It adds six months by extending media shipments to OEMs through July 2009
October 3, 2008 (Computerworld) Microsoft has extended the availability of Windows XP on new PCs by six months, the company confirmed today.
Computer makers that "downgrade" machines from Windows Vista Business or Vista Ultimate to Windows XP Professional will be able to obtain media for the latter through the end of July 2009, a Microsoft spokeswoman said Friday.
The new date is a change in policy. Previously, Microsoft had planned to halt XP Professional media shipments to major computer makers after Jan. 31, 2009.
"As more customers make the move to Windows Vista, we want to make sure that they are making that transition with confidence and that it is as smooth as possible. Providing downgrade media for a few more months is part of that commitment," the spokeswoman said in an e-mail.
The Jan. 31 date is also the last day when smaller companies, dubbed "system builders," will be allowed to purchase Windows XP licenses to install on the machines they assemble. The system-builder deadline has not changed, the spokeswoman added. It remains Jan. 31.
To
confuse matters, some PC makers have long claimed that they would
provide XP downgrades on new computers past the Jan. 31 deadline. Last
June, for example, Hewlett-Packard Co.
talked of a July 2009 cutoff. "HP...will continue to offer this option
on its business systems through at least July 30, 2009," a company
spokesman said almost four months ago
( More... )
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