Windows XP Gets Stay of X-ecution

Users unenthused by Vista have five more months to buy a Windows XP machine, Microsoft announced yesterday. The company will continue selling their old operating system to manufacturers and retailers through June 2008, rather than discontinuing it in January as originally announced. “There are some customers who need a little more time to make the switch,” the company said.

Also sticking around is XP Starter Edition, a stripped down version designed for countries rife with piracy and cheap computers, which will be with us until 2010. Microsoft said customer demand led to the pushback, making the original cutoff date “a little ambitious.” But it defended Vista, ComputerWorld reports, and said the first date would have worked for most buyers. (More Microsoft stories.)