System builders get XP extension

PC system builders get an XP extension from Microsoft and can continue to buy the OS until May 30 2009.

Microsoft had hoped to pull the plug on XP for system builders on January 31 2009, so this latest extension gives system builders an extra four months to stock up on XP licenses. After that deadline system builders won't be able to buy new XP licenses, but they can continue selling what stock they have.

Note: This deadline doesn't apply to netbooks, where vendors can ship XP Home until June 30 2010,

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XP really is the OS that won't die. Microsoft had hoped to pull the plug on it back in January of 2008, but netbooks and cheap PCs (along with strong public demand) made it grant the OS an extension. I'm not sure whether these extensions are a sign of Microsoft admission to Vista resistance or whether the Redmond giant is squeezing as much cash out of the XP cow as it can (after all, as far as Microsoft is concerned, Windows is Windows and making XP available means one less Linux or Mac system out there), but either way it means that Windows 7 will be measured against the yardstick of both XP and Vista.