Vice President for Industry Analysis

It's the day after Microsoft announced Windows 7 pricing, and the reaction is mixed. A special two-week promotion, with a limited number of advance orders for a low-priced upgrade, is doing well.

On Thursday, the software giant said it would offer through several retailers an upgrade from Windows Vista or XP to Windows 7 Home Premium at $49.99 or to Windows 7 Professional for $99.99. The discounted OS is already a best-seller in Amazon's software category.