HP's got some new 2133 configs out as of tonight, including options for "downgrading" to Windows XP on models over $700 -- more or less as expected. They're up to eight base configs ranging from $500 to $820, so if you've been thinking of picking one up you've certainly got plenty of options to choose from.

[Via HP 2133 Guide]

While Microsoft has seen it fit to keep XP around as its "relatively non-bloated OS" alternative to the Linux that has dominated this new category of "ultra low-cost PCs" (ULPCs), they're certainly not giving away the farm. Microsoft doesn't want this version of XP Home creeping into mainstream laptops and desktops, where it might compete with Vista sales and high-margin machines from PC manufacturers. To that end, Microsoft is setting the limits for ULPCs at 10.2-inch screens, 80GB of storage, 1GB of RAM, 1GHz processors (with some exceptions) and no touchscreens. The upshot is that licenses for XP will go for $26 in developing nations and $32 elsewhere. Too bad the XP faithful among us will need to try a bit harder to wrangle XP onto new machines of theirs that don't fit these narrow specifications.

HP's Mini-Note 2133 is due to get all-new Windows XP configurations this month, and it looks like early pricing details are starting to leak out. If the numbers are accurate, a base 1.2GHz rig with 1GB of RAM and a 120GB disk will run you $729, and bumping things up to 1.6GHz, 2GB of RAM and a 160GB disk will set you back $819. That's pretty steep -- but remember, early pricing info on the currently-available models was a tiny bit off, so these numbers could change when these hit sometime next week.

At last the moment you've been waiting for. Microsoft wants to hit your version of Windows with an update, and this time you don't have to go rummaging around the internet to find it: just fire up Windows Update and let Microsoft do all the work. After a few false starts XP users get the much-anticipated SP3 update, which promises speed boosts and some of the fancy security features found in Vista. If you're a Vista user you're also in luck, since Microsoft has restarted its Vista SP1 distribution after some compatibility problems with Microsoft Dynamics RMS. Sounds like a party.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Attention XP'ers -- your wildest fantasies are coming to fruition. Word on the street is that Service Pack 3 is now available for download all over the World Wide Web. When we say "all over" what we really mean is via Windows Update and the Microsoft Download Center, though we doubt it will stay in one place for too long. Apparently, the new pack offers 1,100 hotfixes and patches, so maybe your obscure, cheapo soundcard will now function in stereo.

Update: Apparently due to a "glitch" in the latest SP, Microsoft has delayed the release of the update, now aiming for a May 2nd street date. Thanks commenters and tipsters, and no thanks to you, Microsoft.

Steve Ballmer kicked up a little dirt last week when he said that Microsoft could "wake up smarter" and keep selling XP after the June 30 cutoff date if customer feedback demanded it, but as you'd expect, the company is busily trying to "clarify" that statement by saying that while it always listens to customers, XP is definitely going to die on the 30th. Well, apart from the ultraportable exception that'll last until 2012 or so. And the backlog of licenses still in reseller's hands. Oh, and a little company called Dell, which, as rumored, is going to take advantage of a Vista licensing loophole that allows it to sell a copy of Vista but preload XP instead. Yep, that's the plan -- Dell's going to report a Vista sale to Microsoft, but deliver an XP box with Vista upgrade DVD to customers. (That sound you just heard was a million accountants sighing in appreciation.) The program will be available for Latitude, OptiPlex, Precision, Vostro, and XPS systems (some with a minor fee), and Dell says it'll keep going as long as Microsoft supports the "downgrade" license option, which could be forever. Looks like June 30 just got a lot less scary for XP fans, no?

Read - Microsoft clarification of Ballmer's comments
Read - Dell to keep selling XP

What do you know? The former OLPC head of software and content did indeed resign at least partially over NickNeg's growing fondness of Windows XP. In a recent soul-spilling interview with xconomy, Walter Bender made clear that he resigned his post at the non-profit due to the general de-emphasis of "radical projects like Sugar," the innovative XO user interface which Mr. Bender was unsurprisingly neck-deep in during his stay. Essentially, he felt as if the outfit had stopped trying to "be disruptive" and started "trying to make things comfortable for decision-makers," hence Walter darting out "to do his own thing." Needless to say, the lead developer of Sugar isn't satisfied with seeing his work forgotten, and while details have yet to be worked out, he is looking to "find a new central home for the community of educators and software developers who have been creating Sugar-compatible applications."

[Image courtesy of The New York Times]

You know the drill. Days before the official consumer release on the 29th, out pops the final version of Windows XP SP3 on torrents, usenet, and warez sites. We haven't confirmed it for ourselves but we've received multiple reports that this final, unmodified version features a legit Volume Licensed Key which handles that pesky WGA check without breaking a sweat. Should you be brave enough to install it then by all means drop us a line in the comments about your experience. Then again, why rush? You'll likely have until 2012 to perform the update.

