It was an open goal. M$ decommissioning  XP, Linux being the only capable OS of running on this tight new ultra-portable sub-notebook. Dare we say it… “The year…” had finally arrived?!

So how could it go wrong?

El Reg has just published a new article on the competition between Windows and Linux on the Netbook, and by outward appearances, it looks like Micro$haft is has caught up and overtaken Linux in popularity… but I haven’t seen anyone yet analyse WHY:

Microsoft cries netbook victory against Linux

Rubbing in the salt, LeBlanc added: “Not only are people overwhelmingly buying Windows, but those that try Linux are often returning it,” he said.

Why, you might ask? LeBlanc: “Because users simply expect the Windows experience. When they realize their Linux-based netbook PC doesn’t deliver that same quality of experience, they get frustrated and take it back.”

Aah, the Windows experience, but what is this elusive ‘Windows Experience’ that Linux lacks? Is it the need to purchase an external DVD drive in order to install software? Is it the slow-down and need to defrag every couple of months in order to return to a usable speed? Is it the comfort of knowing you will get no vendor support from M$ and have to rely on techy friends to spend 30 hours ridding your system of that pesky “mywebsearch” trojan that you got from accepting some preloaded-with-malware stupid free game download that you installed last week which is now bringing your system to a halt?

No, let me attempt to define the “Windows Experience”… It’s the comfort of having a logical bottom of screen taskbar, showing the time/date, running programs, background programs and a start/logo to click on which gives you instant access to all your programs.

Sure Windows XP is old, it’s vulnerable to every security risk going, it randomly does things in the background and must be constantly purged of bloat. But the thing about Windows XP is that it feels professional. It feels like a grown up operating system.

Don’t tell me about familiarity, plenty of boomers have managed to get their heads around Firefox, Google, Skype, Blogger, MySpace, Facebook and the rest of Web 2.0 not to mention the myriad of operating systems installed with their mobile phones. Last time I checked Web 2.0 was not bundled with Windows XP. No, it’s not familiarity that’s an issue here, it’s the GUI.

Just contrast this child-friendly looking interface:

To this more grown up one:

If something looks like it’s made for children, adults won’t use it for themselves. I mean, couldn’t Asus/Xandros just package the Easy Mode GUI as an option rather than the default GUI?

It doesn’t matter that the Easy Mode is more intuitive and ‘easy’ for a smaller screen. Mainstream people don’t mind the small text, the small buttons, the little graphical issues that a full blown OS like XP presents when it tries to open a 1100×600 window on a 1024 x 600 screen. They accept that as part of the package, just like they accept they’ve got to run several different internet security solutions in tandem just to be able to surf and write email.

And I know what you’re going to say – “But Xandros can be configured to look just like XP, they even changed the name of the applications…” Well that just turns it into a cheaper imitation of XP, something that will turn mainstream users off faster than a childish GUI.

Average net-heads see installing Windows XP on their netbooks as a kind of technological feat, as though it somehow demonstrates their technical prowess and smarts despite the fact it’s more a demonstration of their fear or stepping outside their comfort zone.

What netbook manufacturers and Linux advocates need to do if they want to keep flogging a free OS on their netbooks- Is to offer a professional, decent looking OS which has the same functionality as Windows, the same comforting feel, yet is not, and is not trying to be, Windows. They need to embrace the alternative OS. Don’t try to make it easy and don’t try to make it like XP. Just make it good.

I got a Samsung NC10 for Christmas from my wonderful wife. It came Windows XP Home ULPC.. do you know how shitty that version is? And yet, for a larger hdd and Intel Atom processor this is the OS of choice over something like Ubuntu or Fedora!

Needless to say I set about formatting the Windows Virus off my nc10 and installing Ubuntu from a pendrive (yeah – did you know some Linux distros have options to create pendrives now?), later moving to Ubuntu Ultimate.. which wipes the floor with both XP and Vista.

Check this out:

My Atom processor handles Ultimate Edition quite well, starts to balk if I enable desktop Sphere, but handles Cylinder no problem.

Sure, there are always going to be people who are stuck in their comfort zone, and die-hard Windows fanboys, but distro makers have to stop trying to emulate the ‘Windows Experience’, and cheating newbies out of the ‘Linux Experience’ like Xandros has with the Eee PC.

