Operating system given yet another lease of life
22 Dec 2008
Windows XP has been granted yet another reprieve by Microsoft.
The latest cut-off date for the ageing operating system was to be 31 January 2009. However the software giant will allow hardware manufacturers to continue getting licences until 30 May 2009.
XP was originally meant to be retired in January this year to make way for sales of Vista. However Vista’s unpopularity among consumers saw the deadlines extended to first the end of June 2007 and then to January 2009.
Many PC manufacturers used a clause in Microsoft's licensing terms that allowed them to offer a "downgrade" licence. Issued with a new PC running Vista it allowed customers to replace it with XP.
Now if resellers order licences before 31 January 2009 they can take delivery at any time up to 30 May.
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