You might find this interesting.
>
> F.Y.I.
>
>
> <URL:
> http://news.yahoo.com/s/infoworld/20080128/tc_infoworld/94803&printer=1;_ylt=ApMOjvSM.dtJ91M8qKCaw0G73MMF
>
>>
>
> How to get Windows XP after June 30
>
> Galen GrumanMon Jan 28, 6:00 AM ET
>
> Two weeks ago, InfoWorld launched a petition campaign to save Windows
> XP. So far we've gotten more than 70,000 signatures, thanks to a
> passionate response from a wide range of XP users. We hope we can
> persuade Microsoft to keep selling XP licenses indefinitely, past the
> June 30 deadline, after which Microsoft has said no more shrink-wrapped
> or OEM licenses will be available for retailers, computer makers, and
> others to order. (Vendors can continue to sell by June 30 any XP
> licenses they ordered from Microsoft, but when they run out of those,
> they can't get more to sell.)
>
> We fully acknowledge that, even if we get a million signatures,
> Microsoft may stick with its original plan. If new Windows XP licenses
> come to a screeching halt after June 30 as currently planned, what can
> IT do to get more XP seats? The answer depends on your licensing
> arrangement with Microsoft. The short answer for most users, though, is
> that Microsoft will let people with Vista Business or Ultimate
> "downgrade" to Windows XP Pro under specific circumstances.
>
> Here, based on Microsoft's published documentation and on the
> company???s responses to our questions, is InfoWorld's guide to how you
> can get new XP licenses after Microsoft officially pulls the plug. Note
> that some of Microsoft's answers to us differ from what has been
> published on its Web site. Microsoft had changed some of its "downgrade"
> policies in summer 2007 and appears to have missed updating some of its
> documents.
>
> Retail licenses If you're Joe XP user and you want additional upgrade or
> full-install packages, your only option is to stock up before the
> deadline. Only until July 1 can retailers order shrink-wrapped boxes of
> new XP licenses and upgrade licenses -- what Microsoft calls FPP (Full
> Package Product) licenses -- to sell to customers like you. Chances are
> these last licenses will sell out quickly after the June 30 order cutoff.
>
> Also until July 1, individuals can buy XP licenses online from Microsoft
> (such as when you have an installation CD and need an extra license for
> it or when you need to load the software on a second computer), but not
> after that date.
>
> OEM licenses PC makers largely stopped selling XP preinstalled on new
> consumer-oriented desktops and laptops in spring 2007, although they
> remain available to business customers who order online or have a
> business account with OEMs such as Dell Computer or Hewlett-Packard.
> (Microsoft calls preinstalled copies of Windows "Direct OEM" licenses.)
> So larger businesses have by and large kept ordering XP-equipped PCs,
> although many individuals and small businesses bought Vista instead
> because they didn't know they had a choice.
>
> Today, people who have already bought Vista systems have two choices to
> get XP instead. One is to buy an FPP XP license before June 30 and
> install it over Vista.
>
> The other is to "downgrade" to XP Professional, using an XP Pro install
> disc you already have or a "downgrade" XP Pro install disc supplied by
> the PC maker. Essentially, Microsoft lets you use your new Vista license
> for an XP Pro install. You have such "downgrade rights," however, only
> if you bought Vista Business or Vista Ultimate.
>
> Note that you can't run both Vista and XP using the same license (so you
> can't, for example, install Vista on a virtual machine if you're also
> using the XP "downgrade" install as your boot OS). You get only one
> license and have to choose one OS or the other. And OEMs don't have to
> make the "downgrade" discs available to you.
>
> Also note that any version of Windows preinstalled on a PC is licensed
> only for that computer and cannot be transferred to a different machine,
> so you cannot use such "old" licenses on new PCs, even if you no longer
> use the old hardware. But you can use your old XP discs under the
> "downgrade rights" conditions above.
>
> After June 30, OEMs can no longer order new licenses of Windows XP. (The
> deadline is Jan. 31, 2009 for white-box PC makers, who have what
> Microsoft calls a System Builder license. Other than the date, the
> limitations and options for installing XP are the same as for Direct OEM
> licenses.) So how do you get XP on PCs you buy after these cutoff dates?
>
> After the cutoff, OEMs may still install Windows XP Pro (not Home) on
> users' systems, but only for orders of 25 or more PCs. In this case, the
> systems must come with a Vista Business or Ultimate license, which is
> then transferred to the XP Pro install. Essentially, you're buying a
> Vista PC that the OEM can then put XP Pro on instead, using the Vista
> license to activate XP Pro. (Again, the OEMs don't have to provide this
> option.)
>
> If you buy fewer than 25 PCs in an order, the OEM can install only
> Vista. You can still get XP Pro on those PCs, though, if they came with
> Vista Business or Ultimate. Those two Vista versions include the
> "downgrade rights" that let you apply the Vista license to your XP Pro
> installation. You can use your existing XP Pro install discs or get an
> XP "downgrade" disc from the PC maker (if it wants to supply it).
> Remember that "downgrade rights" are not available in OEM licenses for
> other versions of Vista, and they do not let you install XP Home.
>
> Enterprise licenses Businesses that have volume Windows licenses can
> also install XP Pro after the order cutoff deadlines. If you have a
> volume license for any version of Vista (not just Business and
> Ultimate), you may install XP Pro on your Vista PCs using the "downgrade
> rights" granted in the volume license.
>
> To downgrade, you can use your existing copy of the XP Pro installation
> images. Microsoft will also supply an XP Pro "downgrade" installation
> disc or disc image after the cutoff dates. As noted earlier, OEMs can
> also do the "downgrade" for you in some cases.
>
> "Most small businesses, enterprises, government agencies and educational
> institutions purchase their software through volume license agreements.
> As part of those volume license agreements, they get downgrade rights as
> part of the license," noted a Microsoft spokesperson. Volume licenses
> are available for as few as five seats.
>
> "Subscription" licenses Some businesses don't directly license Windows,
> but instead "rent" it from IT support companies such as CenterBeam that
> provision Windows, Office, and other software on a per-user, per-month
> basis under Microsoft's Service Provider License Agreement. The service
> provider actually owns the license. If your business gets its Windows
> OSes this way, any XP licenses acquired through the provider will stay
> active, said Karen Hayward, executive vice president at CenterBeam. For
> new users after June 30, however, it's not clear if CenterBeam can offer
> XP, she noted. The service provider license does not forbid provisioning
> of XP after that date, but neither does it specifically allow it.
> CenterBeam hopes to have a clarification from Microsoft in February.
>
> The Microsoft spokesperson said that such providers' license agreements
> with Microsoft would specify how long each provider could offer XP, but
> that the June 30 and January 31 cutoff dates should have no effect on 
> them.
>
> What happens to existing licenses Organizations can continue to use any
> Windows XP licenses they have indefinitely, even after the OS is no
> longer available for new licenses.
>
> For technical support and updates, Microsoft will end mainstream support
> for XP on April 14, 2009, for most editions, and it will end extended
> support on April 8, 2014 for most editions. (Extended support is not
> available for consumer licenses.) Both support mechanisms include free
> security updates. Hot fixes for other issues are free only during the
> mainstream support period; non-consumer users wanting hot fixes must buy
> a hot-fix update plan from Microsoft before July 14, 2009.
>
>
> Ken
> -- 
> What a fantastic time to be in Ham Radio!
>
>
> -- 
> What a fantastic time to be in Ham Radio!
>
>
> -- 
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