Dell Finds A "Bonus" In Its License With Microsoft And Keeps Shipping Windows XP (DELL, MSFT)
From the Dell blog:
The short version is that Dell can sell what we’ve branded “Windows Vista Bonus” which allows us to preinstall XP Professional with a Vista license (on select system categories). This lets customer’s [sic] upgrade to the Vista platform when they’re ready. And yes, Dell will support both OSs.
It's possible Dell has some sort of special deal with Microsoft which allows it to offer its "Windows Vista Bonus" (we love this name). But more likely, Dell's move comes from a creative reading of the standard Microsoft license. If so -- and if the market's aversion to Vista is as strong as we think it is -- expect more computer manufacturers to follow suit.
See also:
Windows Fans: It's Your Last Chance To Avoid Vista
It's Not Just The Ads: Real People Don't Like Office, Vista
Microsoft: We Know Vista Sucks, So Keep XP
But unless you have some killer application which takes advantage of 64 bit mode (most major graphics/video/3D packages do for obvious reasons), you won't have a compelling reason to go 64 bit at this time.
I'm on the edge. I could make the jump to 64 bit Vista to use my graphics apps but I'm waiting for Blu Ray burners and players to drop in price first before I do my next round of software upgrades. So until that happens I'm staying with XP.
http://yourblog.dell.com/2008/05/12/life-after-windows-xp/
Vista has already surpassed all competitor's marketshare combined. So while adoption hasn't been what the company hoped, it's good to keep some perspective. If you're buying a new machine with 2GB of RAM or more, loading it with XP really doesn't make a lot of sense unless you have some corner case software or hardware compatibility issue that requires it.