Get Vista at a discount if you buy a PC now

Have you been holding off on that PC purchase, (say one of those hot Core 2 Duo laptops) in favor of waiting for Vista to come out, just to be sure that it'll work with your new investment? The official Windows Vista Team Blog announced today that: "PCs loaded with Windows XP or pre-installed with 2003 Microsoft Office software can be upgraded via the Express Upgrade to Windows Vista and Microsoft Office Technology Guarantee program." So that means if you buy a PC now and you have Windows XP MCE 2005, XP Pro, XP Tablet PC Edition, or Pro x64, you'll get to upgrade to Home Premium, Vista Business (for XP Pro and Tablet), and Vista Business 64 respectively for an additional nominal fee. Further, if you have XP Home, you'll get a 50 percent discount for Vista Home Basic / Premium. This announcement might be the second bit of Vista good news we've heard in the last couple weeks.

[Via Geekzone.co.nz]

[Terry @ Oct 25th 2006 8:49AM]

wow 50% percent off???? you serious?!?! ^_^ i bet this is not going to last long :)

[strider_mt2k @ Oct 25th 2006 8:51AM]

Now if they can just explain exactly why I need it.

-cauuuse I'm not feeling it.

[Ayman @ Oct 25th 2006 8:52AM]

what about if you wanted to get vista ultimate?
What im saying is, is it possible to upgrade to ultimate from XP pro?

[thecatt @ Oct 25th 2006 8:52AM]

50% is still ridiculous. It should be a free upgrade. No new system purchase for me until Vista is already there.

[Adam Shields @ Oct 25th 2006 8:54AM]

remember 50% is still is a lot of money if you upgrade to Vista Ultimate you will still pay $150 (that is 50% off of the upgrade price of $299 or the full price of $499). I would wait and not worry about upgrade problems

[Alex Padilla @ Oct 25th 2006 9:08AM]

Wow. Good job, Microsoft, I salute your efforts, I really do. This really is good incentive to purchase Vista.

[Joe schneider @ Oct 25th 2006 9:15AM]

Keep in mind these things, though:

The "express upgrade" is a completely new SKU. So, make sure when you buy a new PC that you're getting the express upgrade option. Any OEM Windows XP SKUs floating around until the express upgrade SKU comes out on the 26th WILL NOT QUALIFY.

This isn't going to be a problem if you buy a current model from a big OEM, but if you get a clearance system or a system from a small builder, you'll want to be careful. If you try to redeem the deal with a non-express SKU, MS won't let you!

Oh yeah, from what i'm seeing, Ultimate isn't in the deal. You can go to Premium, Business, or Basic. Who cares, anyway? If you're not using a Windows domain at work AND using the same PC as a media center, why do you need Ultimate? Don't be a "Gotta have anything called Ultimate" sheep.

[BT @ Oct 25th 2006 9:49AM]

Pro x64 cannot be "upgraded" to Vista. It qualifies for the upgrade price/package but a full install must be done.

http://media.arstechnica.com/journals/microsoft.media/ms-vista-upgrade-path.gif

Just an FYI.

[HughJass @ Oct 25th 2006 10:35AM]

The image makes no mention of Vista x64. Since XP x64 can't be upgraded to or from any 32 bit version, might it be possible that XP x64 can be upgraded to to Vista x64?

[davidcsawyer @ Oct 25th 2006 9:50AM]

I'm hoping this deal is still around for the Thanksgiving sales. That's when I'm planning on purchasing my next laptop.

[Jonathan Sundy @ Oct 25th 2006 10:04AM]

What I'd like to know is if you'll be able to snag this deal with OEM copies from vendors such as NewEgg, if so than that $109 XP 2005 MCE they have would be a GREAT investment.

[Intrepid @ Oct 25th 2006 10:14AM]

In Australia:
- All copies of XP and Office will come with a "$25 upgrade voucher" which gives them the upgrade to the equivilant version of Vista (i.e. XP Home = Vista Home Basic, XP MCE = Vista Home Premium);
- HP computers will ship with a very similar upgrade system - but only new models, not models currently in stores at the moment. They may come with free Vista upgrades in January.

That's all I've heard on the rumour-mill so far... It's not gospel.

[filip @ Oct 25th 2006 10:24AM]

I swear that I'll never buy Vista. So God help me!

[TVGenius @ Oct 25th 2006 10:30AM]

Or get Vista for free by waiting to buy a computer until it's included. (Then again, that's assuming your current computer will last another year or two) :)


I don't really understand the point of this post.

[Ryan @ Oct 25th 2006 10:37AM]

Yeah, this is all swell and good, unless you are in the market for a Media Center PC. Microsoft has officially stated that you will NOT be able to add a CableCARD tuner to an existing PC, so if you buy a computer with Windows Media Center Edition now and want to add CableCARD functionality to it, you're gonna find yourself up selling it on eBay and purchasing a new computer with the tuner preinstalled.

Makes you wanna just run out and buy one right now, right?

[John Doe @ Oct 25th 2006 11:23AM]

No.

[Jeff Goodstein @ Oct 25th 2006 11:34AM]

Careful wording of the release and the Windows Vista Express Upgrade site indicates there's plenty of traps.

The Vista and Office 2007 Technology Guarantee program applies to purchases from tomorrow Oct. 26, 2006, through March 15, 2007.


UPGRADE TRAP 1
It's only available from certain retailers.

