“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.
There are only two questions:
Will it be snappy?
Will it blend?
The Wow is continuing. On one hand, it is good Dell is actually listening to people and providing XP. On the other hand…….Wow.
So… the choice is a 7 year old (barely useable) OS or Vista, and people are choosing the 7 year old OS? The “wow” does indeed start now!
It’s two, two, two shitty OSes in one.
But wait, we also have a new, crappier version of Windows coming out soon!
So this basically amounts to Micro$oft being willing to give Vista away to anyone who wants to buy a Dull PC with XP installed, in the hope they might risk installing it later on.
God, I’d like to be the presenter who asks Ballmer that question on TV. It’d be great to try and see him worm his way out of answering that…
Hmmmm maybe Kia sales can be counted as Mercedes sales ! What a dumb move
@MDN
I have Mac at home and Win XP at work, no choice – for now.
Win XP does not suck, it is not as good as Mac OS, but it’s still a very stable OS.
I have had almost no problems with XP over the years, IMHO it’s the first and only decent OS from M$.
My boss told me last week that we will wait for Windows 7 before we upgrade, he thinks it will be better than Vista
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”wink” style=”border:0;” /> ..ohh my ohh my
No doubt in my mind that Xp is better than Vista, but both Operating systems suck compared to OS X and Ubuntu/OpenSuse.
Tiger. I read entry after entry after entry. Finally, someone puts the mother-of-all entires down…. I love it.
So, Tiger sums it up
– Will it be snappy?
– Will it blend?
There is nothing else to frigging discuss.
Why can’t the world encapsulate things so goddamn elegantly as Tiger?
Thanks, buddy
LOL@Tiger.
Will it blend….
How’s this for marketing-speak? Dell will be calling the systems “predowngraded”. Yeah, that’s just what I want to pay for, a brand new DOWNGRADED system. I can’t believe what Windows users will put up with. Just get a Mac already.
Winders Vista. WOW… its sooo baaad!
Our company will be buying a lot of “Vista” licenses then. I’ll tell the IT department to dust off their Downgrade CDs and their Aspirin.
Someone PLEASE tell me this violates some SEC regulation. This smacks of falsifying sales figures to scam shareholders.
@WinHex
Yes I agree with you that Windoze XP is the best OS put out by Microshaft but what makes it suck is that it is an ancient OS with NO modern innovations like Mac OS X Leopard. Microshaft has held back computer technology by at least a decade. Vista is a lemon that both businesses and consumers consider to be the true downgrade! My neighbor just purchased a new laptop running Vista and he already misses XP. I helped him set it up and install drivers for his HP printer. He has 3GB of RAM on it and it still feels NO faster than XP. I told him if he didn’t have 3GB of RAM and only 1, his nice new shiny laptop would have slowed to a crawl under BIG, BLOATED and memory hungry Vista.
My sister in law’s new HP desktop running Vista only has 1GB of RAM and it is very slow. Also CPU usage and memory usage remain very high with only a few additional programs installed on both of their new computers.
It is a HUGE travesty that the best Windoze users can look forward to right now is a dinosaur OS that has long reached it’s limitations in regards to innovation and features. 🙁
Like one poster said above, just get a Mac. I know I did about 6 months ago and I haven’t looked back.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” />
In other words, Vista sucks so bad that MS and Dell are forced to give it away.
And yes, Tiger’s post wins the thread. Not often a first post does that. LMAO.
XP dose suck, but it’s the best OS that Microsoft has at the moment. Pathetic.
” I’d like to be the presenter who asks Ballmer that question on TV.”
Oh, there are a lot of questions I’d like to ask Monkey-boy on TV. Things like “why do you want to blow billions of dollars of your shareholder’s money on efforts that have no hope of ever going profitable? Is it some kind of ego thing, or are you just bloody stupid?”
-jcr
BTW, I’m sure it will blend, but would you want to use that blender for drinks afterwards?
“Hey man, why does this Margarita tasted bloated and buggy?”
-jcr
Mossman…
I doubt very much that it violates anything.
If the OEM license fee is the same whether it’s a Windows XP machine or a Vista machine, it doesn’t make any difference to the investor community. Even if it did, all MSFT would have to do is alter their reporting so it read as something like “Windows Vista-equivalent licenses” and they’d be covered.
In reality, this is rather like an addict not admitting that they have a problem and – as far as I’m concerned – the longer MSFT chooses to ignore and obfuscate on the reality of Vista’s failure, the better it is for Apple.
Here’s my take, which some might find a little strict…
Fsck Microsoft – convicted monoppoly abusers who have no conscience and – even last year – conspired with another company (sadly a partner of Apple Inc.) to wilfully deceive customers with regards to the suitability of systems that would run Vista at an acceptable level.
Fsck Microsoft’s PC customer base: if, after all these years and all the broken promises, you’re still committed to the MSFT monoculture, you are nothing less than an idiot or a fool. Wake up and smell the coffee – these people see you as cash cow to be abused whenever possible.
Fsck MSFT’s shareholders: you’re an enabler to a company that treats its customers with absolute contempt. In a just world, you’d lose all your money tomorrrow morning.
Randolph wins 2nd place after Tiger for this thread.
Interesting… Microsoft and Dell, copying Apple again. Many years ago (before Mac OS X 10.2), Apple installed Mac OS 9 by default and included Mac OS X “in the box” as the option.
“Desperation” is copying Apple’s tactics when it was a bit desperate.
Okay, I get it. It’s not snappy, but it will blend.
Maybe Dell could put an extra little sticker on their PCs saying “Blender Compatible”, just under the one that says “Certified for Windows Vista” ?
Win XP is a good operating system when compared to Win 95/98…
Its not a good operating system when compared to OS X.
I tried Unbuntu and a bunch of other distros…. the Window manager crashed too often, and other annoyances made me give up on it…..I tried real hard to use it on a gateway laptop I no longer use since getting my MacBook Pro.
If anyone wants a good deal on a gateway laptop with WinXP installed on it… I will practically give it to you. No kidding.
All I can say is…. I have OS X, it totally rocks!