Windows XP Extended Again?

Meant to be ditched last year and given a Netbook lease of life, XP as been given another reprieve and will now seemingly outlive its replacement 'Vista'.

Quote :

There are a few catches though: Microsoft is still (supposedly) ending mainstream support on April 14, and it's gonna cost you to downgrade (not as much as Lenovo charges, presumably).

It's possible that HP isn't the only one who's getting the extended rights to ship XP. But I have the feeling that maybe this, along with HP's computers being featured as the choice hardware in Microsoft's successful "Macs are expensive" ads are Microsoft's way of paying HP back for screwing it over in the "Vista Capable" debacle.

http://i.gizmodo.com/5200524/windows-xps-got-survival-skills-will-ship-through-2010

Customers will be able to downgrade from Windows 7 to Windows XP.

Quote :

Windows XP, first released in October 2001, has been a sales hit for years, strengthening Microsoft's ownership of the OS market. When Windows Vista came along, it faced a tough task building upon Windows XP's success. Based on critical review and public reception, it fell short of matching this success.

Microsoft had planned to retire Windows XP in June 2008, after having already extended its lifespan longer than intended due to customers picking XP over Vista. However, June came and went and only saw a partial retirement of XP. Microsoft still had loopholes retaining support and sales for small systems like netbooks. It also continued to support an option that allowed customers to purchase Windows Vista and downgrade to Windows XP.

More here...http://www.dailytech.com/Windows+7+Customers+Can+Still+Downgrade+to+Windows+XP/article14784.htm