it is available for australian tafe and uni now for 50$ AUD http://www.microsoft.com/australia/windows/offers/windows-7-student-upgrade.aspx windows 7 should be way better than vista.
On my Acer 4810 Timeline Windows Vista requires 40 minute to install Windows 7 requires 45 minute to install But overall, Windows 7 does have some improvement over Vista
I don't know about other offers, but the US offer is Home Edition.. and you can choose Professional if you would like for the same price.