Only Microsoft approved retailers selling Office 2007 will entitle you to the free upgrade. In Microsoft's words "participating computer manufacturers and system builders".

So make sure that if you purchase a computer with Windows XP or Office 2003 you are entitled to the Vista / Office 2007 upgrade from that seller.

UPGRADE TRAP 2
You need the voucher.

There is a special voucher that you get at the time of sale - that voucher is essential to getting the 'Technology Guarantee' update. Don't leave the store without it or lose it later.

The standard proof of purchase (receipt etc) isn't sufficient in many cases.

In Microsoft's words for Office 2007: "Customers in North America will receive a coupon with the purchase that must also be submitted."

UPGRADE TRAP 3
The new software might not be what you expect.

Each type of Office 2003 bundle translates to a particular bundle of Office 2007. Which Office 2003 bundles is linked to a new version is still unclear.

But the example for Windows Vista makes us wary. If you buy Windows XP Home under the Technology Guarantee program (and most people get XP Home) you have to pay more for Vista. According to Microsoft the cost is "50 percent discount from the boxed product upgrade price, plus the cost of shipping and handling" which means paying about US$50 plus s & h. Vista Home Basic, the lowest possible version of Vista which doesn't have many of the heavily promoted Vista features. If you want some of the main Vista features like the Aero interface you'll need to pay more for the Home Premium Edition (the Technology Guarantee pricing will be around $80 plus S&H).

Before you put down any money, see exactly which version of Office 2007 you'll get later.

Purchases of Office 2003 Student and Teacher edition will not entitle you to any upgrade. As we've noted before, the Office 2003 Student & Teacher edition might be a better buy now see http://news.office-watch.com/?60

UPGRADE TRAP 4
The Technology Guarantee differs per country.

Just because the Microsoft web site says you need a voucher, that may or may not apply where you live. Check with the local Microsoft web site - make sure you have it in writing. Don't rely on anything Microsoft staff might tell you (MS staff can be as confused as customers about these rules).

Certainly don't rely on the verbal assurances of a computer salesman.

Get it in writing and then carefully check the writing.

In short, there's too many unknowns yet to be clarified by Microsoft. Certainly you can't assume that buying a computer or Office 2003 now will entitle you to Vista and Office 2007 later.

The 'Technology Guarantee' is designed to stop people delaying purchase until the next version of Windows or Office - but with the limitations and requirements attached to the offer it would seem prudent to wait until 2007. It would be better to buy a computer loaded with Windows Vista than one you have to convert later. A computer might be 'Vista capable' but may well not be sufficient to make use of all the features of Vista that need more memory, video memory or graphics power.

If you do need to buy a computer before Vista is available pre-installed, make very, very sure you're not only entitled to an upgrade but what Vista you'll get and for what price.

If you need to buy Office 2003 before it's on retail sale in early 2007 - the same cautions apply.

Thanks to http://news.office-watch.com?58 for this info

[Ted @ Oct 25th 2006 11:49AM]

Have to admit that a "free", discounted upgrade is of interest, but the purchase window seems a bit arbitrary. I purchased a notebook in September, keeping Vista in mind. Full price for me, no?

[apeguero @ Oct 25th 2006 12:24PM]

What if I buy a new MacBookPro with XP Pro in Bootcamp setup from some of those retailers doing this (read: not Apple Store), am I entitled to upgrade to Vista at that point for the same discount? I'd say Apple should offer something similar with Leopard since I'm dying to endulge myself by splurging on a spanking new 2.33ghz C2D MBP but have decided to wait until Leopard is pre-loaded in them as I don't want to spend extra $$ to upgrade to it once it is released. Please Apple, do the same with Leopard and iLife so I can go out and buy now instead of later. Just think of the additional sales to boost your 4th quater sales :)

[Miguel @ Oct 25th 2006 3:20PM]

Not that I won't just buy the new OS from the company store, but I own two licensed copies of XP Pro and three licensed copies of XP Home. Presently, my two desktops are running XP Home. Does Microsoft know that I should get Ultimate because I have Pro licensed, or will their WGA tool say "oh, you're running XP Home, you're screwed"?

[kyle @ Oct 25th 2006 4:21PM]

or u could get the evaluation version for like 5 bucks.

[Frank @ Oct 26th 2006 6:15PM]

Is there some kind of comparison table the shows the actual differences between the several Vista SKUs? I haven't found any place that lists them specifically.

[kevin (clearwater, fl) @ Oct 26th 2006 7:18PM]

I bought a computer from Dell that I received yesterday and saw this news in the Boston Globe online this morning. Suffice to say I wasn't a happy camper. I called Dell, talked to 4 different people, one of which was overseas and managed to tell me that yes, my new box is vista capable.. and chatted online with 1 other (none of which knew about the deal without being prompted on it). They passed the buck on to Microsoft. After telling the Microsoft reps what the deal was, they passed the buck over to Dell. Dell (one of their managers) said that I should return my computer that I just bought and buy another one to get the coupon.

[Joe @ Nov 9th 2006 8:55PM]

Does anyone know when OEMs will start taking orders for machines with VISTA pre-installed on it? I called the manufacturer in Austin, TX and their sales line told me that they would not take orders till Feb 1st 2007.

[Tarry @ Aug 11th 2008 2:21AM]

This is great news!

http://www.chasetheglow.com