I has Windows 7

[Prospero]

XP works like a charm on it! 

[Yegolev]

I'm looking at how I'm going to has Windows 7 and as far as I can tell, I'll be perfectly happy with the Home Premium... unless someone knows about some reason for me to get Professional.

[fuser]

I'm looking at how I'm going to has Windows 7 and as far as I can tell, I'll be perfectly happy with the Home Premium... unless someone knows about some reason for me to get Professional.

There's not many reasons besides businesses, ie join a domain, file syncing, the only thing that might interest you is XP emulation thats in pro(requires hardware VT flag).

I was one of the idiots that didn't jump over the cheap pro upgrades and regret it (for work). Moving some netbooks from xp home would of been sweet.

[Yegolev]

I'll be buying at least one non-upgrade key since I have two computers and one (valid) XP key.  Of course, I might have to buy two non-upgrade ones if I have to have XP installed already in order to install that version of 7... I don't suppose you know about any of that?

[fuser]

You require the physical media(ie the same as vista upgrade). It preforms a media check to see if you have a valid XP CD then it will continue on installation.

[Yegolev]

Oh well that's OK then because my key came with a disc.  As long as I don't have to have it actually installed, I'm golden.  Thanks.

EDIT: I'm assuming I can't use the same disc to activate more than one upgrade version?  Because that would be swell.

[NiX]

Not up on the key upgrades, but does an OEM key get you a cheap upgrade?

[fuser]

EDIT: I'm assuming I can't use the same disc to activate more than one upgrade version?  Because that would be swell.

In theory you could because no key information is tied to a retail cd, your crossing into a gray area tho.

[Kitsune]

Okay, here's the deal on MS licensing.  Bear with me, 'cause it's a little convoluted.

1. All computers should have an OEM or retail license on them.  Only OEM and retail are 'authorized' to clean install on hardware without an existing OS.  OEM is considerably cheaper than retail because OEM is only meant to be put on brand-new hardware, and isn't transferable.

2. Upgrade and volume license are authorized to install on top of an existing OS.  In theory (or Microsoft's happy dreams), you can't install an upgrade copy on a bare-metal computer.  Because in those happy dreams, every computer that rolls out from every factory already has an OEM license copy installed.  The happy dreams obviously don't include home-built computers.  You can jigger upgrade copies to do an install without a previous OS, but it's violating the terms of use agreement.  Whether you care or not is up to you.

3. An OS license key is good for install on one and only one computer.  The license key is a separate beast from the disk.  You can have a hundred Windows DVDs, but if you only have one license number, it's only going on one computer.  Getting around the license key restriction is much trickier than convincing Windows to clean install off an upgrade disk, because the computer calls home to Microsoft to check the key when it activates for the first time.
3a. Windows 7 has a 'family pack' box with three license keys for $150.  The family pack is obviously exempt from the 'only one computer' part.

4. If you replace your current computer, and want to put your current OS on your new computer, it's a different matter.  OEM licenses may not be transferred.  They're locked to the hardware that they're installed on.  You can transfer upgrade and volume license versions to new hardware, but the new hardware has to have an OEM copy present for them to be installed on top of.  Retail licenses can be transferred at will, so long as it doesn't result in them being on more than one computer at the same time.  Why bother transferring the upgrade if you have to have OEM on the new computer?  Well, if the computer came with a home edition and your upgrade version was business or ultimate.  That's about the only conceivable reason.

So to answer your question, Yego: Yes, one disk will work for lots of upgrades.  But no, without more than one license key it's still not gonna work.  If you had a volume license key for multiple installs, you could do it with just the one disk, but if you're using consumer licenses, you need one for each computer.

[Sky]

Also, there is a barrier between VLK keys and non-VLK media and vice-versa. I have two non-VLK XP machines here and keep forgetting, because everything else is VLK.

[fuser]

http://www.microsoft.com/springboard

90day Evaluation download went live today. Great if you don't have a technet subscription.

