RSSMicrosoft: No free Win7 yet, but the option is left open
By Scott M. Fulton, III | Published February 12, 2009, 12:42 PM
In a statement to Betanews this afternoon, a Microsoft spokesperson refrained from explicitly denying that it would offer Windows 7 as a free upgrade to some Vista owners.
"Microsoft often explores options with our partners to determine product offerings," the Microsoft spokesperson told Betanews. "We are not announcing anything new at this time."
We couldn't help but notice that the denial was phrased in our message from Microsoft this afternoon not to our questions specifically, but to a completely different, pre-written set of questions using a format that might appear in an FAQ: "How about the rumors that customers who buy Windows Vista after a certain date get a free copy of Windows 7. Is that true? Will there be certain SKUs that qualify?" reads Microsoft's carefully phrased set of questions to itself.
This suggests that Microsoft has been ready to respond to such questions, perhaps for reasons other than what would appear to be a leak of program eligibility guidelines for PC builders and retailers, in the Malaysian blog TechARP. Last December, it was TechARP that first blurted February as the target month in which Service Pack 2 of Windows Vista would be released.
If the TechARP leak is indeed genuine -- and Microsoft did not deny to Betanews this afternoon that it was, despite us having asked explicitly -- then it also contains two other important pieces of information: One is that the Windows XP upgrade path to Win7 doesn't count -- the system being upgraded must have Vista installed to be eligible for the program, and furthermore, must have 64-bit Vista installed in order to upgrade to 64-bit Win7. The second important item is the date of initial eligibility for the program, which is stated as July 1, 2009.
I still use windows Xp and am very happy with it. I see no incentive of upgrading to windows VISTA at all and may not if Widnows 7 is not any better than the junk VISTA. That is just the problem with Microsoft, they make a junk OS inbetween the good ones and then try to justify it with a good new system to keep their cash flow. that is what they did with windows ME which was also junk. So I take the wait and see attitude, which in my estimation is best. It is not like I have to keep up with the Jones when there is no reason for it. But some computer geeks feel they must have at all costs the very newest of everything.
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|If you have Vista, you should get a free Windows 7 super ultimate wow touch me edition. It is that simple.
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|I have already bought a bunch of Vista licenses in both 32 and 64 bit at considerable cost. If there is no free, or very cheap upgrade path, my upgrade to Windows 7 won't be for at least 2 years. I just can't justify a further large cash outlay just to upgrade.
However if the cost is minimal, I would be right there in the front of the upgrade line.
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|Windows 7 is great
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|Did Windows 2000, XP or Vista fall short on new features? NO! Does Windows 7 and did Windows Me fall short on new features? YES! That's the only little concern. Yes, Windows 7 does not include AS MANY new features AS XP or Vista.
But did Windows Me and Windows Vista annoy due to countless little ignorances? YES! Do Windows 2000, XP or Windows 7 annoy? NO!! That's why 7 might succeed.
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|ignorances hey
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|Piz
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|I really don't know what everyone's complaining about. I have been using Vista for quite some time now and have never had any problems with my system at all. Maybe Microsoft needs an operating system for people that need help getting dressed in the mornings, but as far as I am concerned, Vista has been the absolute BEST operating system that Microsoft has ever had. Granted, there are some MS products that I don't use (Outlook & IE), but as far as the operating system goes, I have no complaints what-so-ever.
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|Vista is great on proper hardware, extremely solid OS, i don't think anybody argues that fact, probably, even more stable than other OS's out there, considering how much support if offers for various hardware, etc
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|Vista is garbage and everyone from the largest corporations to the greenest computer rookie know it. The benchmarks prove it, the tech support incidents prove it..just stop with the apologizing, OK? Microsoft fanboys had better get used to Windows being just another OS among many. I say this because having thoroughly tested Windows 7 on a variety of platforms, I can unreservedly call it what it is - Windows Vista 2.0. Its nothing special and in some ways its actually a step backwards in usability compared to Vista - something I never thought I'd say. Once the hype machine grinds to a halt and the reality sets in, retail numbers will be abysmal. Microsoft's continual and consistent failure at delivering what the majority of its customer's want has always been its undoing, and when Win7 tanks in retail nobody should be surprised.
