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.
After a long-announced transition, 30 June marks the end of an era at Microsoft that of Windows XP.
Despite its big push for Vista, Microsoft is quietly allowing PC makers to offer an option that lets users "downgrade" to Windows XP, allowing customers to purchase new PCs but stick with the older operating system.
Thousands of Dell users have contacted a user forum to call for PCs to be shipped with a Linux operating system and the OpenOffice application suite.
Intel will roll out Vista internally only once the first service pack of the operating system has been released, and Dell is likely to do the same.
So, it seems the WOW -- for Microsoft's Windows Vista -- is not now, but sometime in the future, maybe.
The only people who won't eventually move to Windows Vista are the Linux and Mac enthusiasts.
Not ready for a Vista laptop? Simply want to stick to good old XP? Here are your options on the market.
Even though Microsoft, in conjunction with hardware vendors, tries to produce solid drivers, sometimes new drivers cause more problems than they fix.
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.
Is recently released Mac OS X Jaguar just a catch-up to Windows XP features, or is there more to Apple's latest operating system than meets the eye.
Apple makes a bid for a larger slice of the browser market with a version of Safari for Windows, XP, and Vista.
The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 is a prime example of the netbook form factor, and the best 8.9-inch one available.
While I really like Microsoft's new operating system, there are still some issues that may make it impossible for you to upgrade. And other issues may make you want to skip XP entirely. Here are a dozen potential roadblocks to consider--don't upgrade before you read this!
If you took a tank and a tablet notebook, and they had a child, the product would be the NEC ShieldPro N22A. It's just like a tablet, except big, heavy, black and armoured.
Microsoft issued Windows XP Release Candidate 1 (RC1) last week, and although it looks like XP's far from finished, the candidate does give us a better sense of Windows XP's hardware requirements.
Dell's Latitude E6400 is a full featured business laptop that delivers on performance, battery life and price in one neat bundle.
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