If you are still running Windows 7 Beta and use it actively, be warned that this build will begin bi-hourly shutdown starting today July 01.
Upgrade to Windows 7 RC (Release Candidate), which will have the same treatment starting March 01, 2010. This expiry date for the RC version is more than 4 months after the October 22 launch date of Windows 7, which Microsoft hope is sufficient time for you to decide if you want to pay them.
Microsoft posted on its Windows Team Blog the details of Windows 7 pricing and upgrade options. Windows 7 will be launched on October 22nd. Here is the summary:
On October 22nd, Windows 7 will be available in the following 14 languages: English, Spanish, Japanese, German, French, Italian, Dutch, Russian, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Chinese (Hong Kong).
On October 31st, the remaining 21 languages will become available: Turkish, Czech, Portuguese, Hungarian, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Greek, Ukrainian, Romanian, Arabic, Lithuanian, Bulgarian, Estonian, Slovenian, Hebrew, Thai, Croatian, Serbian Latin, and Latvian.
Windows 7 Upgrade Option Program starts tomorrow June 26 till Jan 31, 2010. During this period, anyone who buys a PC from a participating OEM or retailer with Windows Vista Home Premium, Business or Ultimate on it will all receive an upgrade to the corresponding version of Windows 7 at little or no cost.
Visit this link for details.
Microsoft has confirmed that there will be six SKUs for the Windows 7 OS. This follows long standing Microsoft tradition of having multiple version of its Windows OS, a practice widely-criticized and mocked for bringing confusion to the marketplace.
