How do you plan to get Windows 7?

Windows 7 may be Microsoft’s most anticipated product ever. It builds on Windows Vista’s positives, and eliminates many of that OS’s negatives. It adds new functionality, too—all in a package that is less resource-hungry than its predecessor. It always seems that you hear about the good deals on these products right after they are over. I purchased an Upgrade Version of Windows 7 Home Premium back in July from Amazon.com. Happy I did since it was tax free, with free shipping and a bargain at $49.99. It came with the 64-bit and 32-bit media, so I can still chose before install. The product arrived a week after the launch.

I attended a Developer/IT professional Microsoft Launch Event for Windows 7. It was held in a large Theater and at the end of the event we all got a copy of Windows 7 Ultimate- for free! I gave mine back right away since the 32-bit OS was not as desirable to me as the 64-bit OS. The Microsoft Team will ship a 64-bit version of Windows 7 Ultimate to me within the month.

I bought a new Dell Laptop and had it configured with Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit with an Windows XP Professional 32-bit downgrade. Since it was purchased after June 26, it came with a Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit Upgrade, that will ship free from Dell.

As you can see, there are many inexpensive ways to get the Windows 7 OS product if you alreday have a Windows PC. I’m sure in the coming weeks; I will lean all about the joys of upgrading to Windows 7. My 4 year old HP Laptop is running the Windows 7 Ultimate Release Candidate without issues and the “custom” upgrade-essentially a clean install-was really painless. It expires next June, so I should be ready by then to either retire the system or buy a full copy of the new OS. Or maybe install the Home Premium version on a Netbook and use it as a Media Center.

And whether or not you're upgrading from Vista or skipping it altogether and moving up from Windows XP, you'll need to know how to make the most of it in your environment.

1. Pick Your Edition. Most business users do not need the more expensive Ultimate Edition; stick with Professional unless you specifically need BitLocker. If you are not a business user, the Home Premium Edition will do fine.

2. Upgrading? Go 64-bit. As the second major Windows release to fully support 64-bit, the x64 architecture has definitely arrived on the desktop. Don't buy new 32-bit hardware unless it's a netbook. Now if they just could make applications for 64-bit, someday.

3. Use Windows XP Mode. Yes, it's only an embedded Virtual PC with a full copy of WinXP—but it's an embedded Virtual PC with a full copy of Windows XP! This is the first profoundly intelligent use of desktop virtualization we've seen—and a great way to move to Windows 7 without giving up full Windows XP compatibility.