Some PC vendors and sellers will begin a coupon program on June 26 to entitle people who buy premium versions of Microsoft Windows Vista to upgrade to the new Windows 7 operating system when it arrives later this year, but the upgrade offers may not be free. Offers will vary by vendor and retailer.
Another executive said the upgrade coupons will be good from June 26 through Jan. 31, 2010 and are meant to encourage people to buy new PCs ahead of the Oct. 22 launch date for Windows 7.
Source: PC World (US)
In other news, Microsoft's bid to squeeze the last breaths out of Vista continued recently with the somewhat stealthy release of Service Pack 2. That's right, Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2). You probably didn't even realise as the media haven't exactly jumped all over it.
That said, SP2 offers a roll up of all the current fixes up to and including all those that came with SP1 and does (and I have heard this from several sources) actually speed Vista up. It still can't compete in the speed stakes with XP and Windows 7 RC, but hey, every little bit helps. SP2 also offers support for Bluetooth 2.1 and Blu-ray disc support (for those with internal blu-ray disc drives, you can probably count them on your fingers) and improved Wi-Fi connectivity.
To find Vista SP2, simply run Windows Update from the Start button and look at the options that are available to download. Enjoy.
Would be interesting to know how how you are all getting on with your Windows 7 RCs, I'm personally loving it - being a PC gamer, speed is the key and Windows 7 has plenty of that (demonstrated very well in the recent title '
Prototype' - mature content warning). I've also found the virtual PC mode very handy for running some legacy apps of late as well.