Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is launching a program to promote the use of its Windows OS in ultra low-cost PCs, one effect of which will be to limit the hardware capabilities of this type of device, CDNNow has learned. Microsoft plans to offer PC makers steep discounts on Windows XP Home Edition to encourage them to use that OS instead of Linux on ultra low-cost PCs (ULPCs).
Windows XP Home Edition has been given a two-year reprieve by Microsoft. Previously scheduled to be pulled from shelves less than three months from now, XP Home will be available to OEMs building what Microsoft calls ultra-low-cost PCs at least through June 2010, and possibly later. XP may remain available for a full year after the next version of Windows is released.
Microsoft says that the decision to change XP's expiration date is due to 'incredibly strong demand' on devices such as the Asus Eee PC, Intel Classmate PC, and the OLPC. The company has also posted design guidelines for manufacturers looking to build low-cost laptops capable of running Windows XP.
Original story
What do you do if your flagship operating system isn't designed to run well on a popular new class of hardware? It's a problem currently faced by Microsoft. Budget laptops like the Asus Eee PC with minimal amounts of RAM, relatively slow CPUs, and solid state storage have proven popular, and Vista wasn't designed to operate well within such hardware confines. In response, Microsoft is reportedly planning to extend the availability of Windows XP for the budget laptop category.
Originally, XP was scheduled to shuffle off this mortal coil this past January 30, but Microsoft relented last fall due to pressure from customers and resellers. Windows XP is now facing a June 30 end, which is the day Microsoft will stop selling the OS to most manufacturers and system builders. Small resellers who build PCs to order will still be able to obtain copies of XP through January 2009, which is just a few months before XP exits the mainstream support phase. Windows XP Started Edition will be available through June 2010.
According to a report from InfoWorld, Microsoft is expected to make XP's stay of execution for budget laptops official later this week. A version of the Asus Eee PC with Windows XP is due to hit the market later this month, and early indications are that it will run XP just fine.
There has been a lot of resistance to Windows XP's imminent demise, with InfoWorld circulating a petition in an attempt to convince Microsoft to relent. XP is by far the OS with the largest installed base in the world; users and administrators alike are comfortable with it and some would love to continue using it indefinitely.
Microsoft has declined to comment on the story, telling Ars that it 'does not comment on rumors.' That said, the success of the Asus Eee PC and widespread interest in other low-cost laptops like the OLPC and Intel's Classmate PC really leaves the software giant with little choice if it wants to play in that space. Vista is just too resource-hungry for laptops with limited storage space, relatively minute amounts of RAM, and slow CPUs. Extending the availability of Windows XP for the budget laptop category is currently the company's best alternative to ceding this market to Linux.
Confirming the rumors that devices such as Asus' Eee PC are prolonging the life of XP, Microsoft today announced that the previously-established June 30, 2008 cutoff date for OEM and retail Windows XP sales was final, except for the new class of what the company has termed ULCPCs: Ultra Low-Cost PCs.
The nebulously-named class of computers including UMPCs, MIDs, Origami devices, subnotebooks and even desktops that offer lower power have received the official Ultra Low Cost PC (ULCPC) moniker from Microsoft.
Companies making these devices have also received an extended 2-year period (or until Windows 7 comes out, whichever is latest) in which their machines can come equipped with Windows XP, but only the Home edition of the operating system.
Microsoft has said that the extension reflects the company's commitment to deliver 'the right version of Windows for new device categories as they emerge.'
The company said today, '[We] recognize that there is a growing class of hardware-constrained, lower cost PCs that would benefit from a different Windows based solution. While Windows Vista provides an easier and more secure user experience, Windows XP Home provides an effective solution on these devices from a performance and cost perspective.'
In September, at the behest of both customers and partners, Microsoft pushed back the date for OEMs to cease preloading their 'regular' systems with XP. As that June 30 date approaches, Microsoft has made it clear that there will be no more extensions, and mainstream technical support will be available only until April 2009. Extended support --for pay support and security fixes-- goes until April 2014.
Microsoft was not swayed by the 'Save Windows XP' petition, which has been signed by over 100,000 people asking the company to continue sales of the now 6 and a half year old operating system.
Windows XP: October 25, 2001 - June 30, 2008