Downgrade rights for Windows 7 will be “hugely important,” an analyst said Thursday, but he’s not optimistic that Microsoft Corp. will let users continue to install Windows XP on new machines.

As expected, Microsoft will let computer makers sell PCs with Windows XP for six months after the release of Windows 7, a move likely to confuse companies and make it tougher for them to manage their ...

The clock is ticking on the demise of some downgrade rights for Windows 7, an analyst said Thursday. Last year, Microsoft said that customers could downgrade new machines purchased with Windows 7 ...

"We will offer downgrade rights from Windows 7 to Windows XP in the same way we did with Windows Vista," a Microsoft spokesperson told Channelweb.com. "Volume licensing customers have always had the ...

On Tuesday, in a sympathetically worded post to the Engineering Windows 7 blog, the Windows 7 team explained that Microsoft needs to ensure that the Windows 7 RC works in real-world scenarios, and the ...

The company had planned to end the option with the shipping of Windows 7 Service Pack 1, which entered beta on Monday. During her years at CNET News, Ina Fried changed beats several times, changed ...

Analyst is not optimistic Microsoft will let users install XP on new machines, even though downgrade rights are just as important for Windows 7 as they've been for Vista Downgrade rights for Windows 7 ...