Microsoft May Squeeze More Life From Windows XP

Is Microsoft MSFT secretly trying to find a way to keep Windows XP alive? And what does that have to do with Asus' mega-popular Eee PC?

According to Australia's APC Magazine, which resides online at Microsoft's NineMSN.com, the Asus people have been busy, toiling behind the scenes, to keep Windows XP software alive past its threatened "end of life" announcement.

Microsoft XP's Still Got It

Microsoft had previously announced it will stop licensing Windows XP to OEMs and terminate retail sales on June 30 of this year. But, an exception was announced two weeks ago for OEMs installing to subnotebooks or UMPCs (Ultra Mobile PCs) until June 30, 2010, or one year after the availability of the next client version of Windows, code-named Windows 7. This could be a new name for Windows XP. Sorta like Coke reverting back to "Classic" Coke after the tragic move toward "New" Coke, years ago.

Either way, by April 14, 2009, Windows XP will begin an "extended support" period that will last for five years.

XP's successor, Windows Vista, has not been the universal success that Microsoft had hoped for. Early installation problems and subsequent fixes have not shaken the huge installed XP base to switch. Many large enterprise users are still not convinced they should spend huge sums of money to upgrade to Vista when their XP-based systems might outperform the newer software.

Back to Asus. The current Windows XP Home edition of the Eee PC comes with 4GB of built-in memory -- most of which is taken up by the currently loaded operating system. There's enough room for everything -- but just barely.

New reports claim Microsoft and Asus are hard at work to create a special edition of XP for the Eee and possibly other tiny (and maybe also older) computers.

APC reports that a special edition Eee PC will be preloaded with a paired-down version of XP that would include Microsoft Works and will be based on XP Home with SP3 (the soon-to-be-released update). According to a regional Asus manager, the new, condensed OS will fall somewhere between 1.5 GB and 1.8 GB -- a big reduction in memory space over the Windows Eee PC I just tested.

Because of price and portability, these new ultra-small, ultra-lightweight laptops seem to be destined to become the "next big thing." Intel INTC, Hewlett-Packard HPQ and, of course, Asus are already leading the way. Current industry estimates predict that by 2010 millions of these small devices will be sold each year -- and will be popular all over the world.

Forget about what we used to call PCs -- these mini devices will be the next personal computers.

The bottom line comes down to this: Will the large installed base of current users demand that Windows XP lives on, or will Microsoft continue with its plans to try to switch all PC users over to Windows Vista?

Finally, Asus is also working on improving its Eee PC in other ways. In the next few months, we should see an Eee with a nine-inch (diagonal) screen. It will take up the entire top half of the open laptop. And expect these new Eees to come loaded with 12 GB (Windows) to 20 GB (Linux) of built-in, solid-state storage, a better- quality Webcam and maybe even a next-generation Intel processor and extended battery life.

The first larger-screen Eees have begun to hit the marketplace in Asia -- and the reviews are very, very positive.

I can't wait to get my hands on one so I can tell you all about it.