If you’re like me, you’ve probably enjoyed trying out beta versions of Windows 7. So to help indulge your love for the operating system Vista should’ve been, here’s a nifty price list featuring all Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate flavors—currently available for pre-order. Bonus feature: purchase links that let you indulge your urge to own Windows 7 as soon as possible.

Version
32-bit
64-bit
Upgrade

Retail
OEM
Retail
OEM

Home Premium
$199.99
$99.99
$199.99
$99.99
$119.99

Professional
$299.99
$134.99
$299.99
$134.99
$199.99

Ultimate
$319.99
$174.99
$319.99
$174.99
$219.99

Be aware that the significantly cheaper OEM versions carry some caveats.

If the “normal” retail prices for Windows 7 sounds a bit steep for you, you may want to consider the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) versions of the operating system scheduled for an October 22 release. The summary of Tom’s Hardware thus states:

Newegg is selling Home Premium for $100, while the retail price is $200. Those looking for the Professional version can get an even greater break as the OEM is $135, compared to $300 for the retail.
Still not good enough? Then you can hand over $175 for the Ultimate SKU, which would cost $320 in stores.
What’s the difference between OEM …read more

Reddit features a comprehensive Windows XP, Vista, and 7 shortcut list, including some of the most useful ones. Here are my personal favorites (works only on Vista or Windows 7):

Middle click an app on dock – Open a new app instance
Middle click a thumbnail from dock – Close app instance/tab
Alt – bring up old-style file menus where they’ve been removed
Winkey + P – multi-display config quick-switch (press twice to switch)
Winkey + X – bring up laptop settings control panel
Winkey + T – dock keyboard mode (use arrow keys)
Winkey + (shift +) tab – Flip 3D task switcher
Winkey + left, …read more

Basically, if you’ve bought a PC that came with certain versions of Vista installed, from June 26, 2009 to January 10, 2010, you get an upgrade to Windows 7 for free! According to the Microsoft Press Release:

“There is a lot of excitement for Windows 7 in the marketplace today. However, many consumers need a new Windows PC for school, work or home before October 22,” said Brad Brooks, corporate vice president, Windows consumer marketing at Microsoft. “So starting June 26th, any customer who buys a PC from a participating computer maker or retailer with Windows Vista Home Premium, Business or …read more

Announced today, the official pricing of Windows 7 is as follows:
Retail

Home Premium $199.99
Professional $299.99
Ultimate $319.99

Upgrade Packages

Home Premium $119.99
Professional $199.99
Ultimate $219.99

In other words, $120, $200, and $220 respectively. Before you get excited about the lower prices (when compared to Vista), remember that only 1% actually buy retail OS copies. The rest download bootleg copies from torrent sites get the OS when they buy a new computer.
Still, it’s great seeing Microsoft slashing their flagship product prices a bit. Maybe we’ll see less people call the company “M$” on online forums.
Some bad news for Windows XP users though: Windows 7 will insist on …read more

My first impression of Windows 7? Feels a lot faster, even than my old XP installation (thanks to the negative press/opinions Vista suffered from, I stayed away). Then again, you can argue that everything’s more responsive because new Windows installs usually are.
But the tech-heads from Anandtech have the proof. With Windows 7, Microsoft overhauled how its OS renders multiple windows and interfaces. Seems the guys at Redmond have finally figured out how to transfer that load more to a PC’s graphics card, while minimizing the burden on the CPU and system memory.

Got nothing to do this lazy Sunday? Why not give Windows 7 a try, and turn your PC into a dual-boot machine?
Maybe you decided to give Windows 7 a pass when it first came out, not wanting to replace Vista or XP on your PC. But once Windows 7 release candidate 1 (RC1) becomes officially available to the public this May 5, you might want to take advantage of turning your computer into a dual-boot machine. You get to try out Windows 7 for yourself, without giving up the Windows you use for your daily—and crucial—business.

The title says it all folks. The people over at SlashGear report an Amtek U560 UMPC subjected to Windows 7. This particular U560 ran on a 600Mhz Intel A100 processor, working with only half-a-gig of memory. Yet there were no reports of epic failure, only surprise at W7 granting the U560 an experience index of 1.2 (As a point of comparison, SlashGear reports that “many UMPCs manage a score of 1″). So how does W7 look on the small screen?

So today’s the day when the first beta of Windows 7 is available, and if you want to try out Microsoft’s latest gem, you’d better pay attention to what Wired says. To make a long story short, the beta will be available only today, Windows 7 upgrades will only work with Vista SP1, and you’ll need to register to get a product key. The ISO is estimated to be 2.5 to 3.5GB in size.
But good luck. I’ve tried visiting Wired’s source, a post on the Official Windows Blog, and I’ve also tried visiting the Windows 7 page to get the …read more