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|yeah, its a step backwards, because you can do more... explain how its a step backwards from Vista please? btw Vista took over 24% of the market, with ALOT of folks seemingly content with XP, many of whom say they will switch to 7, 24%+- is no easy task in a couple years considering their previous OS 2000, XP had been all anyone used for 5-6 years (and we know how everyone loves change) thats not to say MS does not have work to do, as i pointed out in a previous post, see thats the thing here, Microsoft is not up against anyone, they are up against themselves
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|Amazing fanboy spiel from you there.
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|What's Benchmarking to do with the viability of an O/S, with computer's now so powerful(even cheapo's) this is becoming an irrelevance. Vista is a modern O/S,except for the driver problems(inevitable when a lot off under hood work),it eclipses XP,and now the driver issues are being resolved,probably in the same time-frame as XP.it's on par with XP. OK Win7 is indeed Vista Lite .but all previous issues all virtually resolved,this is truly a Net-Book age O/S!
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|Most people want three things in an operating system. Speed, stability and an OS that is easy to use. Currently there are only two operating systems available that meet all three of these requirements. Mac OS X and the even better Windows 7. Most of the tech support calls about Vista's supposed instabilities are from people who are trying to use Windows XP drivers under Vista because they upgraded instead of doing a clean install.
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|I have 2 copies of Windows Vista, one of which I don't use because at Vista's launch Dell gave no other options, even on laptops that don't have the hardware to properly run it (sans-Aero).
I'd love if MS gave me a free upgrade on that machine so I can run an OS that isn't almost 8 years old on a computer not even 2 years old. I'll be damned if I'm going to pay for an upgrade because they fudged the numbers on hardware requirements for Vista.
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|perhaps, the software engineers can't incorporate sufficient enhancement into win7 in order to make it a viable and stand alone product for marketing and selling.
maybe win7 should simply be renamed to either sp2 or sp3 for the vista product - less confusing to everyone.
something that might be of interest is that what if microsoft is at the end of the road with operating systems and they can't get passed win7 without a major revolution in hardware?
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|You obviously haven't compared Vista and Win7. There are more differences between the software versions than other OSs. For example, one version of OSX to the next. Now, I'm not saying this is enough to justify paying for the upgrade, but the precedent has been set. The basic functionality is the same, just like every other OS, but there are new features: The taskbar is perhaps the most noticeable change. Media Center has been improved. Tons of new mouse gestures called aero snaps. It's faster than Vista. IE8 (i know, free download). Many small UI tweaks that give it a nicer feel.
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|What I find interesting is that the new version of Vista is Windows 7, whereas the new version of Windows Server 2008 is Windows Server 2008 R2. That is not consistent. Win7 could have been Vista R2 or Windows Server 2008 R2 could have been Windows Server 7.
Of course, one is a consumer OS and the other a server OS.
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|They need to banish the Vista name, hence the new Windows 7. But yes, it's just a Vista refresh.
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|well its not so much a refresh as alot of new code, built on the vista platform, there are huge amounts of changes if you google them, it has probably been listed on betanews even but, you're partly right, it is a reworking of vista, a refresh, the same way any updated version of OS X is a refresh, and new revisions to linux are refreshes, its still a new OS.
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|MS needs to make things a little less complicated, i mean.. i like MS products, XP, Vista (primary OS) but to an average joe, all this upgrade, downgrade... what all is included, whats different, when these options are available, can get a little confusing... and its no wonder their sales have kind of stalled.
i'll be grabbing a copy of windows 7 ultimate retail, OEM and upgrades are useless, everyone would be better off buying a copy, installing it and installing as little drivers they require from their hardware vendor, oh and if MS are listening, the only thing you need to get right now are the price points, if they f*ck that up... well i don't know what to tell you, but nobody is going to throw their cash away for Windows 7 unless its moderately priced, even ultimate
folks use Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Windows 7 beta leaks, cracked so they do not expire, they have entirely too many options for people on the table (which is not usually a bad thing) people hate change and won't change without good incentive, they need to get better pricing, lower the spec requirements (as they have done, assume will be better for RTM) they need to do a number of things right by the consumer if they want a huge switch to occur, they have loyality to their products but not to their brand, if you have loyality to your brand, you can do things wrong without a backlash, all one has to do is look at Apple at how this works, granted having brand and product loyality while still openly listening to consumers would be key, companies struggle listening to consumers, while MS isn't bad at it
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