[Windows XP: Going, going....gone?

According to Microsoft's timeline, XP is on its way to becoming an ex-operating system The result of all this tweaking is that Microsoft will stop selling XP long before it stops supporting it. You may be able to run XP for as long as you want, but before too long you may not be able to buy a legitimate copy of XP to run.

So will there be any way to get a copy of XP after June 30? If you want to continue using XP, what problems will you face? If you buy a PC with Vista installed and decide you want XP instead, what are your options?


But even before that, XP faces a major event in an entirely different lifecycle, one that Microsoft has said very little about: the sales lifecycle.

The key dates for sales come much sooner than 2009 or 2014. In fact, in only a few weeks, on June 30, 2008, Microsoft will stop selling XP through its retail and OEM channels (the OEMs are big manufacturers like Dell and HP that sell PCs with Windows pre-installed).

System builders, the "white box" retailers who build PCs to order, will be given another seven months, but on January 31, 2009, a couple of months before XP exits mainstream support, Microsoft will stop selling XP altogether (except for a version sold in some less-developed countries and a special arrangement for XP Home in China).

At least that's the current information. It could change. It has before. ]

http://www.computerworld.com.au/inde...fp;;fpid;;pf;1

more-
http://www.google.com/search?q=Windo...ient=firefox-a

So if you want a copy of XP you'll need to go buy it soon.

Don't panic though - my parents still use a Win 98 version and it works just fine- we made copies of the original so if one CD gets damaged we have a replacement.
This is a good thing to do with your XP or even vista CD- make a copy or 2 for your own back up disks and save the original in a safe place.
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But there is also free operating systems - Linux OS distro's/Distributions

[When Linus Torvalds first developed Linux back in August of 1991, the operating system basically consisted of his kernel and some GNU tools. With the help of others Linus added more and more tools and applications.

With time, individuals, university students and companies began distributing Linux with their own choice of packages bound around Linus' kernel. This is where the concept of the "distribution" was born.

Today, creating and selling Linux distributions is a multi-million dollar business. You can buy a boxed version of Linux from companies such as Red Hat, SuSE, MandrakeSoft and others. You can also download Linux from any number of companies and individuals. There are distributions of all types and for practically any kind of computing endeavor. There are versions of Linux that will give you a firewall, will boot the entire operating system from a floppy disk or CD-ROM or can be used to power TV "set-top" boxes.

Below we offer you a "menu" of sorts so you can get more information about Linux distributions developed by individuals, groups or companies. Most are freely downloadable. If you are thinking of downloading and installing a Linux distribution and you have little or no experience with Linux, we suggest you read our section information on downloading Linux. ]
http://www.linux.org/dist/

bumping this up - in case anyone wants to buy a copy of Windows XP before they stop selling it..

[In fact, in only a few weeks, on June 30, 2008,
Microsoft will stop selling XP through its retail and OEM channels (the OEMs are big manufacturers like Dell and HP that sell PCs with Windows pre-installed).]

http://www.computerworld.com.au/inde...fp;;fpid;;pf;1

Dioesnt hurt my feeling any. I have 4 copies of xp pro here, and I am thinking of switching to mac anyways. Vista wont be around for to long. Compare it to win me or win 2000. All redheaded basted chidren of microsoft. They were phased out fast anyways. Vista fall sinto the same catagory. I read in the computer shop where I work some, that microsoft was already working on a new version of windows. To make you feel better, when xp came out it was terible. Had tons of issues, and problems that most wouldnt find. Microsoft did a great job fixing it with sp1.

Like I stated, I am moving to mac for my school work, but keeping windows for my picture and video work I do.

You will always be able to find a copy of xp always.

You know what Brandon, that's exactly what I did. I switched to a MAC. I was just fine with Windows XP, but needed a new laptop and 3 of my most expensive and most used software programs were not compatible with Vista. There was no way I was going to go through the aggravation that I was witnessing with everyone else in that arena so I bought a MAC.

My computer guru installed a parallel platform on it and I run Windows XP for those programs and MAC OS system for everything else. I have the best of both world and I didn't have to buy any new software.

I love my MAC. I started out in the Apple world back in 1984 when they first hit the market but couldn't get support when we moved to the West coast so switched to the PC world. Now I am back and am loving my new BLACK MAC book (waving at AMN!)

I've ownd several window based notebooks. Dell, Hp All of them broke. My last one was a HP and it cost me almost 1600 dollars. Broke 3 days after the warenty ran out. The hingins broke "both of them" hard drive broke intearnly, Mot her board shorted out. I ended up selling it to a freind for 50 dollars.

Ive priced some macs and they are not cheap.