Operating Systems > Windows XPEssentials

Software counterfeiters pass on Windows Vista and instead prefer to pirate Windows XP, a Microsoft attorney said Tuesday, outlining a practice that tracks with the leanings of many of the company's customers.

Microsoft has extended the availability of Windows XP on new PCs by six months, the company confirmed Friday.

Microsoft said it is updating one of its antipiracy tools to take a harder line against users fingered for running bogus copies of Windows XP Professional.

Microsoft Monday laid to rest rumours that it might reconsider pulling Windows XP from retail shelves and most PC makers next Monday.

Microsoft may have given up on Windows XP, but that doesn't mean you have to.

Microsoft has further extended the life of Windows XP so that computer makers can include the operating system on low-cost desktop PCs, the company announced at the Computex trade show on Tuesday.

Microsoft Tuesday began offering Windows XP SP3 on its automatic download Web sites and resumed automatic downloads of Vista SP1 after compatibility issues arose last week.

Dell will continue to install Windows XP on new PCs after Microsoft's June 30 retirement date by taking advantage of a little-known clause in the downgrade rights that come with Vista Ultimate and Vista Business.

Microsoft Monday finally slapped a "Done" sticker on Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) and pushed it out the door. The designation of SP3 as RTM, for "release to manufacturing," wasn't much of a surprise, given how the company's schedule leaked last week.

Comments by Steve Ballmer at a press conference in Europe last week have led to speculation that Microsoft is reconsidering its June 30 deadline to stop selling most new Windows XP licenses. A spokeswoman from Microsoft's public relations firm said that there is no plan for a change in deadline, however.

Apple and VMware have updated software designed to let Mac owners run Microsoft's Windows, amending it to accommodate the newest version of Windows XP.