Judgment day for Windows XP

Microsoft is really serious about this Monday, June 30, being the end date for selling Windows XP licenses with new computers -- so serious that Senior Vice President Bill Veghte wrote a letter clarifying some of the details.

Windows XP's life had been extended once before, but this time the bells are ringing on the venerable operating system, with a few exceptions. And Veghte's letter pointed to the future, beyond the current Windows Vista operating system. He gave an estimated arrival time for "Windows 7," the code name for Microsoft's still developing operating system.

Expect to see Windows 7 arriving sometime around January of 2010, Veghte wrote.

Addressing the Microsoft partner community, Veghte confirmed that Windows 7 will not be a new kernel, but will be built on Windows Vista. Partners can expect less of a surprise in terms of integration and migration efforts than was the case with Vista.

"You've also let us know you don't want to face the kinds of incompatibility challenges with the next version of Windows you might have experienced early with Windows Vista," Veghte explained. "As a result, our approach with Windows 7 is to build off the same core architecture as Windows Vista so the investments you and our partners have made in Windows Vista will continue to pay off with Windows 7. Our goal is to ensure the migration process from Windows Vista to Windows 7 is straightforward."

So does June 30 really signal the end of Windows XP? The answer is that Windows XP is not quite dead yet, but it is mortally wounded, and will limp along under the legal fine print for a few more years.

For instance, Microsoft plans to continue to provide security updates for Windows XP Service Pack 3 until April of 2014, Veghte explained. So current users of Windows XP can expect almost six more years of patch support.

In terms of buying Windows XP directly instead of Windows Vista, that's a little tricky. Microsoft plans to license Windows Vista Home Edition and Windows XP Starter to low-cost computer makers. XP won't be available for new state-of-the-art PCs after June 30, but there's potentially an extension to that deadline if the PC comes from a "system builder." A Microsoft spokesperson described the availability of XP licensing by e-mail in this way:

• "Windows XP will no longer be available for purchase from Microsoft for general retail and OEM partners as of June 30, 2008
• System builders will be able to purchase until January 31, 2009
• For Windows XP Starter (in emerging markets) and Windows XP Home for NetBooks and NetTops (formerly known as ULCPCs), the date is June 30, 2010
• Per our longstanding practice allowing 'downgrade' rights, enterprise customers and purchasers of Windows Vista Ultimate or Windows Vista Business editions can choose to downgrade to Windows XP Professional if they feel they need more time to get ready for Windows Vista."