Vista Upgrade Coupon Rumors

Unusual patterns in demand for motherboards lend weight to reports that well-known PC vendors will ship computers with free upgrade coupons for the Windows Vista OS in the fourth quarter, say analysts. But the truth remains elusive.
History also supports the claims, since Microsoft and some PC vendors have offered such vouchers in the past ahead of major software or OS upgrades. For example, when Windows XP came out, eMachines offered consumers a coupon for a free upgrade to the OS if they bought a compatible desktop ahead of the launch. That was in 2001.
A few years earlier, Microsoft gave out a "technological guarantee" coupon for a free upgrade to Office 97 to purchasers of its Office for Windows 95 shipped during the third quarter of its fiscal 1997.
Behind the Vista coupon rumors is a fear in the PC industry that users might put off buying a new computer until Vista comes out next year. Ever since Microsoft announced there would be a delay in shipping the OS, the PC industry has sought ideas on how to keep demand for new computers from flagging in the last few months of this year, the important holiday buying season.

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