Ballmer hints at extension for XP
Mon May 12, 2008 6:55PM EDT
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With concern over the end of the road for Windows XP reaches feverish levels, Microsoft appears to be altering yet again its timeline for killing off the popular operating system, which would ultimately force people into upgrading to Vista.
The latest news comes from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, reacting to criticism at a recent news conference, who said "XP will hit an end-of-life. We have announced one. If customer feedback varies, we can always wake up smarter, but right now, we have a plan for end-of-life for new XP shipments."
As of now the June 30 deadline stands, but PC makers may be encouraging Microsoft to get "smarter" by taking the rare step of openly combating Microsoft's direction that vendors move from XP to Vista. HP, Dell, and Lenovo have all said they will downgrade operating systems on new machines from Vista to XP at customer request and will continue to do so until 2009 (specific ending dates vary).
Note that no one's breaking the law here. Legally, anyone with a volume license or an OEM license for Vista can downgrade to XP without having to pay extra for the OS. The only exception is for those who purchased "full packaged product (FPP)" editions, which do not include downgrade rights, though Windows Vista Professional and Ultimate editions do. Whether XP drivers are available is another issue.
If asked, many companies will include an XP disc with your order, but Dell is installing XP at the factory as well. Cnet also offers some additional helpful advice on obtaining XP if you're buying a Vista machine.
My best advice is that if you're buying a new machine and want XP, get on the phone instead of using the company's website to configure the product. Salespeople can make options available, like downgrades, that you won't get online.
Of course, all of this could be moot in the next month or so if Microsoft bows to pressure from users to continue to sell XP. Stay tuned to see if Microsoft has a change of heart before the end of June.
Comments on Ballmer hints at extension for XP
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2 Posted by rogueist on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:49PM EDT Report Abuse
Lets see what happens. Vista really has tons of headaches. One of them is that SP1 gets into an infinite install loop which never finishes. It installs, reboots, and then asks to install what you just installed once again - over and over and over again. Vista is like a mentally unstable child with an Uzi roaming the neighborhood thinking he is saying "hi" to people by pulling the trigger...
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3 Posted by agustin2489 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:47PM EDT Report Abuse
Funny, the install loop didn't happen to me. I wonder how you stop that.
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4 Posted by bobf4 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:10PM EDT Report Abuse
Alex is right. When XP first came out, people were so loathe to use it, they were downgrading to Windows 98. And, there were discussions back then of trying to get Microsoft to delay 98's EOL. XP is a good OS, but, in my opinion, Vista is way superior. I never had any boot loops when I installed Vista SP1, so I don't know where that one came from. What people fail to realize is that most manufacturers are simply not writing XP drivers for OEM equipment. So, NIC's, sound cards, etc. will simply not work in XP. And, most component manufacturers see writing XP drivers as a waste of time, since XP has an already set EOL. So Microsoft should not cave in to people's demands, and make their June 30 EOL date a set-in-stone date.
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5 Posted by bobf4 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:10PM EDT Report Abuse
Alex is right. When XP first came out, people were so loathe to use it, they were downgrading to Windows 98. And, there were discussions back then of trying to get Microsoft to delay 98's EOL. XP is a good OS, but, in my opinion, Vista is way superior. I never had any boot loops when I installed Vista SP1, so I don't know where that one came from. What people fail to realize is that most manufacturers are simply not writing XP drivers for OEM equipment. So, NIC's, sound cards, etc. will simply not work in XP. And, most component manufacturers see writing XP drivers as a waste of time, since XP has an already set EOL. So Microsoft should not cave in to people's demands, and make their June 30 EOL date a set-in-stone date.
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6 Posted by miller6994 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:20PM EDT Report Abuse
Kids, all of this needless hassle... forget about it and move on. No worries about OEM this or that, no worries concerning XP EOL and a poor product that people are being forced to use. Step outside the box, there is Linux. Exercise your "Freedom of choice" to determine your own Operating System. Do not let someone else dictate what OS you should run or how much you should pay. Choose Linux, the cost is $0.
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7 Posted by cnangano on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:27PM EDT Report Abuse
Being in IT the issue with Vista is the variety of changes that have been made to the standards of where things are located. Being a part of a company where we replace on avg 10+/- machines per month for individuals that are not truly computer literate and travel 80% of the time these changes may be detrimental to business. Also, being a company that manufactures a product and uses specific software to run legacy systems and such a forced change may end up costing big bucks to upgrade systems and softwares and/or possibly being forced to change b/c something is not compatible. It sounds like all the people who are for the change are the average person that sits home on their desktop and does not intricate systems that run multi million dollar companies. Vista is ok for the home, but for business XP stands head and shoulders above the rest.
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8 Posted by ybotherasking on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:55PM EDT Report Abuse
Thank you, cnangano, for confirming what I've been saying for months. Vista might work for most home users but not for most businesses. I work in a large hospital with several thousand computers running 24/7/365. All are equipped with XP and are used for everything from monitoring patients' vital signs, accessing records, positioning lasers in the operating room, reading Xrays, etc. Our IT folks have tested Vista extensively and will NOT upgrade any time soon because of compatibility issues with existing software. (Some of the software has been manufactured after Vista was released and Vista just can't handle it... but XP Pro can.) Just for grins, check with your local doctors, hospitals, police, fire departments, and see how many have switched to Vista.
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9 Posted by richardxrs on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:40PM EDT Report Abuse
It's all about making more money folks. Vista is just another way of taking your money, forcing to buy a new OS and programs. It maybe pretty to look at, but who cares. It's the computer systems performance and savings the public is looking for. It sounds like Micro is in panic mode and the major companies are finally looking at the bottom line, the consumer. Thanks.
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10 Posted by rogueist on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:49PM EDT Report Abuse
Nope not making it up - install Vista SP1 on a Dell XPS that came with Vista on it.
1 Posted by alexgannis on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:50PM EDT Report Abuse
Whatever people just can't ever change I don't see what the big deal about window xp, I remember before window xp came out nobobdy wanted to upgrade then.