Free Windows Vista Business & Office Professional 2007

Update: The offer has since expired.(12/1/06)

Awesome offer from Microsoft, check it out

Free Licensed versions of Windows Vista Business and Office Professional 2007!All you have to do is watch webcasts extolling the virtues of Micorsoft's products: http://www.powertogether.com/

From arstechnica.com:In case you can't seem to find an affordable way to obtain a copy of Windows Vista or Office 2007, Microsoft has started a website that will help you get both pieces of software for free. The new site, called The Power of Together, contains webcasts and vLabs (virtual labs) which must be completed in order to receive free copies of the software. According to the offering details, a user wishing to receive a free copy of Windows Vista Business must complete three qualifying webcasts or virtual lab sessions within 30 days of registering on the site (Vista's vLabs are not mentioned on the homepage). The same goes for people wishing to receive a copy of Office Professional 2007. The offer expires on February 28, 2007, or while supplies last. After completing the sessions, your copy of Vista and/or Office will arrive by mail in six to eight weeks. One final thing to note: if you or your employer is a participant in the Microsoft Partner Program or the MSDN, you are not eligible for this offer.

My take on this offer:-

• The website is getting slammed right now, so be very patient and you will get it.
• A thing to remember the market value of both these products are north of $600. So if you get both these S/Ws Microsoft will send you a 1099 showing that they have made a payment to you for more than $600. So if I were you I would do both the offers separately, one for your spouse and the other for yourself. This way the value will be less than $600 and you will not get a 1099 from Microsoft and you don't have to show this as an earnings in your tax filings.
• One's patience will be severely tested in your endevor to register and subsequently watch the videos. The best time to do it is late in the night. For me I need both these S/W badly and I am not willing to spend close to $800 in the retail market to buy this.

• Also this offer is open to US and canadian residents only so your relatives outside this country cannot do it

Best of Luck