Windows XP down to the wire
If a home user wants a new system with Windows XP, time is short unless you are buying one of the small ultra-mobile machines or from a custom builder. You have until June 30 if you want to buy from one of the major OEMs, except for Dell. Dell has a June 18 cutoff. InfoWorld reports:
Three of the top four PC sellers worldwide plan to sell systems with Windows XP right up to the Microsoft-mandated deadline of June 30.
Of the four, only Dell plans to call it quits before the last day of this month.
Microsoft has set June 30 as the final day of Windows XP availability to retailers and major computer makers, although the company recently also said that the date won’t mark a sudden disappearance of the old operating system.
“The exact cut-off day for selling Windows XP is determined by OEMs and retailers, who can keep selling standalone versions as well as PCs with Windows XP preloaded by OEMs distributed prior to June 30, 2008, as long as their supplies last [emphasis in original],” a Microsoft spokeswoman said two weeks ago in an e-mail.
Hewlett-Packard, Acer, and Lenovo — ranked nos. one, three and four, respectively, in global PC sales in the first quarter by both Gartner and IDC — will continue to sell XP-powered machines until June 30, the companies said this week in response to questions from Computerworld . Dell, which is the world’s number two OEM, is sticking to June 18 as the last day that customers can order computers with XP pre-installed.
You have more time if you buy from a local shop that builds PC systems. These so-called “white box” firms have until next January to keep getting XP licenses.
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