Microsoft to continue XP for low-cost systems

One version of Windows XP will continue to be available years after other editions have ceased to exist, Microsoft has announced. XP Home, the most basic version of the operating system, will still be available for OEMs through at least June 2010, in order to support low-cost computers such as Intel's Classmate PC, and ASUS' popular Eee PC. This is because the systems have less RAM, smaller hard drives and inferior processors, making it difficult to run any version of Windows Vista.

The Associated Press notes that Microsoft had expected to stop selling most forms of XP by the end of June 2008, extending help only to small system-builders and computers built for poor countries, like the OLPC. The company now says though that there is unexpected demand in First World countries, particularly for those same machines intended for the Third World. Microsoft says it will in fact keep XP available for a year after the release of its Vista successor, commonly dubbed Windows 7.

Filed under: industry
Other story tags: Microsoft, Intel, ASUS, Vista, Windows, Eee PC, OLPC, Classmate PC