Windows 7 will be officially released in a matter of weeks, but if you’re in the market for a new PC, when will you be able to run the new system? We explain your options for getting hold of Vista’s successor and the relevant timelines for doing so.

Microsoft has announced that 32-bit only machines will not qualify for its Windows 7 compatibility labeling scheme. It’s a major change of emphasis after the debacle of “Vista Capable”.

Apple has for as long as I can remember trumped Microsoft in one important area: advertising. Microsoft really didn’t do adverts for a long time, and when it did they generally came across as staid, old-fashioned, and a little bit tired. But things have started to improve, and the latest ads for Windows 7 signal just how much Microsoft is evolving… into Apple.

Some computer manufacturers could be shipping Windows 7 as early as nine days before its official release date. But an Asian industry newspaper reports that industry sources are unconvinced the system will have a quick effect on PC sales.

Windows 7 is so close you can almost reach out and touch it, with the Oct. 22 release date edges ever nearer. But how are you going to celebrate the launch of Microsoft’s newest operating system? What do you mean you weren’t planning to – isn’t everyone having a Windows 7 party?

Microsoft has told business customers that there’s no reason to wait until Windows 7 hits store shelves to begin upgrading. It’s bringing forward the release of tools designed to ease the process in a corporate setting.

Should you upgrade or do a clean install once Windows 7 hits? Which will take longer, which will cause more bother? I’m afraid those questions aren’t easy to answer because it all depends on what system you have, how much data you have saved and what applications you have running. Microsoft reports that one Vista to Windows 7 upgrade could take almost a whole day to complete.

Microsoft is pulling no punches with its efforts to persuade consumers to choose Windows over its competitors. Just a day after details of a training program for Best Buy employees concerning Linux emerged, so has a similar program concerning the differences between PC and Mac. However, unlike Linux, most of the anti-Mac statements are accurate, at least in the exact way they are worded.

The release of Windows 7 continues to draw closer, now being just seven weeks away. And Microsoft is gearing up for the launch with a number of initiatives. The latest is an attempt to increase the flow of word of mouth advertising by having people host Windows 7 parties with their friends. The reward for your troubles, and for looking like an absolute geek in front of your nearest and dearest? A signature copy of Windows 7 Ultimate.

Apple feels threatened by Windows 7. And so, it seems, is the open source brigade. Apple is fighting back by banging on about viruses in its latest ads. While the Free Software Foundation, which obviously supports all open source efforts, is taking a more direct approach.

Apple fanboys may well be very vocal in their love for Steve Jobs and co., but in reality Apple is small-time compared to Microsoft. Macs may be loved by certain niches and demographics but in reality it is Windows-based PCs that continue to dominate the market. With just weeks to go before Windows 7 is released to the general public Apple is becoming increasingly desperate, as its new ‘Get a Mac’ adverts demonstrate.

There we were thinking the Windows 7 Web browser issue was over. But apparently not. Microsoft has proposed a ballot screen for Windows 7 users so they can each individually select their browser of choice during installation. Fair does, surely. Not so say the people in charge of Mozilla, the community behind Firefox.

Windows 7 is now out in the wild and only a couple of months away from being available to everyone who wants it. Which means the Windows Vista era is over, that is if it ever actually existed in the first place. Sure, Vista had a couple of years as Microsoft’s leading operating system, but it didn’t exactly set the world alight in that time.

Windows 7 is being talked up with nothing but the utmost praise. In that sense it’s the antitheses of Vista. In fact, Vista would have given a few limbs to have even half the positive press Windows 7 has been blessed with. But this doesn’t mean consumers will pay over the odds for Microsoft’s new operating system. So, with interest waning, could new cheap Windows 7 pre-order deals be on the way?

Are you planning to upgrade to Windows 7 come Oct. 22 when the new OS is released to general availability? Then good luck, because judging by the upgrade chart released by Microsoft it’s a confusing and complicated business.