Windows XP: Only 'mostly dead'?

Breathe easier. The reports of XP's death may be slightly exaggerated.

"Sure, the obits have been posted and the requiems are being sung," Robert X. Cringely writes in today's Notes from the Field. "The fat lady has already packed up her girdle and gone home with a bucket of KFC. Yet it seems XP -- like Bill Gates -- is still alive and kicking, at least in some form."

Here's the scoop: "One day after XP's 'demise,' Dell SMB manager Jenni Doane posts a blog entry that details how you can still get XP by exploiting some of the loopholes left open by Microsoft.

"You know the PC biz has gotten weird," Cringely writes, "when offering a 7-year-old OS becomes a marketing advantage. But the reason why is obvious. Vista is such a dog it qualifies for the Iditarod."

Still, it seems there's a lot of revisionist history going around these days. When Windows XP came out, it was panned for being slow and incompatible, just as Vista has been. It wasn't until Service Pack 2 was released that XP became a viable OS, Cringely points out.

So, pick your poison: XP or Vista? Cast your vote with Cringely.

Posted by Caroline Craig on July 2, 2008 05:41 AM