It was an open goal for Linux which somehow become an own goal, but the match is not over. They seriously need to rethink and regroup if they want to prevent what is becoming the year of  Windows 7 on the Netbook.

Destaques da Semana:

Restrospectiva 2008 Uol Tecnologia
A UOL fez uma retrospectiva com os principais acontecimentos do ano, que podem ser acessados “mês-a-mês”. Vale a pena entrar e rever matérias sobre o Chrome, a aposentadoria do Till Bill, lembrar da batalha Blu-Ray vs DVD. Link.

Windows 7
O Cardoso postou um ótimo post no Meio-Bit sobre o Windows 7 e mostra sua opinião com relação ao mercado de TouchScreens. Link.

RIAA Desiste de Processos
A RIAA, a organização das grandes gravadoras, jogou a toalha: não vai mais processar quem é pego no pulo baixando MP3. Link.

Japoneses Não Estão Gostando do Império Google
É… os japoneses estão pedindo para que o Google suspenda o serviço de mapas japonês. Link.
PS: Não poderia deixar passar em branco essa charge do Charges.com

Comsat Vence Pregão Para Forncer o UCA (O ULPC Nacional)
A Comsat irá vender 150 mil Mobilis (da indiana Encore) por R$553,00 (Cerca de R$82,55 Milhões) para o pograma UCA. Link.

“Seu eu baixar é crime, mas se o Alf assitir tá limpo?”
Mais um link sobre a industria dos downloads e compartilhamento de arquivos, desta vez é o Meio-Bit que atacou a indústria cinematográfica. Link.

Microsoft Lança Aplicativo Para iPhone
Sim! Minha teoria de que essa briga Microsoft vs Apple é apenas farsa está sendo comprovada! Se quiserem a salvação corram para algum lugar seguro! Link.

Na minha opinião estas são as notícias que qualquer um iria gostar de ler.
Você viu algo essa semana que achou interessante e este algo não está na lista? Deixe um comentário e seja feliz!

Been two months since I’ve been a happy Acer Aspire One owner, and so far things seem to be going well.

The big news is that I had to use the recovery partition to rebuild the machine from scratch.  Thaqt was kind of a bummer. The good part is that for the first time in my life on any computer system, the recovery partition actually worked. And it was fairly quick and painless. Besides the pain of losing all my data and reinstalling everything. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again, writing up that page on all the software tweaks I did really made reinstallation very easy. Of course, best practice is to backup the machine using some sort of disc imaging software, but whatever.

At the time of failure I had let the machine run the battery totally down, and then I disconnected everything and took it home on the subway, and then kept it in a bag full of difloroethane for 2 days to disinfect it of any bugs I might have picke3d up from Peru. I was a little concerned that the problem might be a hard drive failure, but so far things have been fine. I’m tempted to try and let it totally run down again, see if the cause was power management failure (I never changed anything from the defaults). I wasn’t too upset about losing data, I have no real data to lose. It’s just a netbook, websurfing and blogging and backup hard drive for my Compact Flash cards. I figure it’s so small and portable, I’ll either lose it or have it stolen, so I try to keep it free of anything important.

Other little quirks have been letters occasionally double type. O’s, G’s, S’s, and D’s seem to be especially vulnerable. Don’t know if it’s a keyboard issue or a cramped typing issue. Touch typing on the righthand side of the keyboard is still problematic, I don’t think that it’ll ever be solved. These are the sacrifices of a small keyboard.

Touchpad issues have gotten easier, esppecially since I’ve disabled the smart scrolling feature. Since the touchpad is so small, the smart scrolling feature eats up a lot of real estate. Many many many times I’m just trying to move the cursor, and the page I’ll be on starts scrolling a few dozen pages.

Drag and drop is still a two handed operation. Not deal killers as far as I’m concerned, but I’m fairly easygoing about these things.
Battary life is still outstanding, although one gets spoiled by the 5 hour life pretty easily. Suddenly 5 hours of laptop time is just too short. That 9 cell battary looks ridiculous, but I’m thinking about it.

