GWX

[Salmon Trout]

I have not found other sources to confirm what I said in my previous post about Windows Vista users, so I'm skeptical of what that article seems to be saying about Windows Vista.  It might simply not be correct. 

It says: "Upgrading to Windows 10 will require Windows Vista users to do what’s called a fresh install." If by "upgrade" you mean an in-place install of the new OS that leaves your files and programs intact, then Vista users can't do this, free or paid-for.

Users running Windows 7 Service Pack 1 or Windows 8.1 S14 (that's the “Windows 8.1 Update” from last April), will be be able to get Windows 10 straight from the Control Panel's Windows Update utility. They won't have to make an installation disk, and their files and programs will remain intact. Cost: zero

Users running an older version of Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1 can also keep their files and programsi but will have to download an ISO and create an installation disk. Still free.

Users running Windows Vista and Windows XP (with compatible hardware) will have to pay for an upgrade to Windows 10, and this will require a clean install that erases all programs and files.

[camerongray]

Doesn't that just state that Vista users must do a clean install of 10?  This is the same as with any older version of Windows such XP.  The fact that a machine is currently running Vista is irrelevant, it would be the exact same process as if it was running an even older version of Windows or nothing at all, you are doing a clean install, not an "upgrade" install.

[Salmon Trout]

The fact that a machine is currently running Vista is irrelevant, it would be the exact same process as if it was running an even older version of Windows or nothing at all, you are doing a clean install, not an "upgrade" install.

Precisely. Usually in Windows marketing-speak, an "upgrade" install involves (1) a qualifying previous product currently installed (2) keeping your files and all compatible applications. However in wider usage "upgrade" can just mean "bring up to date" or even "replace with something newer or better", e.g. in this sense a person could say "I've upgraded my OS from Vista to Windows 10" or  "I've upgraded my car from a Volkswagen to a Mercedes" or "I've upgraded my air ticket to Business class".