XP on new PCs

[Guest]

How much longer do you think we will be able to buy desktops with XP Pro
already installed on them? We love using XP Pro in our facility, but not
sure when we will have to start buying PCs with Vista.

 

[Frankster]

Depends on where you buy them, what brand you buy, and what kind of licenses
you buy.

I would expect you to be able to get XP Pro if:

1) You buy (or have purchased) Volume licenses. These can be "downgraded"
from Vista to XP if you so choose. Ask your Volume license reseller.

2) You purchase the "business" class of hardware from various vendors (Dell
Optiplex Desktop or Latitude Laptop series for instance). They usually
continue to "grandfather" older OS versions for their business machine
customers for some time. But not for their consumer customers (Dell
Dimension or Inspiron, for instance).

3) You do it yourself after delivery (assuming you have Retail full versions
of XP Pro available for re-install).

-Frank

 

[Guest]

This will be a function of the marketplace. As long as there's a demand for
XP systems, they'll be sold. As Vista matures (and the software for it is
refined) this will cause the demand for XP to drop - so it'll become more and
more difficult to find systems with XP installed.

- John

 

[Frankster]

Disagree. This is a function of the Microsoft Licensing reguirements and OEM
vendor agreements. Not the marketplace.

-Frank

 

[Rock]

How much longer do you think we will be able to buy desktops with XP Pro
already installed on them? We love using XP Pro in our facility, but not
sure when we will have to start buying PCs with Vista.

Best to get a test system and start testing Vista, so you know what's what
when the time to migrate comes. There are also custom builders who will
configure systems as you want it.