Screen brightness software needs a bit of tweaking. You can adjust the brightnes using the keyboard, just like every other laptop. You press the Fn button and the Brighter or Dimmer options (left and right arrow, respectively). There are 6 levels of brightness, and the lowest level is still very bright. Too bright, actually, sometimes I wish I could dim it further to save on power. The problem is that after you get to the lowest or highest setting, you can still go past although nothing happens. It doesn’t stop. For example, if you have the screen at the brightest setting, and press the dimmer button 6 times you’re at the lowest possible screen brightness. If you press the Dimmer button 3 more times, nothing happens. But now if you press the Brighter button, nothing happens as well. You would have to hit the Brighter button a total of 4 times before the screen actually gets brighter. Likewise, if you’re at the brightest setting, and you press the Brighter button 5 times, you would have to press the Dimmer button 6 times before you actually saw a change on the screen. The software doesn’t know that you’ve hit the maximum or minimum, it just keeps on going as if those settings were possible.

Maybe it’s my machine, or maybe it’s windows XP ULPC edition, or maybe it’s just Picasa 3 Beta; but the Picasa 3 Beta and the Acer Aspire One do NOT like to play with one another at all. I’m trying to downgrade ASAP.

I’ve totally given up on trying to keep the machine either smudge or scratch free. It’s a hopeless cause. Glossy looks great in the showroom, but for the next generation Acer should seriously consider a matte finish.

Weight is still not an issue, but heat is. Good for the winter, as a warm laptop on your lap is pretty nice. But there’s a reason the hackers on the Acer Aspire One User Forum are constantly hacking the heatsink and fan. This bad boy gets pretty hot pretty fast.

Videos do not play so well in itunes, unless you got fullscreen. Ditto the itunes visualizations, which fail to render properly half the time. Have’t had a chance to try out either the webcam or the microphone. Speakers are very tiny, but serviceable.

The relative success of Asus Eee PC has created a new product category – netbooks, also called Mobile Internet Devices (MID) or Ultra-Low Cost PCs (ULPCs). Never to shy away from new product hype, ABI research has promptly come out with a forecast calling for over 200 million of these little fellas by 2013. A quick note – this is the same size as today’s worldwide laptop market! The report probably assumes (like Michael Dell does) that mobile operators will play a significant role in pushing these babies out, bundled along with their 3G data plans – with subsidies to boot. This model is no different from the one where the operator subsidises expensive phones to sell a voice plan. 

 Given that netbooks are all about always-on connectivity, 3G in addition to WiFi is a must for this product category. This leads to the question – does it have to be built-in? I feel that the answer is yes. I am aware of the arguments against embedding 3G functionality in laptops. However, if you recall, PCMCIA cards were the initial enablers for WiFi connectivity – I still have one of those lying around somewhere. But convenience coupled with declines in module costs drove OEMs to deliver laptops with integrated WiFi functionality. The same trend is likely to be repeated with integrated 3G as well. To begin with, USB dongles hanging out of netbooks will look pretty awkward – in addition, embedded antennas down the side of a screen will deliver a better signal that translates into higher speeds. Instant 3G connectivity when the netbook is turned on, similar to WiFi, will also be a key selling point. Finally, mobile operators may end up driving this product category and the OEMs will have little choice other than partnering with the operators.  Recent events seem to bear this out. Vodafone announced that it will start selling Dell’s Inspiron Mini 9 ultra-mobile device with built-in mobile broadband, exclusively through Vodafone stores and online, and directly from Dell, in key European markets. More mobile operators are launching netbooks with integrated 3G modem functionality in partnership with OEMs.  T-Mobile Germany announced that it will be selling the Asus Eee PC 901 Go with integrated mobile broadband. The announcement also states that the 3G connection will be up and running when the netbook is switched on similar to WiFi. Acer, the world’s third largest PC vendor, is reportedly in talks with several 3G (third-mobile operators such as Chunghwa Telecom and Taiwan Mobile in Taiwan, as well as T-Mobile International, Vodafone Group and Orange in Europe to supply netbooks with built-in 3G.

Con toda la horneada de mini portátilis que se están presentando, el tema del almacenamiento es una de los más discutidos en el sector, ¿qué es mejor, discos SSD o discos duros convencionales?

Lo mejor de tener discos SSD en los mini portátiles es que las aplicaciones se ejecutan muchísimo más rápido, además de cargar el sistema operativo en mucho menos tiempo. En cambio, la poca capacidad de este tipo de discos, hace que los consumidores opten por discos con más capacidad y a buen precio, como es el caso de los discos duros convencionales, aunque la autonomía de la batería se vea mermada o el peso de los equipos se algo superior.

