Microsoft Vows to Keep Windows XP Alive for ‘Nettops’
Microsoft has announced it will extend the lifespan of Windows XP for what the company calls “Nettops,” low-end PCs that don’t have the horsepower to run Windows Vista. Nettops is Intel’s term for machines like the upcoming Eee Box and other PCs designed primarily for simple tasks like checking e-mail or surfing the web.
Microsoft already made an announcement extending XP’s lifespan, but that one specifically targeted laptops like the EeePC or Cloudbook. Today’s news means that same life extension will apply to low-end desktop PCs as well.
Many such devices already ship with Linux rather than Windows, in part because of hardware limitations and also because skipping Windows keeps costs down.
Obviously these devices are never going to run Vista so, potentially faced with the loss of a growing market, Microsoft has agreed to keep Windows XP alive, possibly through 2010.
The interesting thing about the announcement is that Microsoft apparently won’t be dictating what constitutes a Nettop. Rob Young, a senior director with Microsoft’s OEM group, tells ComputerWorld that Microsoft and PC vendors are in general agreement over what constitutes a Nettop, but the company won’t be enacting specific hardware limits.
In theory it may be possible to lay your hands on a copy of Windows XP far past the originally scheduled end-of-life date — June 30.
No doubt that will be music to ears of many a Vista-hater.
See Also:
