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Microsoft's Windows 7 Vista replacement plan

How badly does Microsoft want you to forget about Vista? Badly enough that they're already offering people who buy PCs with Vista after July 1st a free upgrade to Windows 7.

According to sources, computer OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) will be given Windows 7 upgrade media. Of course, we still don't know when that will happen. Maybe later this year, maybe sometime in 2010. Personally, I'm betting that Microsoft ships Windows 7 as fast as humanly possible.

Once Windows 7 is out, the computer vendors can then ship it to their customers. From this, we can conclude that you will not be able to update Windows Vista to Windows 7 online. Windows 7 may be little more than a Vista uber-patch, but Microsoft plans on selling it like it was a completely new version of Windows.

It also appears that we're going to be stuck with a confussing mess of different versions of Windows. TechARP.com, the Malaysian tech news Web site that broke the story is reporting that upgrades will be available from Vista Home Premium to Windows 7 Home Premium, from Vista Ultimate to Windows 7 Ultimate, and from Vista Business to Windows 7 Professional. I guess switching back to just offering one, or at most, two - Home and Professional - versions of Windows makes too much sense.

This news tells me two things. One, I've been right all along about how badly customers see Vista. And two, Microsoft is desperate to win its straying customers back from Macs OS and Linux-powered netbooks.

If Microsoft is really serious about making amends to their customers though, this offer isn't enough.

No, if Microsoft really wants to make its customers happy, they should do what my friend Jason Perlow suggests, "since Windows 7 is essentially a performance and usability fix for a defective product, I'm of the increasing opinion that a Windows 7 upgrade should be free to anyone who was conned into buying Windows Vista."

You know, he has a good point. While I personally think you'd be a lot better off with buying a new Mac or moving over to Fedora, openSUSE or Ubuntu, if you still want to stick with Windows even after suffering with Vista, Microsoft should give you a copy of Windows 7 for free. After all, haven't you suffered enough?

Related News & Opinion:

What People Are Saying

Vista

I just want to throw it all away. What a mess. I think my grandson could of done better. Someone help all of us god knows you can afford it.

If they DARE

I've been struggling with vista on my ASUS for 2 years now... If Microsoft doesn't release a free upgrade for Vista VICTIMS I will sell my PC and notebook and switch to Apple and never come back!!!!!!!! I've had enough of this maybe they will maybe they will not.

100% agree!! Well said

100% agree!! Well said

Windows Vista, I HATE it!

When going to buy a new computer I search and search for one that did not have the "Vista" program but could not find one. I have never spent so much money to only have bought something that I "Hate" so much! Microsoft should replace everyone's Vista for FREE just for us having to deal with this pathetic program for so long! If they will not, I will NEVER buy another Microsoft product ever again and I know many other people that feel the same way!

vista

OMG I BOUGHT A NEW HP 11MONTHS AGO. I HAD NO CHOICE OF COURSE AND HAD TO TAKE VISTA INSTALLED.
I HAVE LIVED WITH THIS LEMON FOR ALMOST A YEAR. AM I UNDERSTANDING CORRECTLY THAT I DON'T
RECEIVE A WINDOWS 7 UPGRADE UNLESS MY COMPUTER IS BOUGHT IN JULY 2009?

Vista and Windows 7

I've read all the comments and completely agree that Microsoft should GIVE the Windows 7 updates FREE to people who purchased Vista. There was a lot of expense to customers who purchased Vista - most of their old programs had to be upgraded to Vista-compatible format software. Some of the programs (Example: PhotoDeluxe) did not come out with an upgrade so the option was to purchase something else, or use the Microsoft photo editing software (which does NOT include some of the features the old PhotoDeluxe version did). Family Tree Maker software was another purchase. The first upgrade (2008) had so many problems that I purchased the upgraded version (2009)- not ANY better. At this point I'm stuck. I have two choices...(1) Go back to XP - which is very stable (2) Keep investing in Microsoft software which seems, at this point, to be a BLACK HOLE!

It's not about the retail OS product anyway!!!

ATTENTION blog responders! Microsoft doesn't make $ off the OS in retail package, hardly... when you look at how much revenue goes to Microsoft, retail product OS purchases represents such a small % it's almost a nuisance to even package the OS in retail form and put it out to retail distribution. That's not the case with the bread and butter (Office suites), but for OS, most computers are running the OEM copy (both consumer and corporate).

For this reason, MOST of the license revenue comes from either OEM sales through PC manufacturers (which don't have to worry about upgrade pricing) or Corporate License Agreements... which is the far greater % of license revenue to Microsoft. In the US, something like 75% of Microsoft license revenue comes from corporate, 20% from OEM and only about 5% is retail... and this is REALLY IMPORTANT if you want to talk about any kind of influence on Microsoft related to license pricing and release schedules!!!

Microsoft is selling license AGREEMENTS to businesses... which means organizations pay to maintain a license agreement with Microsoft on a 2-yr or 3-yr cycle (not on a product purchase basis like OEM or Retail)... and those agreement license holders have an expectation to get new product for their $$$... meaning they are paying for license and "Software Assurance" or version rights to the next version of the product on a 2 or 3 yr cycle (depending on agreement type). So those corporate license customers (and not consumers) are the focus of Microsoft Corp on releasing OS versions on some kind of regular cycle.

All the retail product complaining is really a joke (makes for a good read)... because the Microsoft focus is on the corporate customer... AND, the fact that those corporate license agreement holders will receive the next version of the OS for 'free' as part of the benefits of the product license maintenance means that those large numbers of organizations don't really care about what Microsoft charges retail/consumers for an "Upgrade" or "Full" version of product.

Should Microsoft give-away Windows7 as an 'upgrade/fix' to Windows Vista... and treat it kind of like what XP SP2 was... maybe they should, but if they gave it away (to the complaining consumer/OEM market)... then how would they justify charging the corporate customers $$$ on the license agreements for maintaining version rights on the OS? And that's the real deal, the reason it won't be a free upgrade... no matter how much complaining.

They updated it

The TechARP.com guys updated their article with 3 new pages. Looks like the upgrade program will last up to Jan 31 2010.

vista fix part 2

I just read Jeff's comment about Millenium, and I'm embarassed to say I forgot about that. He's right.....this is the same crap! Enough already, Microsoft had better come up with a free or inexpensive fix for Vista or they WILL lose a significant number of customers, including myself. So the pattern has begun.....every 8-10 years they put an inferior OS on the market and come up with a fix or new OS within a year or two, so we have to go with it? I don't think so boys.
Again, I'm out of here if they don't stand by their loyal customers and fix this poor excuse for an OS, Vista, or it's Mac or Linux for me.

Vista to Win 7

Gimme a Break Microsoft! I as well as millions of other PC owners have been loyal and faithful to Windows since Win NT, and Vista has been a complete disappointment.....Inferior. I miss my XP so much it's quite sad. I think the least they could do is YES...give all of us who have been suffering through Vista a Vista fix at no charge. If that means a free copy of Win 7, then so be it. At the very least, with proof of purchase, Windows 7 with a 75% discount......or something like that. I went to Vista simply because I trusted Microsoft to NOT put a product on the market prematurely. God knows they don't need the money, so what was the rush? It is for this reason those of us with undying loyalty and trust in Microsoft products got duped. It's only fair, and it's the right thing to do. Besides, as of summer of 2008, you couldn't buy a new computer with a Windows OS, with anything BUT Vista......so we had no choice. It was Vista or Mac. I have no intention on spending $300 on yet another Windows OS because of Microsoft's error. If that's the case I will be taking the plunge and switching over to Mac. And that my friends is that.