Interesting Computerworld article on this:
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=printArticleBasic&articl
eId=9070119&source=NLT_AM&nlid=1
or here if the above wraps unusably: http://preview.tinyurl.com/yq3u3g
Microsoft's PDF on downgrade rights (URL is in the above article) has some
interesting language:
The OEM vesions [sic] of Windows Vista Business and Windows Vista Ultimate
include downgrade rights to Microsoft Windows XP Professional, Microsoft
Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, and Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC
Edition. Customers may not downgrade to Windows 2000 Professional from
Windows Vista Business or Windows Vista Ultimate
PDF URL http://preview.tinyurl.com/25o7fg
Looks like activation is going to be a PITA though. From the above PDF:
Q. What about product activation? When a previously licensed version of
Windows XP Professional is used for the downgrade, won´t activation fail
on the new PC?
A. When an end user is using their downgrade rights offered under the
License Terms in Windows Vista Business and Ultimate versions and they use
both Windows XP media and a product key that was previously activated,
they will be unable to activate on-line over the Internet, due to the
hardware confi guration change when installing on the Vista system. In
these cases the end user will be prompted to call the Activation Support
Line and explain their circumstances to the Customer Service
Representative. Once it is determined that the end user has a valid Vista
Business or Ultimate license, the Customer Service Representative will
help them activate their software.
The shipping of XP SP3 (best guess for that now is late April, 2008) *_MAY_*
extend mainstream support for XP.
Here's hoping MS will extend XP's end-of-sales date beyond June.
A
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