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 June 30, 2008. To meet Microsoft's June 30 last-day-to-ship OEM Windows XP deadline, we are able to offer the opportunity to purchase a Dell desktop with an OEM Windows XP license until June 26 at 5:59 AM CT.After June 26 you have the option to purchase Windows Vista Business or Windows Vista Ultimate with a downgrade service to Windows XP Professional.
This option will be available on XPS 630, 720 H2C, and M1730 systems. After June 26th, Windows XP will no longer be offered on currently available Inspiron laptops and desktops.
After that, you'll have to go for the XP downgrade option, which involves paying for both XP and Vista, with Dell installing XP for you and tossing Vista in the box, so you can upgrade when you're ready (i.e., never).
Are you ready for some transitioning?
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 the copy of Vista you've already paid for into the box, so you can install it when you're ready to take the big plunge. This'll add between $50 and $100 to your purchase price, depending on which version of noninstalled Vista you get.
Dell says it's so you can "transition when you're ready," explaining the plan like this:
Microsoft is making the full line of Windows Vista the primary operating system for new PCs. However, customers who are buying a new PC have an opportunity from Dell to buy a Dell PC with Windows XP Professional preinstalled and receive a Windows Vista installation disc. This gives customers the option of running XP now and transitioning to Vista when they're ready.Naturally, there are only a handful of systems that qualify for this plan, and there are going to be exceptions (Netbook-style laptops, individual system builders, etc.) to the new no-XP rule, so it's still a little early to count everyone's favorite (Microsoft) OS out yet.
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
Apple's ads run in the most creative places.
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
Ouch.
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.
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