I don't see how this is a trick, and Paul Thurrott just likes dramatizing this... the fact is, this 'feature' has been around since at least win98 days, and it takes into account that you have already paid for a previous version licence. I.e. We should thank M$ for giving us some credit for our previous purchase (hence company support).

Granted you have to do a full-clean install, and keep your previous purchased CD handy and safe!, then you should have no problems.

if anything it's probably better these days, as i havent needed to reinstall vista in 3 years.... unlike XP which was almost every 6months (in the early years - it has been around for nearly 10!!)... I'm sure W7 will keep the tradition and be a sweet operating system for many years!

on the other hand, if you're getting a new pc (OEM version), or installing over linux/other o/s then yes you should buy the FULL package, but then get the upgrade for Windows 8