Microsoft Offers Discount Coupons for Upgrade to Windows Vista

Microsoft is offering an upgrade coupon to shoppers who buy a Vista-capable PC between 26th October and 15th March 2007. They will be able to redeem the coupons for a free or discounted upgrade from Windows XP to Windows Vista.

Generally, customers will get free upgrade from Windows XP Home to Windows Vista Home Basic, XP Media Center Edition 2005 to Vista Home Premium, or XP Professional to Vista Business, but it may vary depending on the PC vendors.

Only Vista-capable PCs will be eligible the coupon. When we’re talking about a Vista capable PC, there are two kinds of them - one is with “Windows Vista Capable” label and the other one is with “Windows Vista Premium Ready”. Here’s the criteria for those labels:

A Windows Vista Capable PC includes at the minimum:

• A modern processor (at least 800MHz).
• 512 MB of system memory.
• A graphics processor that is DirectX 9 capable.

A Windows Vista Premium Ready PC includes at the minimum:

• 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor.
• 1 GB of system memory.
• Support for DirectX 9 graphics with a WDDM driver, 128 MB of graphics memory (minimum), Pixel Shader 2.0 and 32 bits per pixel.
• 40 GB of hard drive capacity with 15 GB free space.
• DVD-ROM Drive.
• Audio output capability.
• Internet access capability.

In short, a Vista Capable PC will run Windows Vista’s core experiences at a minimum. Vista Premium Ready PC will allow you to run advanced features – like the new Windows Aero user experience.

If you’re not sure whether your current PC can run Vista or not, you can download the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor RC from Microsoft - click here to download. It will evaluate your PC and give you advice of which edition of Vista will be best for your PC.

If you’re not aware of the editions of Windows Vista yet, here’s a recap.

Windows Vista Business
(My work desktop PC will be best for this edition according to the Vista Upgrade Advisor)
Regardless of the size of your organization, Windows Vista Business will help you lower your PC management costs, improve your security, enhance your productivity, and help you stay better connected.

Windows Vista Enterprise
(If you’re in a large organization, you will probably use this edition. However, according to some industry surveys, most large organizations won’t deploy Windows Vista until 2008.)
Windows Vista Enterprise is designed to meet the needs of large global organizations with highly complex IT infrastructures. Windows Vista Enterprise can help you lower your IT costs while providing additional layers of protection for your sensitive data.

Windows Vista Home Premium
(Microsoft will be pushing this edition very much.)
Whether you choose to use your PC to write e-mail and surf the Internet, for home entertainment, or to track your household expenses, Windows Vista Home Premium delivers a more complete and satisfying computing experience.

Windows Vista Home Basic
(This edition is not recommended by Microsoft, but will be good for users on a tight budget)
Windows Vista Home Basic is designed to deliver improved reliability, security, and usability to home PC users who just want to do the basics with their PCs.

Windows Vista Ultimate
(I’ll buy this one for my home PC)
If you want all of the best business features, all of the best mobility features, and all of the best home entertainment features that Windows Vista has to offer, Windows Vista Ultimate is the solution for you. With Windows Vista Ultimate you don't have to compromise.