downgrade

Windows XP gets another lifeline

Bowing to continued demand, Microsoft has again extended the life of Windows XP.

Although the largest PC makers can't sell XP anymore (except for ultra-low-cost machines), they can sell Vista Ultimate and Vista Business machines with XP discs in the box, or even Vista machines that are "factory downgraded" to Windows XP.

That option was supposed to go away early next year, as Microsoft was going to stop supplying Windows XP media after January 31. However, the company now says it will offer the discs through July 31, giving the option a six-month extension. (Update: PC makers … Read more

Dell brings XP back for an encore

Just when you thought it was the end of the line for Windows XP (well, except for netbooks, individual system builders, etc.), mega PC-maker Dell has granted the operating system a reprieve, moving back the deadline ("extended by popular demand") for ordering one of a handful of XP systems until Thursday, June 26. Originally, Dell said the last day to order a system with an OEM copy of XP preinstalled was going to be June 18 but now says:

Per the Microsoft Windows Life-Cycle policy, Direct OEM and Retail License Availability for Windows XP will End-Of-Life (EOL) on … Read more

Dell's XP 'downgrade' plan--an extra 50 bucks, please

If you missed that June 18 deadline to order your Dell laptop or desktop with Windows XP, you're not totally out of luck. We're actually totally acclimated to Windows Vista by now, but if you're not ready to make the leap yet, we finally have some details on the XP downgrade plans being offered by Dell.

Even though Dell can't sell you a computer with just an OEM copy of XP anymore, they'll be more than happy to sell you a Vista PC, but install a copy of XP on it instead. Then they toss … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 712: Windows XP--a 'pre-downgrade' upgrade

Dell, HP, and Lenovo will offer Windows XP as a "pre-downgrade," as a convoluted way to get you out of having to buy Windows Vista. Hear that, Microsoft? The bell tolls for you. Speaking of "For Whom the Bell Tolls," Metallica is considering all the "Internet options" for its upcoming album (that includes hoping people on the Internet will buy it).

--Molly

Listen now: Download today's podcast Episode 712

GTA IV will release and Guiness World Records is watching http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=187846

Grand Theft Auto receives acclaim http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7370590.stm… Read more

PC makers find ways to extend XP's life

Facing a June 30 deadline to stop selling PCs with Windows XP, the world's largest computer makers are getting creative.

Taking advantage of the "downgrade rights" offered as part of the Windows Vista license agreement, Hewlett-Packard and Dell both plan to offer machines loaded with XP well beyond June.

Technically, the computers will be Vista Business or Vista Ultimate machines that have been factory downgraded to XP at the customer's request. In practice, they are more like XP machines that come with an already paid-for upgrade to Vista when and if the customer chooses to do … Read more

Microsoft doesn't recommend creating Vista 'Lite'

Frustrated with Vista's sluggishness, some people have been turning to a utility called vLite, which out components of the operating system deemed unessential.

Although the move does offer frustrated Vista users an option other than going back to XP or switching to a Mac, Microsoft said Wednesday that it doesn't endorse such changes to Vista's setup.

"Microsoft does not recommend using any tool to strip out applications from Windows Vista prior to installing it on your system, as it may affect your ability to download future Windows updates and service packs, and may cause your system … Read more

Author sounds off on Vista's annoyances

After beta testing Windows 95, David Karp was impressed with how much better the operating system was than Windows 3.1. Still, he had a gripe or two.

To share his experiences, Karp started a Web site called "Windows 95 Annoyances" where he posted some of the pet peeves, as well as some workarounds.

What began as a hobby to make his work computer better, eventually became his work. Karp has written nearly a dozen books chronicling the annoyances of each Windows release.

Needless to say, Vista has given Karp another book's worth of material--664 pages worth, … Read more

Goldman Sachs cuts estimates on proprietary app makers, Red Hat

Remember the good ol' days of enterprise software when a vendor could foist a multimillion-dollar software package on an IT buyer and get away with also charging downstream fees for support and maintenance?

In a sign that this bleak time for IT buyers is at an end (and a bleak period is ahead for proprietary software vendors), Goldman Sachs this week cut its 2008 estimates on a wide range of software companies, citing a softening in capital expenditures for the near term. According to a Barron's blog:

Goldman cut 2008 estimates on many software stocks, focusing on enterprise exposure, pure-plays that could be harmed as customers seeks to purchase good enough substitutes from larger vendors, and vendors who sell big ticket items that could be delayed in a slower spending environment. The firm cut estimates by 1 percent on average...… Read more

6 upgrades that are downgrades

I like new tech. That's one of the reasons I do this job. But there are times when newest is not bestest, when in fact we're better off using old products.

It shouldn't be like this. Technology and engineers' capabilities are advancing so fast right now that everything that is good about a current product can, in theory, easily be built into its successors. But sometimes this doesn't happen. Here are a few choice examples of upgrades that are downgrades, and why you're better off with the older tech:

Vista

The obvious number one product for this list. Vista is the new shiny operating system Microsoft released to replace Windows XP. Except it hasn't, because it's a poor upgrade. It's slower, bigger, and buggier. Many people, not just those in the opportunistic Apple ads (and Apple has its own problems), would rather get a new computer with the old XP operating system.

Why it happened: Books will be written about Vista's failures, which, in fairness, probably have as much to do with Microsoft's need to support a vast universe of third-party hardware and software products as with flaws in Microsoft's marketing and software development strategy.

Quicken

Intuit apparently believes that new users won't buy a personal accounting product if it's last year's model, and it also wants to upgrade its current users each year. So it "sunsets" older versions after three years: it turns off online access to bank updates and eliminates support. Sadly, some older versions of Quicken are faster and more stable than the new versions. But if you're a Quicken user, you can't stick with "classic" versions without giving up useful online features.

Why it continues to happen: Intuit has locked itself into a yearly upgrade cycle on a product that clearly takes more than a year to update.

Linksys WRT54G

The old WRT54G wireless router was a reliable and economical product, but a few years ago Linksys released a version 5 of the product that they knew was buggier. Knowledgeable users were able to get the older version by shopping online for the special "WRT54GL" router, which was really the previous version. It cost a few extra bucks, but it was a far better value.

Why it happened: Cost cutting, pure and simple. I covered this in 2006.

… Read more