Windows 7

For the last two days I have been attempting to upgrade my Windows XP Bootcamp partition to Windows 7 for browser testing purposes. I was actually kind of excited about it. I’d heard good things about Windows 7 and, as a Mac guy, was interested in seeing how the other half lives. After fighting with boot screens and burning disk images without success I have a sneaking suspicion that it might not be possible for me to to install over XP with the upgrade license that I purchased, despite what Microsoft says. I also began to wonder who this product is for? It surely isn’t for your average non-techie going to grab an upgrade at Best Buy. It isn’t for my Mom or yours. It’s not for someone who spends their whole day in front of a computer and operates it competantly and confidently. If it is not for them, who? Then it came to me, the Windows 7 upgrade disc is for Microsoft’s favorite customer, the IT department. But I guess I shouldn’t fear, the much more expensive full, non upgrade, version is always waiting for me to hand over my credit card, nuke my drive and start again. I guess Ballmer and Co. really do care.