No it's not Microsoft that contacted me via email but houseparty.com. But the idea sounded enticing since I would receive a special signature edition of Windows 7 Ultimate.
So I started calling friend to see if they would come and join the party at my house. After a few calls I reached my minimum requirement of 10 people. House Party participants (not everyone who applies gets accepted) would hold their Windows 7 launch parties between the October 22nd and October 29th.
Next step was to sign up and see if I was accepted. This is where houseparty.com gets into the act and in my opinion wants not only too much personal information but also if you read the license agreement makes a Microsoft's EULA look simple compared to the house party terms which is a long long whole lot of reading and confusion as to exactly who owns what. I didn't even reach the bottom of the agreement before I decided this was no house party I wanted to hold, free copy of Windows 7 or not.