This week has marked the official end of Windows XP as a purchasable operating system, with OEM manufacturers no longer being able to sell computers with XP installed as the primary OS.The news should provide a boost for Windows Vista – though with Windows 7 seemingly not that far off, some consumers may choose to opt for some of the workarounds that exist which will still allow buyers of new machines to stick with Microsoft’s former OS.
For instance, XP will still be available in ‘low-range’ notebooks such as Asus’ Eee PC or the OLPC project.
In addition, OEM firms are still permitted to offer XP as a downgrade, meaning that as long as Vista is installed on a PC, XP can also be pre-installed and given primary status.
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