[Yegolev]

So to answer your question, Yego: Yes, one disk will work for lots of upgrades.  But no, without more than one license key it's still not gonna work.  If you had a volume license key for multiple installs, you could do it with just the one disk, but if you're using consumer licenses, you need one for each computer.

Very informative.  Both of my computers are built by me and you say there's no key transfer/check for upgrade, just media check.  The three-key pack is tempting but I think the boy will make it with WinXP for a while.

[Kitsune]

Very informative.  Both of my computers are built by me and you say there's no key transfer/check for upgrade, just media check.  The three-key pack is tempting but I think the boy will make it with WinXP for a while.

Correct, upgrading does not inspect the license key of the original OS.  The only cockblock of Vista's upgrade keys is that if you entered the license key during the install process, it would disable the option for a clean install, thereby forcing the user to run the upgrade install from within the previous OS.  People wanting clean installs found ways around that.  I don't know whether 7 has the same loophole or not; never looked around to find out.

[fuser]

Have friends? Want to host a party on any day from Oct the 22-29? Want a free copy of 7 Ultimate for hosting it?

http://www.houseparty.com/windows7

Gotta application in but god knows the criteria.  

[Kitsune]

Yeah, saw that on Gizmodo the other day and signed up.  I have essentially unlimited licenses of Microsoft stuff for my company use, so if they send me the party kit I'll give away the Ultimate to one of the guests.  I just have to come up with a suitably evil contest to inflict on them.

[schild]

Yeah, saw that on Gizmodo the other day and signed up.  I have essentially unlimited licenses of Microsoft stuff for my company use, so if they send me the party kit I'll give away the Ultimate to one of the guests.  I just have to come up with a suitably evil contest to inflict on them.

What? You're going to have guests? I should just have everyone on f13 to apply to increase my chances.

[Kitsune]

I just got the house party acceptance in my inbox, which was along the lines of 'You're a finalist, now be fast in going to this site to finish before we hit our quota and stop accepting more.'  So anyone who signed up for the house party thing will want to be checking their mail box quickly.

[Kitsune]

Oh wow.  The party management website has instructional videos.   

I always wonder whether marketing people are cognizant of how unintentionally hilarious they are when they're trying to come off as being natural.

[JWIV]

yep!  I too am now a shill.

Oh my god.  I just watched a video.   Oh man, marketing people.  
Seriously, I think my friends would cockstab me if I did any of these recommended activities.  HAI GUYS HERES HOW U SEARCH!

[Sky]

HAI GUYS HERES HOW U SEARCH!

For porn.

[fuser]

Booh never got in the party, guess they didn't like my honesty 

But to offset it Technet+ subscription came in a few days ago and every version of 7 is on it now.

[Kitsune]

The sad thing is that a lot of the features touted by the horrible videos are pretty sweet.  I never used search functions in XP or earlier; they were utterly useless.  Vista's search (and by extension, 7's search) is so useful that it's almost a crime to not use it.  But putting a room full of creepily enthusiastic 30-year-olds at a 'party' for the demonstration saps all of the goodness and makes it cringeworthy.

[Big Gulp]

But putting a room full of creepily enthusiastic 30-year-olds at a 'party' for the demonstration saps all of the goodness and makes it cringeworthy.

MS really needs to fire their ad agency and do a complete PR transition.  For one thing, I think it'd help to start making fun of Apple a lot more than they're currently doing.  The "I'm a PC" stuff is a beginning, but it's pretty toothless.  They need to attack 'em on cost and their whole walled garden mentality.  Maybe slapping some hipster in a straight jacket would work for that one.  Mostly, they need to try to put out some funny, cool stuff.  Because right now they just seem like the vanilla default OS to be using.  This is unfortunate, because I tend to think that OSX has finally been whooped.  Win7 is just damned, damned good.

