Now in its beta phase, Windows 7 can be pre-ordered for its launch date of Oct 22nd. If you enjoy Vista and wish to see how Windows 7 improves on the visual enhancements that separated Vista from XP, you can try out the release candidate RC version here.

I will probably need to revamp this review when the official release arrives, though going by the RC version, I can confirm that some subtle differences are in place mainly to excite Vista lovers. Though, some consideration has been given to Über XP fans still straying away from Vista. It’s not surprising since there have been so many issues with Vista’s performance.

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Vista’s arrival invited the wrath of unforgiving Microsoft critics who had previously scorned XP for its memory intensive interface and confusing differences. Though, soon our transition from 98 or ME to XP was a smooth one, just took getting used to some subtle differences. Then came Vista, and the boat was rocked again.

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Like a virtual department store on Black Friday, Europe’s online Microsoft store was overwhelmed when pre-order commenced for Windows 7. The temporary crash may have frustrated a few, but in essence, it was great news for Microsoft’s anticipated launch of the new operating system. It is doing way better than Vista did. During Vista’s entire four-month plus pre-order period, it did not sell nearly as many copies as Windows 7 did in the first few hours.

The Microsoft store isn’t the only forum selling copies of Windows 7. The new system is also available from Amazon.com, Play.com, PCWorld, and other online stores. All sites selling the new software were experiencing very high demand within moments of opening the product for sale. Amazon’s UK software director, Chris Poad, reported that the “Windows 7 upgrade packages shot to the top of the Amazon.come bestsellers chart over in the US as soon as they were available for pre-order.”

Official release is not until October 22nd, and nobody gets a real copy until that time. However, the pre-released version is available for a limited time at a reduced rate, which is part of the reason for the spike in demand.

However, in a balancing bit of not-as-hot news, one company predicts that the majority of companies will opt not to upgrade to Windows 7. ScriptLogic, a Windows Management consulting firm, paints a picture that looks like 60 percent of companies won’t purchase the new operating system. At the top of the complaint list are “compatibility concerns,” but “time,” and “resources,” are also slated as legitimate barriers. A recession-slammed economy doesn’t bode well for Microsoft, but the opening day numbers have been encouraging.