Facing a 30 June deadline to stop selling PCs with Windows XP, the world's largest computer makers are getting creative, with Dell and HP's Australian offices staying cagey about their intentions.
Microsoft has issued the first service pack for Windows XP, but the update may not appear on some new PCs until next year.
Australians won't be able to pre-order PCs with Windows XP installed until the software's official launch date, however, local PC maker Dell looks set to beat its competitors off the mark.
Owners of Dell Inspiron notebooks have reported that Microsoft's Windows Service Pack 2 is cutting their system speeds dramatically -- in some cases by a factor of almost ten, from 2.6GHz to 300MHz.
Despite all the changes Microsoft is touting with the new version of Media Center, the biggest change may be one that the company barely mentions: the price drop.
So, it seems the WOW -- for Microsoft's Windows Vista -- is not now, but sometime in the future, maybe.
Although Microsoft is pushing hard to move everyone to the latest version of Windows, there are some market realities that are going to keep Windows XP around for some time likely well beyond the current June deadline for large computer makers to stop selling the older operating system.
There are some strings attached to running Microsoft's OS on a Mac -- including Windows security risks, Apple says.
Microsoft is putting the finishing touches on the second release candidate, or near-final testing version, of Windows .Net Server 2003, sources said.
Microsoft announced Friday that it had released two high-end operating systems to computer manufacturers.
You know it's time to upgrade the OS and office suite, but you're just not sure whether XP is the right choice. Find out why it might--or might not-- be the best decision for your organisation and the other upgrade scenarios to consider.
Dell's Latitude E6400 is a full featured business laptop that delivers on performance, battery life and price in one neat bundle.
Dell's Latitude E4300 shares many of the exciting features of its larger siblings, but also sacrifices a lot in exchange for portability.
The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 is a prime example of the netbook form factor, and the best 8.9-inch one available.
Dell's small-business-focused Vostro 1310 has a temptingly affordable entry-level price, but a realistic specification soon brings it into line with the competition.
Windows Vista Home Premium is essentially warmed-over Windows XP Home Edition. If you're currently happy with Windows XP SP2, we see no compelling reason to upgrade. On the other hand, if you need a new computer right now, Windows Vista Home Premium is stable enough for everyday use.
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