Windows 7 launches today and Microsoft hopes it will be a positive upgrade from the now outdated XP. If you bought a Windows Vista-based PC in the last four months, it's likely that you're eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 7. Getting the free upgrade to Windows 7 might involve some work, and for some, the Windows 7 upgrade won't be totally free.

Some small system builders are advertising that they will start shipping Windows 7 early, basically building systems as soon as they gain access to the code. Microsoft will start shipping Windows 7 to OEMs starting Oct. 12th, though the much-hyped new OS is not scheduled to launch until Oct. 22nd.

Microsoft on Thursday finally dished on upgrade options for Windows 7, international availability on launch day (Oct. 22) and pricing. It's hard to say which one is more important to me, 1) or 3), but in this economy, I'd go with 3).

As promised, on Thursday Microsoft released the Release Candidate build (7100) to MSDN and TechNet subscribers at http://technet.microsoft.com. The fact that it's been available on P2P sites for about a week should in no way embarrass Microsoft.

In what should be no surprise to anyone, the release candidate (RC) of Windows 7, build 7100, has leaked to P2P sites, including Miniova and yes, even The Pirate Bay, despite last Friday's guilty verdict in their copyright infringement case.

Microsoft has, at least for now, postponed the release of the Windows 7 beta, while it adds additional servers to handle the load. Microsoft has struggled with server issues all day as users tried download the first public beta of its newest OS.

On Wednesday Steve Ballmer, during Microsoft's CES Keynote, announced that the beta of Windows 7 was open to developers in certain programs (MSDN, Technet, etc.). This morning, as promised, Microsoft has opened up the Windows 7 beta to anyone who wants to download it.

As promised, Microsoft late Thursday released the first public beta of Windows Vista Service Pack 2(SP2) from both its website and via Windows Update. On Tuesday Microsoft released the beta to MSDN and TechNet subscribers, and made the aforementioned promise.

On Tuesday, at PDC, Microsoft made an API-complete, pre-beta version of Windows 7 (also known as "Milestone 3") available to attendees and press, as expected. While there was no further information on an exact release date, in a keynote address, Steven Sinofsky, Microsoft's senior vice president of Windows and Windows Live, said that the first public beta of the OS will be available early next year.

Microsoft's new phase of its ad campaign, aimed at renovating the image of Windows, which began with the much criticized Seinfeld-Gates ads (three of which were filmed but only two of which were aired), seems much better than the first phase.

The new Microsoft ads went live on Thursday. And at the start of each ad is Sean Siler, a Microsoft employee who, luckily for Microsoft bears some resemblance to John Hodgman, the PC in Apple's ads. In the first and third ads, he says "I'm a PC, and I've been made into a stereotype. In the second ad he says, "I'm a PC, and I'm not alone."

They are here. I wrote earlier about Microsoft's new ad campaign, scheduled to start on Sept. 4th and to feature Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates. The first ad aired during the opening game of the NFL season between Washington and the New York Giants. It's titled "The future, delicious," but I have to say "yuck."