One key factor in Windows Vista's instant success at the time of release is the amount of new PCs on the market. Because Microsoft is releasing Vista after the holiday season takes place in January 2007, it needs a find a way to keep the PC buying boom coming. Not to worry though, the company has a plan. It is going to use the age-old tradition of promotions as a way to get more copies of Vista in the common household.

Microsoft's vice president of Windows client marketing Mike Sievert said that the company is going to target consumers with special promotions, hopefully convincing potential customers that now is the time to buy that loaded PC which they've been wanting. "It's important that people see value right up until the launch of Vista," he said. Although Sievert wasn't clear about the type of promotions that would be run, one type of promotion that has become popular with the release of new Windows operating systems is the free upgrade within a set amount of time. For instance, if a consumer buys a Windows XP computer in November that is marked as "Windows Vista Capable", then he can freely upgrade to Vista within a certain amount of time, usually between 60 and 90 days.