As you may know, Windows XP won't be sold in stores as of June 30, 2008. This doesn’t mean that Windows XP will disappear overnight. You may still see copies of the software—or computers pre-loaded with it—for months, as stores and PC makers work through their inventory. We have stopped sending it to Dell, HP, Lenovo and all the other major PC manufacturers to sell on their PCs. But, smaller local PC makers—known in the industry as "system builders"—can continue to sell PCs with Windows XP until January 2009. We have also recently announced that computers with limited hardware capabilities—devices sometimes called Netbooks or ultra-low cost PCs (ULCPC)—can carry Windows XP Home until June 2010. (Read about the ULCPC program on Microsoft Presspass.) For more information, go to the Future of Windows XP.

When you buy the Windows Vista Business or Windows Vista Ultimate, you're automatically entitled to move back to Windows XP Professional via what we call "downgrade rights." We've been working closely with our industry partners to develop new programs for small business customers interested in exercising these rights.