“InfoWorld confirms that Dell will sell and support Windows XP to consumers beyond the June 30 Microsoft sales cutoff date that Microsoft reaffirmed today, after comments from CEO Steve Ballmer yesterday seemingly indicated it might reconsider that decision,” Ephraim Schwartz reports for InfoWorld.
“Dell will take advantage of a licensing option in Vista Business and Vista Ultimate that lets PC makers provide XP under the Vista license, which Microsoft calls a ‘downgrade’ license. (Enterprises with site licenses have these same rights with any version of Vista.) In essence, the user is buying a Vista license that it can apply to XP, and Microsoft can still claim a Vista sale,” Schwartz reports.
“The computers available with the XP option will include the Windows Vista installation DVD in the box so users can later install Vista over XP under the same license if they wish,” Schwartz reports.
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “MacVicta” for the heads up.]
So, Dell sells with PCs with Windows XP, throws the unwanted Vista DVD in the box, and Microsoft pretends they’re Vista sales? Now that’s desperation. And, another thing: the ancient Windows XP sucks, too. That it’s the best Dell and all of the other PC box assemblers can offer is just pitiful. Get a Mac.
Using XP after you have used OS X for while feels very archaic.
A FALSEHOOD IS A FALSEHOOD IS ALWAYS A FALSEHOOD… it’s a lot like cheating!
It’s not right and it will never be right!
Shame om Microsolf and may they be damed to the end of time!
And they expect people to buy there crap!
What ever happen to moral and ethical behavior?
Wow indeed, two shitty OSes to go with the shittier hardware Dull has to offer.
Wunderbar!
I just had to buy a new Dull crapbox for my business (yes, I know, I know but my billing, CRM, and POS vendor only supports Windoze, although I am working on them)….
It is interesting to note that Dull is so desperate they gave me over 50% off (which is actually still too much to pay for crap) but the config ONLY offered XP…. Vista was not even an ‘upgrade’ option!
MW: ‘total’ as in Dull make ‘total’ crap!
that is pretty sad that microsucks has to count XP as Vista sales
@Afib is a loser . . .
I concur completely with your “nom de net” AND your posted sentiments! Well said.
Expect MS to eventually bundle XP or Vista with every POS they sell, and to count those as Windows “sales”.
It’s cool. All of those sheep buying 7 year old tech that was still years older (technologically) than the equivalent OS X of the time.
So everyone else (especially us Mac users) are running OSs that are years ahead of the Windows Lemmings.
And they call us fanbois!!!
I think it is more fanatical to run an OS that is technologically around 10 years old when pretty much every other choice of OS is current and up to date.
Mossman,
When I bought my imac late last year I had the mac downgraded to Tiger from Leopard (there were a few problems at the time with Leopard and I wanted a totally stable OS for work purposes). It was still classified as a Leopard sale because they included the Leopard install disc as part of the sale. It’s quite normal in the industry for this to happen. The difference is that when I bought the iMac it was a user requested sale variation and not a distributor requesting this as an option.
@therepguy,
In any list of oxymorons, my very favorite is “business ethics”.
MDN word “have”, as in “Microsoft doesn’t have any business ethics.”
This sounds like the part in the movie Five Easy Pieces where Nicholson is trying to order toast..”order a chicken sandwich, hold the mayo and the chicken, bring the toast and charge me for the sandwich”