Microsoft to stop selling Windows XP on Monday

Microsoft Corp. is scheduled to stop selling its Windows XP operating system to retailers and major computer makers Monday, despite protests from a slice of PC users who don't want to be forced into using XP's successor, Vista. Once computers loaded with XP have been cleared from the inventory of PC makers such as Dell Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co., consumers who can't live without the old operating system on their new machine will have to buy Vista Ultimate or Vista Business and then legally "downgrade" to XP. Microsoft will still allow smaller mom-and-pop PC builder shops to buy XP for resale through the end of January. A version of XP will also remain available for ultra-low-cost PCs such as the Asus Eee PC. A group of vocal computer users who rallied around a "Save XP" petition posted on the industry news site InfoWorld had been clamoring for Microsoft to keep selling XP until its next operating system, Windows 7, is available. The software maker has said it expects to release Windows 7 sometime in 2009. Last week, Microsoft said it would provide full technical support for six-year-old Windows XP through 2009, and limited support through 2014.

Is Microsoft Repeating Vista Mistakes with Windows 7?

In the world of technology, success is linked to perceptions. Microsoft its multi-touch technology in a Windows 7 demo at the D: All Things Digital conference this week, and the software giant may have hoped to overcome the perception that Apple owns touchscreen interfaces. Instead, some observers are wondering if Microsoft is making the same mistakes that now plague Windows Vista.

"We are always looking for new ways to deliver great experiences for our customers," Chris Flores wrote on the Windows Vista blog. "This is especially true of Windows -- where we're constantly examining trends in hardware, software and services to ensure that we continue to drive the innovation."

Copying Apple

But Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at JupiterResearch, is among those who are scratching their heads about Microsoft's moves this week. He has one overarching question after viewing the demo: Is Redmond making the mistakes it made with Vista all over again?

"Some of the mistakes Microsoft made with Vista were talking up the next version of Windows way too early, showing off features out of context with the rest of the operating system," Gartenberg said. "The second mistake was focusing so much on multi-touch."

Apple didn't invent touchscreen technology. In fact, Microsoft was working on the concept long before Apple publicly demonstrated its efforts. However, touchscreen technology has become almost synonymous with Apple and the iPhone, Gartenberg said, and he wonders why Microsoft is showing off a feature that makes the company appear as if it is copying Apple instead of innovating on its own.

"Yes, Microsoft wants to recapture the notion that Apple didn't invent multi-touch, that they have their own implementation of it, but is that really the right way to go about this?" Gartenberg asked. "It's a perception issue. It makes Microsoft look like it is chasing after Apple. Microsoft probably is working on some innovative technology in the back room somewhere that they could have shown off at this conference, and didn't."More>>

Windows 7: The information lockdown

Why is so little known about the next version of Microsoft Windows?

Microsoft is maintaining a cloak of silence around its next major release of Windows. ZDNet Editor in Chief Larry Dignan talks with blogger colleagues Mary Jo Foley, editor of All about Microsoft, and Ed Bott, editor of Microsoft Report, about the road map for Windows 7, including feature sets, timelines, partners, OEMs, and marketing. The beta for the new operating system is due in late 2008. The bloggers predict that Windows 7 will launch earlier than 2010, its anticipated release date.More>>