"Computer makers have been told", say this article, "they'll no longer be able to get Windows XP OEM by the end of this year, despite consumer resistance to Vista and its compatibility problems. By early 2008, Microsoft's contracts with computer makers will require companies to only sell Vista-loaded machines. 'The OEM version of XP Professional goes next January,' said Frank Luburic, senior ThinkPad product manager for Lenovo. 'At that point, they'll have no choice.'
Despite Microsoft's relentless promotion of Vista, manufacturers are still seeing plenty of demand from customers for systems preloaded with XP, especially in the finicky SOHO market." (Via Slashdot.org/)
As I have noted elsewhere before, all is not lost folks. You can always learn to use Linux or get a Mac as an alternative. However you probably should start saving the money now for a new machine (if you're gonna go with a Mac) or start looking at your local community college or adult education programs course offerings if you want to get to know Linux in serious way, and so skip over the frustration of trying to learn a new OS on your own by trial and error.
So if you've misgivings about the way Microsoft is relentlessly "borgifying" cyber culture and the Internet (and don't we all?) then you've received fair notice. Or at least as fair as you're likely to get from the Redmond oligarchs.
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Windows_XP Linux Mac Ubuntu Damn_Small_Linux Microsoft_monopoly_power
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