Local Windows pricing has been revealed this mornign, and it’s ugly.

Microsoft New Zealand had already flagged that Windows 7 would be sold for around the same price as its predecessor Vista.

Not for us the aggressive pre-order discounting that saw consumers in the US, much of Europe and Japan offered Windows 7 at a discount of up to 50% over equivalent versions of Vista (a tactic that sent Windows 7 to the top of Amazon.com’s software sales chart).

In the US, Canada, Japan, the UK, France and Germany, customers are pre-ordering at up to 50% off, scoring Windows 7 Home Premium for as little as $NZ73.

Aussies, by contrast, have been offered pricing that sticks closely to that of the current version of Windows, Vista.

Now, NBR has got the first strong indication of local pricing for Microsoft’s new OS, due October 22, and the news isn’t good.

Taking another baby-step toward the truth, Microsoft has conceded its new OS will arrive on shelves “before Christmas”, at “sometime in the last three months of this year.” Just say it: October 23!

Even before Acer’s UK boss blabbed Windows 7’s ship date - October 23 - it was one of the worst kept secrets in the industry.

Forget the rumours: the official word from Microsoft, announced today, is that the release candidate version of Windows 7 will go to developers April 30, and be available for general public download May 5.

Although arguably shaping up to be the most important release in Microsoft's history, the announcement was delivered in a droll commentary on the official Windows 7 blog this afternoon.