SanDisk, una de las compañías más conocida dentro del ámbito del almacenamiento, ha presentado una línea de discos en estado sólido para utilizar solamente en equipos ULPC o portátiles de bajo coste, en los que tendremos la opción de elegir entre 4, 8 y 16GB de almacenamiento, que combinan tanto memorias flash MLC (Multi Level Cell) y SLC (Single Level Cell).

Está muy bien este tema, pero ¿qué pasa con el principal problema que comentábamos antes? Pero una cosa es cierta, si los SSD fueran de más capacidad, estos equipos sobrepasarían el precio a los que estamos acostumbrados.

Vía: Electronista

Σύμφωνα με κάποια πρώτα screenshots που εμφανίστηκαν στο φόρουμ του web site OCW, με δυο ώρες δουλειά είναι δυνατόν κάποιος να εγκαταστήσει τα Microsoft Vista στο eee PC 900. Σύντομα, σύμφωνα με τον δημιουργό του thread, θα παρουσιαστεί η όλη διαδικασία εγκατάστασης.

La moda dels ULPC (minilaptops o ultraportàtils de baix cost) ha significat l’entrada massiva de Linux al mercat, després d’algunes iniciatives empresarials concretes com la de Dell quan decidí preinstal·lar el sistema del pingüí als seus portàtils.

Els models d’ Airis, Asus, HP (deixem de banda l’erràtic OLPC) o d’altres que es van incorporant a un segment emergent s’han decantat per distribucions com SuSE (HP 2133) i Xandros (Asus Eee PC) o Linpus (Airis Kira)

I Ubuntu? Doncs bé, ja tenim versió d’Ubuntu per miniportàtils. Al manco, nom: es dirà (Mark Shuttleworth dixit) Ubuntu Netbook Remix, i es preveu que aviat estigui disponible.

Llegit a Slashdot, des de Techtear

Έχει ανακοινωθεί επίσημα η διάθεσή του σε διάφορες ευρωπαϊκές χώρες, ωστόσο τo eee PC 900 αναμένεται να εμφανιστεί στα ευρωπαϊκά καταστήματα στα τέλη Μαΐου. Το eee PC 900 ξεκίνησε τις πωλήσεις του στις USA στις 12 Μαΐου.

Λίγες μέρες μετά την επίσημη διάθεση του eee PC 900 στις USA, στο web εμφανίστηκαν οι πρώτες φωτογραφίες του eee PC 901, δηλαδή το eee PC 3ης γενιάς και διάδοχος των eee PC 701 και eee PC 900. Πρόκειται για μια πρωτιά του blog, blogeee.net.

Όσον αφορά την εμφάνιση παρατηρώ ένα πιο στρογγυλοποιημένο design, με πιο καμπύλες γωνίες. Το touchpad είναι λίγο μεγαλύτερο με περίγραμμα αλουμινίου. Τα πλήκτρα μου φαίνονται λίγο μεγαλύτερα, αλλά μπορεί να κάνω λάθος. Η κυλινδρική ράβδος που στηρίζει και συνδέει την οθόνη τώρα είναι πιο εμφανής. Πάνω από το πληκτρολόγιο προστέθηκε μια σειρά από κουμπιά για έξτρα λειτουργίες. To power button, αν καταλαβαίνω σωστά, πρέπει να να είναι το τελευταίο κουμπί δεξιά.

Η υποδοχή για το καλώδιο ρεύματος μετατοπίστηκε στην δεξιά πλευρά ( αν το κοιτάμε από μπρος ) του eee PC 901, εκεί που στο eee PC 900 υπήρχε η υποδοχή για την κλειδαριά Kensington. H τελευταία βρίσκεται τώρα στην αριστερή πλευρά.

Το μέγεθος: είμαστε περίπου στις ίδιες διαστάσεις του eee PC 900 αν και προφίλ το eee PC 901 φαντάζει πιο “παχουλό”.

Όσον αφορά τα τεχνικά του χαρακτηριστικά, το μόνο βέβαιο είναι ότι θα έχει επεξεργαστή Intel Atom και υποστήριξη Bluetooth. Η οθόνη είναι όπως και στο eee PC 900, 8.9″.

