Windows

Goodbyes are always tough. And today we say goodbye to a dear old friend, Microsoft Windows XP. Kind of. Today is the last day to buy Windows XP from retail channels, but many notebook vendors with the help of Microsoft will still offer Windows XP on select systems. Mostly thanks to the ill-received successor, Windows Vista, Microsoft has agreed to keep XP running in certain situations.

Earlier we put together a full FAQ on the future of Windows XP. The key takeaways: Windows XP will still be available from PC vendors as a “downgrade” option from Vista Business and Ultimate as well as on mini-notebooks. Because Vista is just too chunky to run on a mini-notebook, like we saw with the HP 2133 Mini-Note, XP will continue to be sold on what Microsoft calls ULCPCs (ultra-low-cost PCS) until June 30, 2010.

Mini-notebook lovers can only hope that Microsoft replaces Vista with a less chunky operating system by 2010. Something tells me Windows 7 won’t be the answer. Maybe by then we won’t need an OS, and we can simply live in a Linux system or even in the Cloud.

If Amazon.com is to be trusted Vista Service Pack 1 will be arriving very soon. This listing for Windows Vista Business with SP1 Upgrade appeared on Amazon.com today. There are also listings for all four versions of Vista with SP1. Amazon.com is currently taking pre-orders, and says the boxed software will start shipping on Wednesday, March 19. According to Associated Press, “the retailer is selling copies of Vista without the service pack and advising customers that they can download the free SP1 upgrade starting Tuesday.”

As a current Vista user, I have to say I am not all that excited for the “upgrade” since many of the fixes in Vista SP1 have already been released as part of regular monthly updates during the year. Sure, I have had my handful of issues with Vista over the last year, but time and time again I have called Vista my little sister. She is a real pain in the ass, but over the years you just learn to get along and love each other.

What will SP1 improve? Microsoft says Vista’s reliability, security and performance. Looks like we will just have to wait and see.