Office Ultimate 2007 Microsoft's 'new' XP policy f

A Windows executive;s statement this week that Microsoft will proceed to present netbook makers with XP if they want it for a 12 months following Windows 7 ships isn;t a brand new policy. It's a restatement of what firm officials stated a yr ago.In 2008, Microsoft introduced officially its choice to permit vendors of low-cost laptops to carry on to bundle XP by means of 2010 or for any year after the following release of Windows (a k a Windows 7) shipped, whichever arrived final. At that time,Buy Office 2010, Microsoft and a number of other industry gamers had been calling these PCs “ULPCs” (ultra-low-cost PCs), not netbooks.From an April 3,Office 2010 Professional, 2008, blog post I did:“As Microsoft officials announced on April 3, makers of ULPCs will be allowed to keep on to preload XP on ULPC machines until June 30,microsoft Office 2010 License, 2010, or one yr soon after general availability of the following version of Windows,Office Ultimate 2007, whichever comes later.”If Microsoft launches Windows seven this fall, as many are expecting, netbook makers will be allowed to continue to preload XP on new systems through fall 2010. Given that Windows 7 has been shown to perform quite well on netbooks, there are only a couple of reasons I can see vendors wanting to preload XP once 7 is out:1. If Microsoft tries to gouge vendors on price with Windows seven. Right now,Windows 7 64bit, Microsoft is believed to be charging PC makers $15 a copy for XP. Microsoft hasn;t yet told OEMs what it plans to charge them per copy of Windows seven Starter or Home Premium (or any other Win seven SKU for that matter). If Microsoft goes much above $15 per copy, it will leave the door wide open for Linux/Android, etc.2. Users want to continue on to run XP apps which won;t work with Windows 7. The new XP Mode capability Microsoft is introducing with Windows 7 is designed to work on higher-end Windows seven SKUs, not the low-end ones likely to be preloaded on netbooks.Anyone else see any reasons users and PC makers might want to keep offering XP after WIndows seven ships?Speaking of Microsoft and netbooks, Microsoft;s netbook “Jedi mind tricks” (gotta love those Reg headlines) are just one of the topics that Gavin Clarke and I cover in our latest “Microbite” podcast — which is now posted and available for your listening pleasure.