Σημαντικό σημείο που πρέπει να τονιστεί είναι ότι πουθενά δεν εμφανίζεται το σήμα της Asus. Συνεπώς μπαίνει σε εφαρμογή το σχέδιο, για το οποίο σας είχα μιλήσει και παλαιότερα, που ήθελε το eee PC ως ξεχωριστό brand

Στην αγορά δεν είναι γνωστό πότε θα εμφανιστεί. Από παλαιότερα και με βάση μόνο κάποια λογικά συμπεράσματα είχα υποθέσει τη διάθεση του διαδόχου του eee PC 900 ( τότε είχα μιλήσει για eee PC 900 με επεξεργαστή Atom ) τέλος του καλοκαιριού. Διαβάζοντας στο web, βλέπω πως και άλλοι θεωρούν ως πιο πιθανή περίοδο για την εμφάνιση στην αγορά του eee PC 901 το τέλος του καλοκαιριού.

Η επίσημη ανακοίνωσή του θα γίνει στην Computex ( 3-7 ιουνίου 2008 ).

Περισσότερες φωτογραφίες στο flickr από το blogeee.net.

[ Author: Altervedo ] Χθες ανακοινώθηκε και επίσημα η συνεργασία της Microsoft και της OLPC ( One Laptop Per Child ). Σκοπός η διάθεση του OLPC notebook με προεγκατεστημένα τα Windows XP. Σκοπός που έχει ήδη επιτευχθεί καθώς η Microsoft εργάστηκε πάνω από ένα χρόνο για τη δημιουργία μιας ειδικής έκδοσης που θα χώραγε, αλλά και θα δούλευε στο hardware του OLPC.

Η συνεργασία αυτή αποτέλεσε την κύρια αιτία της παραίτησης του Walter Bender, δημιουργού του open source linux λειτουργικού και interface που έτρεχε ως τώρα στα OLPCs και που ακούει στο όνομα Sugar. Τον περασμένο μήνα ο Bender εγκατέλειψε το OLPC, σε ρήξη με το big boss Nicholas Negroponte και την στροφή του προς την Microsoft.

To νέο OLPC μετατρέπεται έτσι σε ένα XP notebook. Τουλάχιστον σε πρώτη φάση θα παρέχεται με τα XP προεγκατεστημένα, ενώ θα είναι δυνατή η παραγγελία μηχανημάτων dual boot, XP + Sugar. Η τιμή του OLPC με Windows XP λέγεται ότι θα ανεβεί κατά 20$, 3 από τα οποία θα πάνε στην Microsoft. Για τα dual boot συστήματα θα απαιτούνται άλλα 7 δολλάρια για αλλαγές στο hardware. Τα πρώτα κομμάτια με προεγκατεστημένα τα XP αναμένεται να διατεθούν τον επόμενο Σεπτέμβριο.

Ένα project που ακούγεται μάλλον δύσκολο να πραγματοποιηθεί είναι και το porting της interface του Sugar στα Windows XP.

Τα 100$ δολλάρια που υπόσχονταν αρχικά ο Negroponte ( όνειρα θερινής νυκτός )…για διάφορους λόγους τα τελευταία χρόνια έγιναν περίπου 200…και τώρα ακόμα πιο πάνω. Αν και η τιμή του OLPC notebook παίζει τόσο και εξαρτάται από τα κομμάτια που παραγγέλνονται, που είναι δύσκολο κάποιος να καθορίσει την πραγματική του τιμή.

Παρακάτω σας παρέχω ένα βίντεο, όπου ο Bohdan Raciborski της Microsoft δείχνει το OLPC να τρέχει Windows XP, το Office 2003 και πως εκτελούνται κάποιες άλλες βασικές εργασίες όπως η εγγραφή ήχου, η εγγραφή ενός video clip με την ενσωματωμένη web-cam του OLPC, το παίξιμο σε full-screen ενός βίντεο, την πρόσβαση σε wireless δίκτυο και άλλα.

