Microsoft unveils Microsoft Office Accounting Express 2007 and Microsoft Office Accounting Professional 2007, much to the delight of accounting fraternity. The Redmond, Wash.-based software giant is offering Accounting Express for free and promoting it via a slick new Web site, ideawins.com. I just wonder what the other accounting software vendors think about this.

For VARs, Microsoft has set up another Web site, oapipeline.com, to help them drive sales of Office Accounting products by promoting other Microsoft products that can be combined with the accounting software to form larger solutions.

Accounting Express is limited but is no toy. Microsoft combined both products into a single install, so users only need to add a key to activate the Professional trial version. Accounting Professional is priced at $149, and the full activation key will be available early in 2007. Upgrading from Microsoft Small Business Accounting 2006 is $99. Express users will be able to activate the full Professional version as well from their install without having to download new software.

Before you run out and get those Vista upgrade coupons for a new PC, let the buyer beware. Its good to stop and consider what you are getting into. You only have 1 transfer window for your licence.

Here’s a post about Vista upgrades from PC Magazine, via Yahoo. It lists your upgrade options and what it will cost you when you buy from various manufacturers. Here are some small quotes, more info is available in the article.

Acer: Any Acer Windows Vista Capable or Windows Vista Premium Ready PC bought between October 26, 2006 and March 15, 2007 includes an Express Upgrade to Windows Vista option, automatically. Redemption must be completed by March 31. Users can check to see if their PC qualifies under the offer by clicking here.

Dell: Spokesman Bob Kaufman told eWEEK that while the company plans to charge $45 plus shipping and handling to move from Windows XP Home to Vista Basic, the upgrade from Windows XP Media Center Edition to Vista Premium and from Windows XP Pro to Vista Premium will only incur a shipping and handling fee.

Gateway: A Gateway spokesperson reported that all eMachines and Gateway PCs were eligible for a free upgrade to Windows Vista, starting Oct. 26.

HP: North American consumers who buy a new HP Pavilion or Compaq Presario desktop or notebook PC, or HP Digital Entertainment Center, with a qualifying Windows XP operating system that is designated “Windows Vista Capable” between Oct. 26, 2006 and March 15, 2007 will be eligible for a free upgrade to Vista. Customers should visit HP’s web site to request their upgrade. Proof of purchase will be required.

Lenovo: Lenovo’s Express Upgrade to Windows Vista Program will allow customers who purchase a Lenovo Vista Capable or Vista Premium Ready PC between October 26, 2006 and March 15, 2007 to receive a license and copy of the Windows Vista operating system when Microsoft places it on the market in early 2007. (The PC must carry the “Vista Ready” logo above, and consumers should be ready to supply a proof of purchase.) Customers must redeem the offer by March 30, 2007.

Toshiba: To qualify for the program, users need to have purchased a notebook PC pre-installed with “qualifying” Microsoft Windows XP software between October 26, 2006 and March 15, 2007. While Toshiba has made a Web site available to facilitate the Windows Vista upgrade transition, it was not working as of Oct. 26. What or if Toshiba will charge for an upgrade, or what format it will arrive in, was not known at press time.

eweek has a splendid Vista Walk Through that shows various functions and screenshots of Vista. Its really a eye popping display and a graphics karma. Enjoy.

I would expect a lot of flak to come from many quarters now that the Vista’s explicit limitation on transferring only once to another machine has been made known. You can only expect this to come from Microsoft as a means to keep the dough rolling in…They’ve not had a good year and with so many legal fees to pay for their battle in Europe, I’m sure they will continue to squeeze every penny out of Windows users. Koroush Ghazi also proposes that at least 3 transfers be enabled instead of one. But for tweakers like me, 5 would be a nicer number.

One more note. Paying $399 for Vista Ultimateis pittance for MS but its a lot of money for normal hard working folks like us.

A frustrated opinion :

My name is Koroush Ghazi, and I run the site TweakGuides.com. As you can probably guess by the site’s name, I like to tweak and tinker with hardware and software. I’m what you might call a ‘PC enthusiast’: one of those guys who builds his own PC, regularly upgrading it to keep up with the demands of modern gaming. When Paul asked me to write a reply to his Licensing Changes to Vista article I jumped at the chance, given that this issue really affects guys like me. I know from the emails I’ve received, and from comments I’ve read by other enthusiasts across the Net that Vista’s explicit limitation on transferring only once to another machine in particular has caused genuine frustration, confusion and anger. I’m here to try to put across the enthusiast’s point of view, something which both Paul’s original article and Microsoft may have lost sight of.