Are you planning to upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7 when it becomes available for purchase? Well, you can’t, at least not in the usual manner (i.e. insert the Windows upgrade DVD and click install). Doing that will simply wipe out your XP installation AND all of your data AND all of your installed applications!
If you want to upgrade from Windows XP to 7, you’ll first have to back up all of your data, then install Windows 7 over XP – wiping it out in the process. Why Microsoft chose not to offer a direct upgrade option which keeps all of your programs and data intact is beyond me. It makes no sense whatsoever because the number of PC’s running Windows XP outnumber Vista machines by a large margin, and one would think the boys in Redmond would want to give all those folks an easy way to upgrade in order to really rake in the bucks.
Lots of folks won’t feel comfortable taking this “upgrade” route, so they’ll simply keep on using Windows XP instead of jumping on the Windows 7 bandwagon. Sounds like a lose / lose situation for both the users AND Microsoft.