Neowin covered this back in early January, but with all the other Windows 7 news from CES that was coming out at the time, it seems to have been overlooked by other outlets. Now it seems to be making its way around the Internet again today. A document has leaked out that details the upgrade plans for users who purchase PC's with Vista this summer. According to the document obtained by Tech Arp titled " The Microsoft Windows 7 Upgrade Program Rev 2.1" states that computers purchased after July 1st will be eligible to upgrade to Windows 7 free of charge.
The plan will follow in a similar path the Windows XP and Vista transition occurred. The idea behind the plan is to not prohibit people from purchasing computers as they wait for Windows 7 to be launched.
"Upgrades will be tier-for-tier, with Vista Home Premium users getting to switch up to Windows 7 Home Premium, Vista Business to Windows 7 Professional, and Vista Ultimate users getting an upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate. Additionally, 32-bit to 64-bit upgrades will not be allowed -- but folks using the 32-bit version will get to perform a clean install of the 64-bit version. Lastly, a system that has a valid Vista license but is running XP under the downgrade scheme will be allowed to perform a fresh install of Windows 7."
If you thinking of purchasing a new PC and can hold off until July it may be worth your while. While this isn't an official announcement it seems that it's pretty close to what the final plan will be.
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