June 18, 2008 is the last day for you to place a regular order with Dell for a computer to be pre-loaded with Windows XP Pro. After the 18th you’ll have to exercise your “downgrade rights” by purchasing a qualifying machine with a qualifying copy of Vista and specifying that you want to downgrade to XP (and in some instances pay a $20 - $50 fee). Confused? Keep reading for more information that explains the process.

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XP SP3 WAS released, but got pulled; and then got released again.

I’ve been following this on and off, and it seems to me to be one of the MOST comical configuration and release management related issues I’ve bumped into in a long time. I should know, too. As a Software QA Director, I’ve been responsible not only for Test, but CM and RM as well.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see situations like the XP SP3 and Vista SP1 release issues we have (BTW, Vista SP1 is also on hold…AGAIN!) in small companies, but to see them in a retail giant like Microsoft is really bothersome…especially when the entire world runs their businesses on Microsoft software.

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Slickdeal.net spotlights a giveaway of WinRAR version 3.62. Granted, it’s not the latest release (version 3.71 is the latest - adding Vista compatibility - details) - but it’s a legal licensed copy. There are a few simple steps to request your license key.

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Last night I decided to take another look in the box that the U1010 came in, just to see if there were any goodies I was missing out on. Unlike the Shift the U1010 came with reinstall DVDs, as opposed to having a backup partition. I like the way the Shift can completely reload itself without any outside help, but having DVDs is a good idea too.

Anyway, in the box I found install DVDs for both Vista Business (which came preloaded) and Windows XP Tablet Edition. Now the performance on the U1010 has been fine on Vista, but I was curious to see just how much slower Vista was than XP on the relatively slow processor.

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Microsoft has stopped the SP1 Prereq Merry-Go-Round…

Vista SP1 has been available for a little bit, but hasn’t hit many computers in the wild due to a problem with one of the prereq KB installs.  Two months ago, when the prereq was released, it sent some computers into an endless series of reboots.  Many users stuck in that loop were without any recourse as they watched the scenery blur as they went in circles on that merry-go-round from hell.

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In the spirit of reviewing, two nights ago I gave the HTC Shift restore feature a try. There are no discs included with the Shift, just a recovery partition containing an image of Vista Business, the original applications and the drivers.

Quite a good idea actually, sure it chews up a bit of the relatively cramped 40GB HDD, but at least you’ll know that if something goes wrong (virus, damaged system file, etc) you can just hold F3 while booting, and bring it back to the default state.

In my experience however, not all was moonlight and roses. Getting the recovery going was a simple matter, and it happened quite quickly too (less than 30mins). Booting for the first time takes ages, but eventually I hit the Vista desktop, straight into a driver warning.

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If you are as excited as I am about the new WM 6.1 devices (is my sarcasm showing?), then here is a peek at two new ones.

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If you don’t need expansion card slots and memory that only goes to 2GB (EASILY upgraded this myself), then Best Buy has the laptop we bought last month back on sale for $449. This is an Internet only deal - no in store pickup. Unfortunately shipping this time around is $ 19.95 (if you’re patient you may see them throw in free shipping). But it met my two main criteria for a home laptop - (a) big enough hard drive (120 GB) and useable O/S (Windows Vista Home Premium). Last night we installed Office Professional off my Technet subscription (you did read about my Technet deal, right?). Ordinarily I’d say this is a middle of the road laptop…except…every time I use it I’m saying “you know this isn’t a bad laptop for the money” - and my main machine these days is a MacBook Pro. Take a look at this deal and if it suits your needs, I recommend it. UPDATE 4-6-2008 2:20pm : Just noticed this Dell on sale at Best Buy for $499 (has the same $16 shipping) - but 2GB of RAM and 160 GB HDD - memory on the Dell can go to 4GB max while the HP tops out at 2GB. Update: 4-18-2008:Check Fatwallet.com before making any purchases -  this laptop goes on and off sale all the time - I recently spied it at Best Buy in-store for $429.

Link: Best Buy Online - Commpaq Presario T2330 for $449 plus $ 19.95 shipping

Microsoft today clarified that it is in fact retiring Windows XP as previously announced last September. The last day to buy Windows XP for most users is June 30, 2008. Certain lower cost classes of ultra-low-cost computers (ULCPC) will be allowed to use Windows XP Home until June 30, 2010. The full Microsoft press release is here. There will be no impact on the technical support options —mainstream technical support for Windows XP will continue to be available until April 2009 and extended support will continue until April 2014. Time to add some memory to that computer and get ready for Vista.

I’ve seen a bunch of news on this today (Tuesday 18-Mar-08) that Vista SP1 is going to hit Microsoft Update as early as today. Retail copies of the software will be available via B&M and online stores as early as tomorrow, and will sport new, lower prices.

Vista SP1 shipped to duplication and resellers on 04-Feb-08. Before that, It was only been available to beta testers, volume-licensing customers and subscribers to subscription services like MSDN and TechNet, but only after they caused a big stink, threatening to cancel their subscriptions. It seems that David does that some power over this software Goliath.

Many users haven’t been able to get their hands on the code, however. Microsoft delayed its release due to driver compatibility issues. As many users have read recently, some drivers won’t properly reinstall during the SP1 upgrade. While Microsoft has worked through most of these issues with most of the vendors, they needed to set up blocking mechanisms to prevent PC’s with errant drivers from receiving and installing the service pack.

If you’re in the market for a new PC, you’ll likely get SP1 with your new machine. Fortunately, those folks shouldn’t have to worry about any driver compatibility issues. Microsoft has stated that OEM and retail copies should be good to go, beginning tomorrow, 19-Mar-08.