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How to get Windows XP on a new Computer July 2008
After seven years of service, Microsoft has ended the sale of Windows XP to retailers and PC manufacturers. It's fair to say that a number of PC users aren't looking forward to what Microsoft is forcing them to do: upgrade to Windows Vista. This means you'll no longer be able to purchase Windows XP or obtain support for it, right? Well, no. Not if you follow our guide to extending the life of Windows XP. Even though June 30th marked the end of the line for major retailers and major manufacturers to sale Windows XP does not mean that you won’t be able to find any Windows XP machines on July 1st. First, retailers and PC makers can still sell the Windows XP software, and Windows XP PCs, after that date, as long as they purchased the products before June 30. If a retailer stocked up on copies of XP before June 30, it can sell XP for as long as those supplies hold out. The same holds true for PC manufacturers. An even bigger loophole--something called downgrade rights--will allow people to get Windows XP on new PCs, even after computer makers' stock of Windows XP licenses runs out. An OEM such as Dell can sell you a PC that starts out with Vista Business or Vista Ultimate on it, and then downgrade the operating system to Windows XP Professional before shipping the machine out to you. In the box, you will receive discs for Vista, XP, Vista drivers, and XP drivers. That way, if you decide you'd prefer Vista, you can use the installation disc and drivers to upgrade to that OS. Dell won't offer the choice indefinitely, though--only through January 31, 2009. HP also offers a downgrade option on its business desktops, notebooks, and workstations, and will continue to do so until at least July 30, 2009. As with Dell PCs, when someone buys a system, it will have XP Pro installed, and will come with discs for both XP and Vista. In our years of working with and around Microsoft operating systems, no transition has created as much public contention as what we are seeing with Windows Vista. The closest thing that can equal to it is the release of Windows ME, but the difference was that users weren’t forced to migrate to it. Most users went from Windows 98 Second Edition to Windows 2000 or XP and skipped right over the “Millennium Edition” because of the problems that were associated with it. The reality of Windows Vista is that it is a more stable and more secure operating system than Windows XP, but it looks and works differently and many are having a visceral response to the interface when they attempt to use it. Also, many people have considered it “buggy” due to the fact that older software and hardware are not compatible with it. The biggest problem with Windows Vista is that change is always hard, especially when someone else is dictating to you when you must change. This current situation clearly shows that Microsoft failed to “build a better mouse trap” when creating the Windows Vista operating system.
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