Will Windows 7 be free to consumers in July?

By Microsoft Subnet on Wed, 01/07/09 - 6:48pm.

Windows watchdog site, Tech Arp, is reporting that Microsoft may give Vista users a free upgrade to Windows 7 by as early as mid 2009. The blog site says it obtained a copy of a memo issued by Redmond to its OEM partners that outlines something called the "Windows 7 Upgrade Program."

The upgrade program is an attempt to keep OEM PC sales moving and let them stall out by folks waiting for the impending release of Windows 7. OEMs in the program can offer an upgrade to Windows 7 to end users who qualify when they purchase a PC running certain versions of Vista during specified time frames.

Tech Arp has published a new Windows 7 roadmap and has calculated when Windows 7 will be released to manufacturing based on the frequency of releases being sent to OEMs to test. The site has been known for accurately predicting other Microsoft operating system releases.

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