Windows OS gets another reprieve

Microsoft Corp. has thrown another lifeline to Windows XP users, extending by six months its cutoff date for stopping shipments of the seven-year-old operating system to PC vendors.

Hardware makers that offer "downgrades" from Windows Vista support or Vista Ultimate will now be able to get copies of XP Professional through the end of next July, Microsoft said. Previously, it had planned to halt XP shipments Jan. 31.

Microsoft stopped retail sales and regular licensing of XP on June 30. But it maintained the downgrade option, which lets PC vendors install XP Professional and give users copies of Vista for possible future use.

XP may be available long past next July if vendors stockpile it. "Downgrade rights do not expire," a Microsoft spokeswoman said.

source: http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=327935