Microsoft plans to give away free Windows 7 upgrades to people buying PCs with Windows Vista until as late as January 31 of next year, according to a a report from Malaysian blog TechARP.com.
Report: Upgrade programme to run until Jan 2010
TechArp has correctly predicted similar Microsoft schemes in the past, and the newest claim suggests Microsoft plans to release Windows 7 before year's end, said Matt Rosoff, an analyst with the independent research firm Directions on Microsoft.
Citing purported confidential memos from Microsoft, TechARP.com had earlier reported that the Windows 7 Upgrade Program will begin July 1 of this year.
That would mean that any Vista PCs purchased between then and January 31, 2010 are eligible for free upgrades to Windows 7.
TechARP reported yesterday that those Windows 7 upgrade DVDs should be delivered by PC makers to customers by April 30, 2010. These dates are "open to change", TechARP said.
The veracity of the report "seems reasonable to me," said Rosoff. "If they're soliciting OEM feedback now, that points to a possible release in time for holiday 2009."
Microsoft declined to comment on the TechARP report.
"Microsoft often explores options with our partners to determine product offerings," a spokeswoman said. "We are not announcing anything new at this time."
TechARP correctly named the release-to-manufacturing (RTM) dates for several Windows editions last year.
In Microsoft's prior Vista Express upgrade programme, Windows XP PCs bought between October 26, 2006 and March 15, 2007 were eligible for free Vista upgrades.
Microsoft launched Vista to consumers officially on January 30th, or 45 days before the programme's eligibility ended.
The programme was plagued with delays, with consumers waiting weeks or months to get their Vista upgrade DVDs mailed to them.
TechARP has other purported details from the upgrade programme, including screenshots and upgrade paths.
"The programme sounds very similar to what they did before Vista," Rosoff said. "I think the terms are slightly different, but that's because there were fewer [versions] in XP, so the edition upgrade paths were similar."
Windows 7 video guide
Comments
DarrenRichie said: Yeah it makes total sense to give people a free copy of an OS just because they didnt like the last one You will be get a cheaper upgrade option just like all the other OS upgrades did MS is a business There are free OSs out there if you hate MS as much as some people seem to make out Get over it No-one is making you spend your money
SYSMAC said: And what about those home users who shelled out for Vista the non performing OS
Skidz said: Paul Goldstein did you ever use XP Pro Doesnt appear that way
Paul Goldstein said: this is not good news i have had vista 64x from day 1 what i would say was a beta version till all the problems were ironed out i happen to like vista but after seeing microsoft bend to the demands of XP users i think that we the people who had all the vista headaches should be rewarded allso with a free upgrade path to windows 7 and by that i mean people who showed some faith in microsoft and persavered with all the vista problems after all if it wasnt for the few that reported the problems like myself and many others vista would still be a mess today but as it is its a stable opperating system and in my mind much better than XP ever was
Tony said: Windows 7 you must be joking We who have Vista will not be ripped off again by Microsoft The people who have upgraded to Vista over the last 18 months should get a free update to windows 7 not be forced to pay out loads of money for another rip off
Tony said: Windows 7 you must be joking We who have Vista will not be ripped off again by Microsoft The people who have upgraded to Vista over the last 18 months should get a free update to windows 7 not be forced to pay out loads of money for another rip off
jonathan said: why should we upgrade anyway we have software that is working 95 with a few minor hiccups but why pay for a broken os when we have a near perfect one alreadyyes iv got windows vista ultimate and windows 7 on my pc and i have no problems with windows 7 but vista i have lots but my downloads are some what strangely increased than in xp and for that reason im keeping it i have 128kb wireless
Skidz said: Ive been asking if vista users would get a free upgrade for ages now i cant be bothered as neither Vista nor 7 are anywhere near as good as XP And if it aint brokewhy fix it I dont care if they stop updates for xp either ill continue to use it until operating systems are all web based
Rob said: this is going to be another one of those thanks for buying vista and to show you how valued a customer you are All you have to do is mail a copy of your receipt to ms along with a chq to cover postage and they will send you windows 7 when they get around to it one dayThats what happened to my free vista upgrade which i installed and reformatted months later when i realised that vista was way way slower than xp am i do for a free upgrade i am guessing not cant wait to see how many versions of this os there are when it launches
Si said: Are you feeling ok Jonathan
Matt said: Does this count to people who buy the windows Vista OS on disk to install I hope it does
jonathan said: weird it posted my comment twice yea i agree with you john
Jim Watkin said: So Windows 7 is the version of Windows that Vista should have been Well Ive got Vista and want a free upgrade as well I can tell you one thing I wont be buying Windows 7 You can be sure of that
Anthony said: Could one person please tell me what they find WRONG with VISTA And dont give me this rubbish about resource hungry pleeeaaase
uk said: im not buying a new pc untill it has windows 7 on it - unfortunately that will mean a lot of pc manufacturers are going to go bust if others do same as me - maybe thats there plan tho - maybe they want do a xbox with pcs and start making them after they have destroyed all the brilliant pc companies like Mesh etc
jonathan said: weird it posted my comment twice yea i agree with you john
jonathan said: weird it posted my comment twice yea i agree with you john
Dragon said: Damn I only bought my PC last year Vista Home Basic must be the worst OS I have ever had Windows 95 was better than this I cant replace it with XP which was fine because it would invalidate my Guarantee If Vista is anything to go by I wont be able to afford to buy Windows 7 on my Pension Oh well only a few more months and my XP disk will come out of retirement and Ill wipe this abomination off my PC
Matthew Pryce said: You people make me laugh Give us a free OS because we dont like the old one What a joke Get over it or shop elsewhere
jonathan said: weird it posted my comment twice yea i agree with you john