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Office 2007: The Rumors are true

Office 2007Remember when we told you that Microsoft was giving away copies of Vista and Office 2007 as part of their "Power Together" campaign? They weren't blowing smoke. I received my copy of Office 2007 yesterday in the mail. It didn't come with an actual CD, only a license key and the URL to download it, but I did get it in the end. If you had been wondering if you would ever get yours, that is if you ever got the website to work at all, and completed the 3 webcasts you had to watch, you should get it soon (if you haven't already). I just thought you should know that Microsoft did live up to what they said, which makes this geek happy. I feel like I stuck it to the man, getting their software (which is usually expensive) for free, legally, and all shiny to boot.

Oh, did I mention that if you weren't able to get the site to work or couldn't complete the offer to get Vista, we are giving away a few copies of it. Sadly, we don't have copies of Office to give away.

Win a copy of Vista Ultimate

We have three hot copies of Vista, sealed and ready, and we're just itching to give them away. These aren't hot as in stolen, but hot as in fresh. While Engadget has been putting Vista through the paces (and then some), we're willing to send off these three little boxes of
newness to three lucky individuals... Of course, we'd love to hear back from you, and we're even willing to do a little interview in a couple of weeks, just to see what you've been doing with this shiny OS from Redmond.

So all you have to do to enter? Leave a comment here on Download Squad, on this post you're reading right now. Naturally, there's a lot of rule business to cover. You can read all the details (legal mumbo jumbo) after the jump, but key points include: you must be 18 or older, contest valid in 50 U.S. states only, void where prohibited, leave only one comment per household, and no, you cannot bribe us. Since we're only giving away 3 copies, we'll only pick 3 winners. The contest closes on Friday, Feb. 2, just before midnight Eastern Standard Time. We'll contact you by the email (the one you use to either confirm comments or activate your password, so make sure you check it!), and get the mailing info once we verify you aren't a robot from the Apple people.

Continue reading Win a copy of Vista Ultimate

Microsoft releases Vista upgrade chart, reason surrenders

Microsoft Vista upgrade matrix
Microsoft has unveiled a Vista upgrade matrix, detailing which present versions of Windows are eligible for upgrading to one of the four relevant versions of Vista (Starter and Enterprise are targeted for specific markets and therefore not included in this matrix). To make matters a bit complicated, however, some editions (such as XP Pro or Win2K) are only eligible to upgrade to a "corresponding or better" version of Vista, i.e. - Business or Ultimate. As icing on the cake, some ugprades will require a fresh wipe and install, while others can be upgraded 'in-place', retaining your applications and settings.

To be clear, however: all present versions of Windows listed in this chart are eligible to purchase upgrade editions of Windows Vista. Previous versions, such as Win98 and ME, will have to purchase a full edition of Vista.

Windows Vista Ultimate to cost $450?

Windows VistaInterested in getting that "Ultimate" version of Windows Vista? Be prepared to pay a bit for it. iTWire is reporting that Windows Vista Ultimate will come with a price tag around $450. As Ryan over at Engadget points out, that's about as much as a budget Dell system will cost you. Ultimate combines the features of Vista Business and Vista Home. For comparison purposes, Windows XP Professional currently goes for $300 at retail.

Microsoft announces Office the Ultimate

Microsoft Office 2007 UltimateMore versions of everything! We already knew that one of Microsoft's six versions of Windows Vista would be called "Ultimate," and apparently the "Ultimate" bug is breeding in Redmond: Microsoft has added a new bundle to its Office 2007 lineup dubbed Office Ultimate, which will include most of the components that were previously to be available only to large businesses in Office 2007's enterprise edition, including Publisher, OneNote (for note taking), Groove (for collaboration), Access (databases), and InfoPath (forms). Microsoft says Ultimate was born from customer demand and will be available for a suprisingly low $679.

Four Windows Vista flavors on one DVD

Windows Anytime UpgradeAccording to ZDNet's Ed Bott, the retail version of Windows Vista will include four of the OS's six-plus flavors on a single DVD.  The versions included on the DVD will be Vista Business, Home Basic, Home Premium, and Ultimate, and which version gets installed depends on how much the purchaser spends and what product key they use to install Vista. This is a good move on Microsoft's part because it prevents retailers from having to stock four versions of the same product and promises an easy upgrade scenario called Windows Anytime Upgrade. If a user has Vista Home Basic installed and wants to upgrade to Premium, for example, they can just buy a product key for an upgrade fee and install the beefier version of Vista from the disc they already have. Perhaps not so good for Microsoft is the fact that it's going to take hackers a couple weeks, tops, to figure out how to get those upgrades for free. However, Microsoft is used to piracy and has no doubt made ample room for it in its business model, so I doubt we'll see Redmond struggling at the hands of such hackers any time soon.

Six(ish) versions of Vista, then?

The many flavors of
Windows VistaFirst they were, and then they weren't, but now BBC News is reporting that, Microsoft has really, officially confirmed that it will be shipping Windows Vista, to quote our own Victor Agreda, Jr., in "a rainbow of flavors." Ready? Start counting:
  • Vista Business
  • Vista Enterprise
  • Vista Home Basic
  • Vista Home Premium
  • Vista Ultimate
  • Vista Starter
You can head over to BBC News for all the deets, but here's the gist: It's pretty much what we've been expecting. Vista Business and Enterprise are pretty much what you'd expect. Home Premium does everything Home Basic does but tosses in the Aero GUI that we've seen in all the screenshots and "will also be able to connect their machine to an Xbox 360 gaming console"--expect it to be the version that ships on most OEM PCs. Vista Ultimate combines the features of all the other versions and, finally, Vista Starter is intended for low-end PCs in developing nations. Additionally there will be "versions made specifically for Europe that, in accordance with an EU mandate, remove the Windows media player," which are analagous to the "N" versions previously rumored. So that adds up to... yep, a rainbow of flavors.

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