[Engels]

They sorta have a balancing act to play that Apple doesn't. MS is the defacto 'business' OS, and a lot rides on their reputation as the 'serious' OS. If they start putting out ads mocking Apple or otherwise trying to compete with Apple on its own 'hipster' turf, they are simultaneously giving a bunch of grey haired CTOs the willies.

[Lantyssa]

They can put a stuffy suit, a gamer, and a hipster next to one another.  All say at the same time, "Hi, I'm a PC."  Look quizzically at one another, then do some handshakes, back pats, or awkward high-fives as appropriate to which PC they are.

Then have one poor guy, "Hi, I'm a Mac."  Maybe have a twin come out and say, "Hi, I'm a Mac, too."  And a triplet....

[Pennilenko]

They can put a stuffy suit, a gamer, and a hipster next to one another.  All say at the same time, "Hi, I'm a PC."  Look quizzically at one another, then do some handshakes, back pats, or awkward high-fives as appropriate to which PC they are.

Then have one poor guy, "Hi, I'm a Mac."  Maybe have a twin come out and say, "Hi, I'm a Mac, too."  And a triplet....

You should be in advertising cause i would laugh my ass off at that commercial.

[Mattemeo]

I just don't know what to make of this marketing strategy. It just screams 'We are trying to alienate our original userbase' in a variety of ways. I mean, ok, hopelessly cynical view is that they're trying to make the average PC user seem like less of a closetted social pariah, rather has a wonderful lifestyle and rich, diverse (all boxes ticked!) friends, when the reality is even if the majority of us are not basement dwelling troglogeeks, we'd still be terrified of a stilted, Stepford social engagement EVEN WITH COMPUTERS. People only bring computers together in order to work, or shout at each other and not wash for a weekend while their hands go cold playing Quake.

The other current-userbase alienation that strikes me is the whole creepy 'Windows is no longer for you' vibe that drips off these videos like a sped up version of Nintendo skillfully removing itself from the hearts of every gamer worldwide with the Wii in order to court the Lowest Common Denomidollar.

It seems the marketing departments have decided once and for all that Geek is chic. But only if it is not geeks being chic.

[caladein]

I will give Microsoft's ad agency this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssOq02DTTMU

That ad is full of awesome .

[Big Gulp]

That ad is full of awesome .

No.

A) I don't like children.

B) I especially don't like precocious children.

[caladein]

But Europe!  And Unicorns!

[lamaros]

I'm looking at how I'm going to has Windows 7 and as far as I can tell, I'll be perfectly happy with the Home Premium... unless someone knows about some reason for me to get Professional.

There's not many reasons besides businesses, ie join a domain, file syncing, the only thing that might interest you is XP emulation thats in pro(requires hardware VT flag).

Good to know as I have myself a free upgrade with my new laptop (hooray for buying things that I can't afford through work)...

[schild]

Kinda sad I didn't get picked for the party pack. I get to flush money down the toilet early next year I guess.

[Salamok]

I just don't know what to make of this marketing strategy.

I know exactly what to make of it, it sucks.  They are trying to show the OS as being so easy a kid can use it and avoiding other issues that w7 may solve.  They need to strongly address all of the negative PR vista accumulated at release when every IT professional on the planet was screaming "don't get this".  Having an 8 year old copy and paste some text from maximum pc doesn't quite get the point across.

Looks like MS has outsourced so much that they have completely lost touch with their own corporate culture, not to mention user base.

[Engels]

What worries me is that MS is going to hork things up so badly that folks run to Apple. And then all the problems that MS has been dealing with in terms of viruses, malware, compatibility issues, etc, will start to afflict Apple to the same degree, if not moreso due to a lack of security 'culture' in Apple. Its gonna make my life hell. I have had two professors in my department switch from XP to Apple 'because its cool', even though they have to run bootcamp to run 2/3rds of their programs anyway.

[Ingmar]

Until Apple cracks the corporate market nut I wouldn't worry about it too much.