Microsoft has given Windows XP an extended stay of execution. The company announced today that Windows XP Home Edition will continue to be available until at least June 2010, though only on devices it terms ultra-low-cost PCs (ULCPCs), like the Asus Eee and Intel Classmate mini-laptops.
Michael Dix, the company's director of Windows client product management, said, "Microsoft has heard from partners and customers that they want Windows broadly available for this new class of devices, because they want the familiarity, compatibility, and support only available on the Windows platform."
ULCPCs may cram Windows XP into a 800 x 400 desktop, as demonstrated here (Click image to enlarge)
Translation: Sales of mini-laptops such as the Eee from Asus and Intel's newly refreshed Classmate have been booming. With 900MHz Celeron processors and limited graphics capabilities, devices like these do not have the power to run Windows Vista. If vendors could no longer legally install Windows XP, they would be forced to use Linux.
Microsoft's product roadmap had called for direct OEM and retail sales of Windows XP (but not Windows XP Embedded) to halt by June 30, 2008. The company today made an exception for ULCPCs.
Dix said, "We are extending direct OEM sales of Windows XP Home for ULCPCs so that they can preinstall Windows on these devices through the later of June 30, 2010, or one year after the general availability of the next version of the Windows operating system. While Windows Vista provides many benefits, Windows XP Home provides an effective solution."
The company did not draw a line in the sand as to what constitutes a ULCPC, at least not publicly. However, officials have reportedly said desktop PCs do not qualify, and the company clearly has mini-laptops firmly in its sights. Today, it published a set of design guidelines for flash-based ULCPCs, along with a 45-minute video (below) devoted to the topic.
According to the guidelines, typical devices will need processors clocked from 500MHz to 1GHz, from 256MB to 512MB of RAM, and from 2GB to 8GB of flash storage. The base size of Windows XP Home for ULCPCs with Service Pack 2 is approximately 1GB, but add-ins, updates, and user files bring required storage up to a 2GB minimum, according to the company.
Microsoft officials Mark Light and Bohdan Raciborski discuss Windows XP on ULCPCs (click on arrow to play) Source: Microsoft
Further information
Microsoft's design guidelines for flash-based ULCPCs are available in PDF format, here.
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Microsoft has given Windows XP an extended stay of execution. The company announced today that Windows XP Home Edition will continue to be available until at least June 2010, though only on devices it terms ultra-low-cost PCs (ULCPCs), like the Asus Eee and Intel Classmate mini-laptops.
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