I guess the last thing they want is their major competitors operating system installed and running smoothly and efficiently on old machines showing what a non-improvement their latest offering is!

While it's great that these old computers are being reused rather than being dumped in skips and ending up on landfill sites, I have one question....

These PC's are presumably going to be a good couple of years old (so maybe slowish P4's, P3's and maybe even earlier spec machines). These machines are likely not to run Windows Vista at all. So, I assume they will have XP installed on them?

So far so good, but what happens when Microsoft stops supporting XP? (2008 is it?). I can just see a whole load of machines then without security updates and possibly turned into zombie machines for spamming etc.

Call me cynical but surely Microsoft could use their 'deal' with Novell or Linspire and have the machines preloaded with something like SUSE Linux which will be supported a bit longer (or even better, Ubuntu 6.06 which will be supported until at least 2009 on the desktop, by which time another long term release would have come out which would probably still work on the machines).

Rob

Microsoft see that Linux runs fine on older boxes so this is their short term panic solution.

I think their idea is that in 12 months time people will simply replace their really old clapped out Windows PC with a not so clapped out Windows PC. As Vista is forced onto companies then a lot of the border line PCs will be dumped and Microsoft will put basic Vista onto them and flood the "market place" with their borderline kit.

Remember 1 person using an old box with XP or an old box with a basic version of Vista is one more "true believer" who wont stray over to the "dark side" that is Linux.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/08/22/more_on_the_pcs/

Giving away old computers with Windows 3.1 or 95 on seemed like a good idea in 2001.

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So, I assume they will have XP installed on them?

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It does say that on the MAR Site had you bothered to read it.

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So far so good, but what happens when Microsoft stops supporting XP? (2008 is it?). I can just see a whole load of machines then without security updates and possibly turned into zombie machines for spamming etc.

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Oh dear, no, Microsoft aren't ditching patches for XP in 2008. Mainstream support ends on 14/04/2009, and extended support 08/04/2014 so surely enough time then as Extended Support offers Security related Updates support still...

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Call me cynical but surely Microsoft could use their 'deal' with Novell or Linspire and have the machines preloaded with something like SUSE Linux which will be supported a bit longer (or even better, Ubuntu 6.06 which will be supported until at least 2009 on the desktop, by which time another long term release would have come out which would probably still work on the machines).

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Well XP wil be supported for a number of years yet, so there's no need.

"Call me cynical but surely Microsoft could use their 'deal' with Novell or Linspire and have the machines preloaded with something like SUSE Linux which will be supported a bit longer (or even better, Ubuntu 6.06 which will be supported until at least 2009 on the desktop, by which time another long term release would have come out which would probably still work on the machines)."

Of all the OSs you mention the only one with a long-term support roadmap is XP - the others will only be supported for a couple of years - I wouldn't put money on Novell/SuSE, Linspire or Ubuntu even being around in 2014 (which is the current date for the XP rug being pulled out).

Having been refurbing old office PCs for schools for years I have noticed that schools now often reject PCs unless they are under 18 months AND come with a flat screen!!

With the cash input from the gov and better fund raising, schools are more likely to buy new or leased with support contracts.

Nice idea, but too little too late

get them to the schools with one LTSP server and use those old computers as clients. We've just solved the OS licensing problem, alot of support problems, no hard drive means less power usage, and it can be configured, reconfigured, and customized any which way you can think of.