Ads by TechWords

See your link here
Receive the latest technology news and information.
Computerworld Daily News (First Look and Wrap-Up)
Computerworld Blogs Newsletter
The Weekly Top 10
Cloud Computing
View all newsletters




Privacy Policy
 

Microsoft turnabout on XP follows user demands

And if customers and partners continue to press, it will capitulate again, says analyst

June 3, 2008 12:00 PM ET

Active Comments
Anonymous says: I view this long series of Vista/XP turn-turn-turnabouts as Microsoft operating in a highly self-destructive mode. Tentatively squeezing off rounds...
Larry says: that MacroSlug listened to customers. I'm tired of bloated buggy new systems replacing buggy, bloated older systems that at least...


Computerworld - Microsoft Corp.'s decision today to allow low-cost desktop makers to install Windows XP Home on their hardware until June 2010 reverses a move it rejected just two months ago.

At the Computex trade show that opened today in Taipei, the company said it would allow computer manufacturers to pre-install Windows XP Home on what it called "net-tops" -- which it defined only as "low-cost desktops" -- through June 30, 2010.

Today's decision follows an early-April change in XP Home availability, when Microsoft postponed the retirement of the seven-year-old operating system by telling OEMs they could slap it on small and lightweight notebooks -- dubbed ULCPCs, for ultra-low-cost PCs -- until the end of June 2010.

Have your say: Can people power ultimately save Windows XP?

At the time of that announcement, however, Microsoft was adamant that it wouldn't consider making the same deal on low-cost desktops. In an interview with Computerworld, Kevin Kutz, Windows client director at Microsoft, said that low-cost desktops would not be eligible for the extension.

Today, a Microsoft spokeswoman explained the 180-degree turn as originating with customers and hardware partners.

"One thing Microsoft has heard loud and clear, from both customers and partners, is the desire for Windows on this new class of devices," the spokeswoman said in an e-mail. "It is important to Microsoft that they meet the needs of their partners and customers, and this is why the Windows XP Home offering is being extended to include net top devices."

That explanation seems to fit the requirements spelled out by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer in late April when he was asked if the company would push back the general retirement of XP from its current date of June 30, 2008. Speaking to reporters in Belgium, Ballmer said, "If customer feedback varies, we can always wake up smarter." Later, however, Microsoft said that Ballmer's comments did not indicate a shift in strategy.

One analyst today said that Microsoft's explanation made sense. "Customers and OEMS told them they needed to do this," said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at JupiterResearch LLC and a Computerworld columnist.

Related Blog:

Stephen J. Vaughan-Nichols: XP lives! Sort of.

Congratulations Linux. Yesterday was the day you made Microsoft blink. [read more]

But Gartenberg also said that it was more than just feedback that forced Microsoft to make the move. "For certain classes of hardware, Windows XP is actually the best fit," he said. The lower-cost components required by low-cost notebooks and low-cost desktops -- primarily their underpowered processors -- preclude using Microsoft's newer operating system, Windows Vista. "These lower-powered processors are not suitable for Vista, not now, not ever," Gartenberg argued.

Microsoft has not defined either category -- low-c



Jump to comments

Microsoft

Additional Resources

Xerox
By using solid ink technology only from Xerox, you could save up to 65% by printing color for the cost of black and white. Enter for a chance to WIN a PhaserTM 8860 network color printer!
Microsoft
Save time and mitigate security risk. Deploy it now.
Sybase
In this white paper, IDC analyzes the role of next-generation mobile enterprise platforms as organizations seek a more strategic deployment of mobile solutions.

Learn the important issues you must consider before starting your next mobility initiative. Get your mobility white paper from IDC now, compliments of Sybase.

What People Are Saying

White Papers & Webcasts

IDC Webcast: Linux Adoption in a Global Recession
Access this webcast, compliments of Novell and HP, for a limited time only!

Network Operating System Evolution
Computerworld and Juniper invite you to download this white paper!  

How Operating Systems Create Network Efficiency
Computerworld and Juniper invite you to download the full report.  

Southern Company
Download Now