Microsoft originally planned to stop distributing Windows XP media to large OEMs (OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer, such as Dell/HP) on Jan. 31, 2009, but this week Microsoft said it would move the deadline to July 31 of next year.

With Windows 7, the followup to Vista, scheduled for release in 2010, there may be just six months difference in time between availability of XP and the *next* version of Windows.  Our bet is that XP will remain available until the day Windows 7 ships.

Our recommendation remains to stick with Windows XP for business class machines.  The learning curve and compatibility issues of Vista don’t make good business sense!