Microsoft Extends XP Life Again, This Time for PC Builders

Windows XP has risen from the grave so many times, it now has more in common with Friday the 13th’s Jason Voorhees than it does with other PC operating systems. Though its successor–Windows Vista–has been on the market for over two years and yet another Windows version, Windows 7, will ship in just months, Microsoft has again extended the time frame for consumers who wish to continue using the seven-year-old XP. This time around, the company is allowing custom PC builders–alternatively called “system builders” and “white box PC makers”–to continue ordering XP for their PCs through May 30, 2009. Read the full story on WindowsITPro.Com found via Bink.Nu

Vista To XP Upgrade Triples In Price, Now $150 USD

“Dell has tripled the charge to upgrade Vista PCs to XP. Under current licensing ‘downgrade’ agreements, system builders can install XP Pro instead of Vista Business or Vista Ultimate; however, Dell has opted for a surcharge of $150 over the price of Vista for the older but more popular XP Professional operating system. Rob Enderle says the downgrade fees could potentially be disastrous for Microsoft: ‘The fix for this should be to focus like lasers on demand generation for Vista but instead Microsoft is focusing aggressively on financial penalties,” says Enderle. ‘Forcing customers to go someplace they don’t want to go by raising prices is a Christmas present for Apple and those that are positioning Linux on the desktop.’” Read the full story on PCWorld.Com Found via SlashDot.Org