Paul Thurrot: While I've been harshly critical of Microsoft's decision to split Windows Vista into far more product editions than is absolutely necessary, we can at least give the software giant credit for making Windows Vista easier to purchase than any previous Windows version. In addition to the typical retail and PC bundle versions, Vista can be had in a variety of other ways, including electronic distribution via Windows Marketplace, semi-legal OEM versions via online retailers, and in bulk via the Family Discount program.

Windows Anytime Upgrade is a great idea, but Microsoft should allow customers to at least optionally download the required installation disc required for this feature to run to completion. Many PC users just won't have the required disc, especially if their PC makers use custom restore discs (as does Lenovo, incidentally). There's nothing worse that ordering something electronically and then discovering you can't install it because you have to wait for a disc to arrive in the mail. Aside from this issue--and a bit of ambiguity in the language of the Windows Anytime Upgrade application, this process, while slow, works pretty well. And it's certainly preferable to the alternative of paying full price for a retail version of Vista.