Microsoft has said that it will offer free OS upgrades to Windows 7, but only for Vista Home Premium and above.  That means that you are really paying an extra $150 to $250 for that computer with Vista Home Basic on it.  Unless, of course, you love Windows Vista and plan on keeping it on your computer instead of upgrading to Windows 7.

Oh yeah, and you have to buy your computer between certain dates to qualify.  As of the latest information, you have to purchase your computer AFTER mid-June to get the free upgrade.  It’s already late May, so just hold out another month before buying that new laptop or computer and then make sure it has Vista Home Premium or higher installed on it.  Otherwise, you are just wasting money.

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.

Also, note that the company you buy your computer from, called the OEM in the industry, has the option of participating or not in the program and also has the option of using shorter dates.  Expect the full service computer manufacturers (brand name companies) to step up.  Those “off-brand” vendors are going to be more of a gamble.

This info is all over the Internet, but everyone is getting it from the same place, Tech ARP.

Don’t Buy Computer With Vista Home Basic – Vista Home Premium Is Minimum Requirement to Get Free Upgrade to Windows 7 is a post from Best Hubris. All content exclusively written by Freelance Writing Business of ArcticLlama, LLC

However, I think the question they have to get right at Microsoft is when SHOULD we ship Windows 7.  Right now, I think it looks like Steve Ballmer and the boys have thrown in the towel on Vista and they hope that a super-hyped release of Windows 7 will make the whole Vista thing go away like that season on Dallas where they decided it was all just a (bad) dream.  Unfortunately, for Microsoft, this is real life, not a soap opera.

Rushing Windows 7 to market in 2009, or even early 2010, will be met with just as many bugs, incompatibilities, and user frustration as the launch of Vista.  Only this time, it will be two in a row, and that, at least in some people’s minds, marks a trend.  If Microsoft gets caught up in a media wave that calls into question its ability to launch operating systems, it will have a longer, harder time digging out than they already have ahead of them for Vista.

What should the Windows 7 ship date be?  2011 or 2012.  Not because it won’t be ready, but because that is how long it would take to fix Vista and get it redeemed in the public’s eyes.  Then, you ship Windows 7.  Shipping Windows 7 before then admits that Vista was a failure, not, as Microsoft contents, an overblown reporting of a few glitches and the too loud moaning of a few malcontents.

The best strategy for Microsoft is to ship Vista 1.5 (and get it right this time) in late 2009, or maybe early 2010 (late 2009 is better).  Then, showcase the heck out of it for two or three months, and then let it ride.  A year or two later, when everyone with a new computer runs Vista just because that is what non-Apple people do (like XP today), THEN it is time to start thinking about shipping Windows 7.

Otherwise, Windows 7 might just also be known as Flop 2.0.

When SHOULD Windows 7 Ship? is a post from Best Hubris. All content exclusively written by Freelance Writing Business of ArcticLlama, LLC