The end is near for Windows XP

[cparker]

We are a reseller and we're being told that as of April this year, OEMs won't be allowed to ship machines with XP pre-installed. When you get a machine with Vista Business you have downgrade rights to install XP Pro (we also handle MS licensing for almost all of the state universities in NY). You can currently BUY a machine with Vista Business license and XP installed, but that's a "convenience" from the manufacturers. As long as you have that Vista Business license you have downgrade rights.

I switched to linux at home in 2005. A bit of a learning curve? Not nearly as much as I thought. Certainly no more than going from Windows to Mac (and maybe less than that). I have exactly 1 application for which I need XP ... for a piece of medical equipment I have and from which I need to read data weekly. I run XP in a virtual machine on linux and I'm done. "Windows in a window"..... just about where it belongs. As far as linux is concerned it's just another application.

I still use windows at work. we ahve to. So while I am a linux weenie at home I don't consider myself a zealot or a windows basher. You use what works. Because that's what makes sense.

 

[BobMurdoch]

Windows Millennium Edition - Came out after Win98, before XP.

The only good thing about it was that it could still run some old DOS programs well....

Carmageddon was a mainstay in my office LAN for years.....

I still haven't found a game to match the fun quotient on that one....

 

[Lord_Vader]

The best MS box in my house runs server 2003. Works great.

 

[navychop]

"We are a reseller and we're being told that as of April this year, OEMs won't be allowed to ship machines with XP pre-installed. When you get a machine with Vista Business you have downgrade rights to install XP Pro"

Dell still sells XP Pro machines. I know, I just bought one. No Vista on it at all.

 

[Poke]

Yeah Vista been stable for me and for most my users so far..

 

[cparker]

"We are a reseller and we're being told that as of April this year, OEMs won't be allowed to ship machines with XP pre-installed. When you get a machine with Vista Business you have downgrade rights to install XP Pro"

Dell still sells XP Pro machines. I know, I just bought one. No Vista on it at all.

yeah I kinda screwed that up... we were told IN April .... yes Dell still sells machines with XP Pro. And I think they've got another month to go. Toshiba sells machines with Vista Business installed but also SHIPS the XP media and I believe THAT will continue to be allowed. Dell is also currently offering on some platforms "Windows Vista Business downgrade to Windows XP Pro" installed.... which basically means you're getting the Vista Business license but they are installing XP for you.... doing a "downgrade" for you.

 

[Frank Jr.]

Service pack 3 will be around a lot longer than most folks believe. MS will continue their support. However Vista will be and is forced upon us. From my limited experience Vista is fast but a resource hog. That will change in the future I suspect.

 

[charper1]

Service pack 3 will be around a lot longer than most folks believe. MS will continue their support. However Vista will be and is forced upon us. From my limited experience Vista is fast but a resource hog. That will change in the future I suspect.

You think longer than the planned 2010 end?

 

[netguy63]

Microsoft knows Stuck on Stupid really well.

 

[BobMurdoch]

Meanwhile, those brutal Apple ads keep hammering home the headaches to make sure that Joe Six Pack knows about them too.....

Meanwhile, due to the stories, I've avoided it like the plague. My son is going to be getting a new laptop after he graduates 8th grade in a few weeks. Now I'll get to see first hand what all the fuss is about......

 

[Tyralak]

Meanwhile, those brutal Apple ads keep hammering home the headaches to make sure that Joe Six Pack knows about them too.....

Meanwhile, due to the stories, I've avoided it like the plague. My son is going to be getting a new laptop after he graduates 8th grade in a few weeks. Now I'll get to see first hand what all the fuss is about......

Kinda makes me glad after 15 years of exclusively using PCs, I've made the switch to Mac. It really is a breath of fresh air.