from www.youtube.com posted with vodpod

Στο βίντεο θα παρατηρήσετε και την προπαγάνδα Microsoft. Στο σημείο που ο Raciborski μιλά για την χρήση του OLPC ως βιβλίο, με την rotation της οθόνης και την εμφάνιση σε μονοχρωματικό mode ( διάρκεια μπαταρίας 20 ώρες σε αυτό το mode ), στην οθόνη εμφανίζεται ένα άρθρο με τίτλο We Have a Name: “Creative Capitalism” και βέβαια η φωτογραφία του Bill Gates. Γιατί την αποκαλώ προπαγάνδα; Γιατί με την συνεργασία της η Microsoft με την OLPC θέλει να πετύχει ένα μόνο πράγμα. Να ξεπλύνει το αφεντικό της, Bill Gates, από αμαρτίες του παρελθόντος. Τότε που το OLPC το θεωρούσε εχθρό του γιατί θα διέδιδε το linux, τότε που τα φτωχά παιδιά των υποανάπτυκτων χωρών δεν ήταν στα ενδιαφέροντα του Gates. Με τις νέες του ασχολίες και την φιλανθρωπική του δράση ο Bill Gates θεωρούσε μη συμβατή την μη συμμετοχή της Microsoft στο OLPC και συνεπώς προχώρησαν στη συνεργασία.

Microsoft veruscht momentan, die weitere Ausbreiung von Linux auf den ULPCs (Ultra-Lowcost-PCs) zu verhindern.
Sie haben angeblich verschiedenen Hardwareherstellern Angebote gemacht, damit diese günstiger in den “Genuss” eines Microsoft-Betriebssystems kommen – genauer: Windows XP. Microsoft verlangt, bestimmte Hardwaredetails zu nutzen (Display <10,2″; Single-Core-Prozessor, etc.), und verlangt dann für eine Windows-Lizenz nur 26 bzw. 32$ (je nach Verkaufsland).

Ein Microsoft-Offizieller soll außerdem gesagt haben, dass Billig-Notebook-Hersteller gut in den Markt mit Open-Source eingedrungen seien. Dies wolle Microsoft stoppen.

- tecchhannel.de

Hat Micorosft tatsächlich so viel Respekt vor dem doch relativ kleinen Markt der kleinen Linux-Maschinen?
Sie geben sich wirklich größte Mühe, um einst an Linux verlorene Gebiete zurück zu erobern (hoert sich nach Command & Conquer an; aber hey ).

Obviously, Microsoft has a significant interest in making sure that users of the new breed of netbooks and MIDs hitting the market don’t get too comfortable using Linux. Many manufacturers have taken to installing various flavors of Linux on these devices to minimize footprint, improve performance, and reduce costs on low-power, low-margin hardware. Similarly, most modern Linux distributions provide features that are tough to find on Windows XP (especially XP Home); Vista clearly isn’t an option on these little guys.

ULPCs come up a lot in Ed Tech, partly because the OLPC XO, largely credited with creating this market, is an educational tool and also because ULPCs have the potential to make 1:1 computing realistic (or even to simply make any sort of computing realistic in developing markets). The OS of choice for students today will be the OS of choice in business tomorrow; hence, Microsoft’s concern over the use of Linux.

read more | digg story

Microsoft made it official on April 3: There will be no new reprieves for Windows XP (other than on Ultra Low-Cost PCs).

Some customers and partners had been hoping the company might extend again the deadline for all PC makers to be allowed to preload Windows XP, rather than Windows Vista, on new PCs. But today, Microsoft officials said the current June 30, 2008 cut-off date would remain in place for the vast majority of machines.

The one new exception, as some were anticipating, are Ultra Low-Cost PCs (ULPCs), which Microsoft defines as systems like the Asus Eee and Intel Classmate — “significantly more restricted hardware with less expensive processors and more limited graphics capabilities. ULPCs should not be confused with the higher-priced and more robust UMPCs, or Ultra-Mobile PCs (a k a “Origami” devices); Microsoft is continuing to encourage UMPC makers to build their systems around Vista.

read more | digg story

MIAMI–As I predicted last week, Microsoft has decided to extend the life of Windows XP, although only for a limited class of machines.

Microsoft said on Thursday that it will continue to allow Windows XP Home edition to be sold for a class of computers it calls “ultra-low-cost PCs.” It’s a category that covers machines with slower processors, smaller screens, and in many cases flash memory for storage, rather than a traditional hard drive.

Microsoft will give PC makers the option of using Windows XP or Vista on ULCPC devices, said Michael Dix, general manager of Windows client marketing.

Still, the minimal hardware used in ULCPC systems might make Vista ill-suited to such a task. The decision to discontinue Windows XP might have driven even more device makers into the hands of Linux, hence the extension.

Overall, big-name computer makers are still scheduled to have to stop selling Windows XP for all other uses by the end of June. Mainstream technical support will continue to be available for Windows XP through April 2009, and more limited support will continue through April 2014.

read more | digg story