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> > my guess will be that support for XP will be better the comming years
> than for W2K <
> In terms of product life cycle, the availability of system builder license
> for W2K ends Mar 2005 , while XP is Dec 2006. That will have little
effect
> on support like driver availability from peripheral vendors, the NT kernel
> underneath is the same.
>
Even though the system builder license for W2K may end Mar 2005, I have the
distinct impression that MS is strong-arming vendors into only building
machines with XP. I recently purchased a laptop from Gateway and requested
W2K for the OS -- the response... "no can do". I was told that Microsoft
would no longer make W2K available to them, and it was no longer an option.
Now I can only imagine what the dynamics were that prompted the "would no
longer make W2K available to them" situation. But even if it was a
'voluntary' business decision on Gateway's part, I would venture a guess
that MS *highly* influenced that decision....
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