Vista who?

Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) scapegoat operating system, which never caught on with corporate IT managers -- or Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), for that matter -- is officially on its way out. The $49 preorder edition of Windows 7 Home Premium is the top-selling computers and accessories product in the "electronics" aisle at Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN).

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) also said that advance orders have come in at a faster clip than earlier such preorder programs, CNET's Ina Fried reported.

Color me unsurprised. Windows 7 has earned strong reviews for being the true successor to Windows XP. Vista should have claimed that throne, but didn't -- at least, not so far as perception was concerned.

Discounting may also be playing a role. Home Premium is being sold for less than half its suggested $119 retail price. The Professional edition, at $99, is selling for half-off.

Seeing Windows 7 produce huge sales like this has to put a smile on Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's face. And it should: Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has cleverly skewered Vista for what seems like years, often to great effect. Until recently, the Mac had gobbled market share like no other time in its history.

But now there's Windows 7 to contend with, and as Apple Matters editor-in-chief Hadley Stern wrote in anticipation of Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference, "picking on Windows 7 will be nitpicking at best, stupidity at worst."

Even more so with sales numbers like those.

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