[Thanks, Chris]

Windows XP has a date with destiny scheduled for June 30, but it looks like the plucky OS just isn't ready to go: Ultraportable OEMs will be able to preload XP until "one year after the general availability of Windows 7," whenever that is, and now we're hearing reports that Dell's telling customers it'll sell XP on professional systems until 2012. The Dell thing is just a rumor for now, but what's Steve Ballmer doing telling reporters that although XP is EOL, "if customer feedback varies, we can always wake up smarter" and extend XP sales? Um, Steve? Customers have been feeding back like crazy and Microsoft has kind of ignored them, remember? Maybe it's time for a quick nap.

Update: That was pretty funny for a totally unintentional typo, wasn't it?

Read - CNET article quoting Ballmer
Read - Dell rumors

It's not nearly as big a deal as Vista SP1, but it looks like Windows XP SP3 will be out in just eight short days -- Microsoft just confirmed that it's been released to manufacturing, and that it'll be in Windows Update and the Microsoft Download Center on April 29th. No word on if OEMs and devs got access today like we'd heard, but it shouldn't be long now -- here's hoping that rumored 10 percent speed boost is for real.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

The recent shakeups at the top of the OLPC hierarchy have apparently claimed another victim, as OLPC News is reporting that Software and Content chief Walter Bender has just left the project. Rumor is that Nicholas Negroponte is going to transition the OLPC XO entirely to Windows XP to spur sales soon, and Bender is reportedly unhappy about that. What makes this all the more interesting is that when security director Ivan Krstić left the OLPC project last month, he specifically said he was unhappy that the restructuring no longer required him to work with Bender, and said that he could no longer "subscribe to the organization's new aims or structure in good faith." Looks like something's afoot at OLPC, and the old guard isn't happy about it. What say you, NickNeg?

If your pants / panties were in a "bunch" upon hearing news that Windows 7 would be headed into your ever-loving arms "next year," you might just want to hold off on those party invites for a little bit. Sure, Bill Gates just happened to mention that we'd see a new version of the OS "Sometime in the next year or so," but it's looking like that "or so" makes a world of difference. Microsoft wants to chill everyone out with the somber news that its got no plans to introduce Windows 7 any earlier than January 2010 (three years from the launch of Vista), and reassure us that crazy old Gates may have just been talkin' developer speak. "As is standard with the release of a new product, we will be releasing early builds of Windows 7 prior to its general availability as a means to gain tester feedback," a spokesman for Microsoft said, downplaying Gates' statement. Of course, this means that XP's cutoff will suddenly move even further down the line, which makes us wonder what the point of setting that June 2010 date was in the first place. Why are you toying with us like this, Microsoft?

[Thanks, Tony]

We puzzled over Microsoft's cryptic statements at CeBIT that the Eee's "other requirements" would lead to an adjustment of the Windows 7 timeline, and it looks like our first guess was spot-on: Microsoft will be making Windows XP available for Eee-class ultraportables until 2010, and possibly later. Demand for XP on devices like the Eee and Intel's Classmate machines has prompted MS to reconsider axing XP entirely this June: the company will now sell XP Home through at least June 2010, and for one year after the release of Windows 7 -- which means sales of XP could stretch into 2012. There's no word on if the build of XP Home targeted at the ultraportable laptop set will be different from regular XP builds, but we doubt there'll be many changes -- it'll be awfully sad if people are still clamoring for XP more than a decade after its initial release, though.

[Thanks, JP]

Sounds like we've finally got a price and a date for the XP powered Eee PC: $400, and April 9th. The hardware's identical to current-gen Eee PCs, though, so if you're happy with your little white lappy and are itching for XP you might try to pick up a license on eBay. Still, if all goes well for ASUS, they'll be selling 4x what they did the first time around, innit?

P.S. -If you are, for whatever reason, itching to read more about current hardware running the 7 year old OS, Laptop's got a hands-on. Nothing that wasn't already out there though.

XP may not EOL until this June, but that doesn't mean it's not in need of the same kind of tender lovin' update packs as OSes of every variety occasionally receive. And according to CRN, the long awaited XP SP3 could be due out as early as tomorrow, or possibly later this week. We'll keep an eye out -- we know it's hard to let XP go.

[Thanks, Khattab]

Update: We hate to be the bearers of bad news but we've already heard that things might not be so optimistic for such an early release. Sources tell us that there still might be some show-stopping issues with SP3 that could prevent it from staying stable (and thus seeing immediate rollout). We'll be watching, as always.