Free Windows 7 Trial: A Ploy to Kill Windows Vista and XP?
In a bid to make up for past blunders, Microsoft is allowing information technology professionals, and pretty much anyone else, to download a free, 90-day trial of Windows 7 Enterprise edition. Many IT pros already have Windows 7 to test the new OS for application, hardware, and deployment compatibility, even though the new operating system will not be officially released until October 22. But some IT departments may not have access to the OS through Microsoft’s typical distribution channels, so Redmond is offering a limited 90-day trial to these customers. Microsoft warns that the trial is for IT pros only, and does not recommend regular consumers tinker with the enterprise version. But Microsoft makes almost no effort to verify that only IT pros are downloading the test version, meaning virtually anyone can get their hands on the Windows 7 trial. Microsoft does try to be a little bit tricky by asking you to fill out a short survey before downloading. One of the survey questions asks
