Absolute Gadget

If you want a computer without Microsoft's shiny new Vista then time is running out for you as the company has announced that it will no longer supply copies of XP with new computers.

PC makers will be forced to stop selling machines running the legacy operating system by the end of the year. As of 31 January 2008 (A full year after the consumer launch), you will have to put up with Vista, despite it having compatibility and performance issues that make gaming not terribly good on the new OS. After that, support for the old OS will continue until the end of April 2009.

If you still want to get your hands on a machine running XP then Dell will sell you a business system (not strictly ideal for gaming) as its said there is still a strong demand from small business through its "Customise with Windows XP" scheme.

"Dell recognises the needs of small business customers and understands that more time is needed to transition to a new operating system," said Tom West, director of small business marketing at Dell, on the company's blog. "The plan is to continue offering Windows XP on select Dimension and Inspiron systems until later this summer."

Also, people running pre-release versions of Vista will find that it will stop working on 1 June. The company said that these version of Vista had a limited life and were only there to help people see what the new OS was like and iron out any last minute problems.

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