updates to Vista for users who had purchased a computer running Windows XP within a specific window of time leading up to the launch. Microsoft's Windows 7 update plan would have similar restrictions. Specific limitations on the update program would include:

• This update is available only to personal users, not businesses.
• This update is available only to users who purchased a new computer with Windows Vista pre-loaded between certain months.
  

What does this mean to you? Given the abysmal launch of Windows Vista, you (like many others) may have been waiting to buy a new computer, with the thought that you can get everything done in Windows XP, and there's no compelling reason to switch. That may change with early reviews of the Windows 7 Beta release that indicate the new operating system is considerably better at handling real-world computing tasks than either Windows Vista or Windows XP.

While Windows 7 is still in beta it's generally accepted that software gets faster and more stable between the beta version and final release. This means that Windows 7 has the potential to be the most stable, best performing version of Microsoft's OS to date. If you've been waiting to upgrade your computer until Microsoft either "fixed" Windows Vista, or released a new version, now may be the time to purchase that Windows Vista computer so you can take advantage of the free update to Windows 7 when it is released.

For more information on the potential update program please see one of the links below:

• "The Microsoft Windows 7 Upgrade Program" on TechARP
• "Windows 7 Upgrade Program" on SoftPedia
• "Report: Microsoft Details Windows 7 Upgrade Program" on Technologizer