According to Tech ARP’s details, pulled from a document sent to computer manufacturers in early December, a consumer who buys a copy of Windows Vista Ultimate, Business, or Home Premium on or after July 1, 2009, through Jan. 31, 2010, could obtain a free upgrade to Windows 7. Those dates can be shortened or modified by the manufacturers themselves, but Microsoft, in its Technical Guarantee Program, seems fairly set upon July 1 as a start date. And if the documents are right, Vista upgraders will get the equivalent copy of Windows 7 for free—Windows Vista Home Premium goes to Windows 7 Home Premium, Ultimate to Ultimate, and so on.
It’s not an entirely new program for Microsoft to offer free upgrades within a certain calendar radius of a new release, but it seems like a valuable bit of information for anyone reluctant to buy a new system because of Vista concerns—this summer, in other words, might be a safer jump-in point. But check the fine print with any system maker before going ahead, of course.