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XP Deathwatch, T Minus 2 Weeks
CWmike writes "June 30 is Microsoft's deadline for mainstream computer makers to stop selling new PCs with the old operating system, and the date that it will stop shipping boxed copies to retailers. That's just two weeks away. Computerworld offers a FAQ about XP's approaching retirement after Microsoft's most recent relaxation of the retirement rules, with some details about which machines big-brand computer makers will be selling with XP after June 30. First FAQ: Any sign that Microsoft will reprieve Windows XP's retirement? Sort of."
2014: http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/?p1=3223
Dell has already stated that they will continue to install XP if the customer requests it.
Support for Windows XP SP2 ends on 07-13-2010. http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifean31
The "Extended Support" phase is scheduled to end on 04-08-2014 for Windows XP SP3. http://news.softpedia.com/news/Windows-XP-SP3-Brings-the-Death-of-SP2-July-13-2010-85986.shtml
Yes, I too agree it must be *meant to be* confusing.... It is just the Microsoft Way. I think there are several amortization table calculations involved in the selection of the dates too... http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifepolicy
There's an explicit exception for the mini-notebook market, for the very reason that Microsoft is afraid that Linux will sweep it.
Not a typewriter
bullshit, my employer (and I) will support any version of GNU/Linux from the last 18 years for our clients in Chicagoland area, for a price.
iirc XP home is crippled in a number of ways. The ones that spring to mind are.
* it can't join a domain
* the file permissions and file sharing permissions sytems are crippled
* I don't think it can be a remote desktop server (but i'm pretty sure it can be a remote desktop client)
I don't see any of theese as showstoppers for an ultraportable.
BTW you will still be able to get XP pro though vista buisness or ultimate downgrade rights and the big brand OEMs are now allowed to supply downgrade media and even ship systems pre-downgraded.
note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
To some extent, the copy speed improvements in SP1 are simply Vista telling you the copy is done before it is actually finished on disk:
http://blogs.technet.com/markrussinovich/archive/2008/02/04/2826167.aspx
Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
> Windows doesn't have a bullet-proof install method. It's not bad
Yes, it is bad. It's a royal pain, as everyone who supports even a handful of Windows systems knows.
What's really bad, though, is the pain of installing all your application software, one stupid package at a time, after the OS is up and running. If your users need anything much beyond Solitaire and WordPad, it can take an entire shift, sometimes more, just to bring a single workstation up to a usable state. And you can't just set it going and walk away. You have to hold its hand the whole time, because of all the stupid dialog boxes.
Honestly, even something like dselect would be a significant improvement.
Cut that out, or I will ship you to Norilsk in a box.