The end of June will see larger PC manufacturers discontinue sales of Windows XP. Smaller system builders will have until the end of January next year during which they can continue to sell the operating system. Retail sales of Windows XP-that is, the boxes on the shelves of stores - will also stop at the end of June.

A criticism of the end of Windows XP sales is that Microsoft is forcing users to upgrade to the next version. John Curran, Windows client director, denied that this is the case. There is nothing in the licence agreement for Windows that says it cannot be used after a certain date. The same is true of previous versions of the operating system, such as Windows 98.

Also, anyone who wants to buy a computer with Windows XP may be relieved to learn that they are still likely to find new PCs with it installed. Most of these will be from local shops. Another reprieve for Windows XP has appeared in recent months in response to the rise in sales of mini notebooks, such as the Asus Eee Pc. These uItra-mobile notebooks may be small and have good battery life, but they are not very powerful. While some manufacturers have chosen to include Windows Vista, few of these sub-notebooks have enough power to run the new operating system comfortably. For this reason, many manufacturers are using XP or have created their own versions of the free Linux operating system. that is likely to be incompatible with Vista, and you don't want option but it could turn out to be essential for people who need the lower system requirements offered by XP (see "The irony of Vista's competition.


The most widely publicised ultra-mobile PC is the Asus Eee PC. However, Asus isn't the only company to have launched computers with an option for Linux; the HP Mininote 2133 can also be supplied with Linux. Our experiences with small notebooks from other companies can be found in our previous issues.

Microsoft has also responded by continuing to allow Windows XP to be sold for what are described as ultra low-cost computers, like these notebooks. Another way to continue using XP is to buy Windows Vista Ultimate, as this version comes with the option to downgrade to Windows XP. It's not a cheap