January 2008

Act Quickly to Get A Deal on Windows 7 Expires July 11, 2009

            In case you have not heard, Microsoft is about to release a new operating system intended to replace Vista, and the almost phased out XP.  This new operating system is known as Windows 7, and preliminary reviews indicate that it is far superior in most aspects to Vista, and as stable as XP.  While the new Windows 7 will not be in full release or installed on new computers until this fall, Microsoft is offering a short term deal for those who would like to pre-order Windows 7.  Anyone interested in partaking of this deal where Microsoft will sell Windows 7 with deep discounts must act quickly, as the promotion will end on July 11.  Microsoft and select retailers are offering the pre-order of Windows 7 Professional for $99.99, which will have a retail price of $319.99 when officially released. Windows 7 Home Premium is available on pre-order for $49.99, and will sell for retail price of $199.99 when officially released.  Locally, the offer should be available at Best Buy, Sam’s Club, Walmart, and Office Depot, and online from Amazon and other stores, and directly from Microsoft Stores.  The projected delivery date for the pre-ordered copies of Windows 7 is October 22.

            For those buying a Vista equipped computer with one of the premium versions of Vista (but not Vista Home Basic) after June 26, but before October 22, Microsoft has announced a free upgrade policy to Windows 7 with some qualifications.  The upgrades will be available through the PC manufacturer, and not directly from Microsoft.  According to a Microsoft release, “Under the program, designated PCs pre-installed with premium versions of Windows Vista will qualify for licenses of the equivalent Windows 7 product.”  Users purchasing a new PC with Vista Home Premium will get Windows 7 Home Premium; Vista Business will get Windows 7 Professional; and Vista Ultimate purchasers will get Windows 7 Ultimate.  While Microsoft is not charging users for the upgrade, some PC makers may charge a fee to cover the cost of shipping the disc.  The free upgrade program will expire on January 31, 2010, and eligible Vista users must exercise their upgrade privilege by that date.

            For those not purchasing new Vista equipped computers, but considering upgrading their existing XP or Vista computers, Microsoft has made available a free Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor, a small utility that will scan the installed hardware and software on the computer, and display whether or not your computer can run Windows 7.  Microsoft designed Windows 7 to be able to run on almost any computer that can successfully run Vista.  Any incompatibilities on the current computer with Windows 7 will be displayed, and any drivers that need to be updated in order to be compatible with Windows 7 will be noted, along with a link or other information on obtaining an updated driver that will work with Windows 7.  Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor is available directly from Microsoft at www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/upgrade-advisor.aspx.

            The system requirements for Windows 7 are about the same as those for Vista, but Windows 7 offers improved performance and stability over Vista on similar machines.  According to Microsoft, Windows 7 has minimum system requirements of a 1 gigahertz speed CPU, either 32 or 64 bit; 1 gigabyte RAM on 32-bit systems or 2 GB RAM on 64-bit machines; 16 GB available hard disk space for 32-bit installation or 20 GB hard drive space for 64-bit systems; and a video card (or integral video device) that supports DirectX 9 graphics with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver.  Additional system requirements may be necessary in order to utilize some of the enhanced features available.

            Windows 7 Professional and higher versions (but not Windows 7 Home) have an interesting feature that will run XP compatible software that would not otherwise run on Vista or 7, by running the software on a virtual XP machine.  This feature is called Mode Virtualization or Virtual PC/Windows XP Mode (sometimes referred to as XPM), and allows Windows 7 to run XP software on the desktop, making it appear that the software running in XP virtual mode (XPM) is running as a Windows 7 program.

            Windows 7 Home Premium is clearly intended for the common home user, and contains features that Microsoft has determined that home users typically want.  Home Premium offers improved desktop navigation, faster startup, watch and record TV (on properly equipped computers), and simplified home networking.

            Windows 7 Ultimate, not currently offered for pre-order, has all of the features of Home Premium, plus the XP compatibility mode, automated backup, BitLocker encryption, and support for 35 languages.

            Windows 7 Professional, available for pre-order, has basically the same features as Ultimate, except for the BitLocker encryption and the multi-lingual support.

            If you currently have a Vista computer and are unhappy with Vista, then this limited time pre-order is an excellent deal if you want to try Windows 7.  If you have a fairly powerful and modern XP computer, and would like to see if Windows 7 will run well on it, then download and try the Advisor before purchasing Windows 7.    In any case, if you are considering purchasing Windows 7, do it before the offer expires on July 11.  If you are currently considering purchasing a new computer, confirm from the seller that it will be eligible for the free upgrade to Windows 7.

            Windows 7 looks like a much improved operating system over Vista, and may be a worthwhile purchase and installation. 

WEBSITES:

Microsoft Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/upgrade-advisor.aspx

Windows 7 Pre-order Sources:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/buy/offers/pre-order.aspx

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