How to Get and Keep Windows XP After June 30

Windows XP is dead... long live Windows XP. You may have heard that as of June 30, you're no longer able to buy the operating system or obtain support for it. But that isn't quite the case. In fact, you'll be able to buy XP on certain mainstream PCs at least until January 31, 2009, and possibly beyond. The cutoff date is even later for some ultra-low-cost notebooks such as those made by Asus: They'll sell with XP until June 2010. As for technical support, that has a lot of life left as well--officially, Microsoft will provide at least some forms of support until 2014.
Given the confusion about XP's future, we decided to lay out your options for buying XP and getting support for it beyond the official sunset date for the OS.

Not Dead Yet
Microsoft's public statement seems to leave no wiggle room. It reads, "Windows XP will no longer be available for purchase from Microsoft for general retail and OEM partners as of June 30, 2008."
But that simple statement hides plenty of loopholes. First, retailers and PC makers can still sell the Windows XP software, and Windows XP PCs, after that date, as long as they purchased the products before June 30. If a retailer stocked up on copies of XP before June 30, it can sell XP for as long as those supplies hold out. The same holds true for PC manufacturers.
An even bigger loophole--something called downgrade rights--will allow people to get Windows XP on new PCs, even after computer makers' stock of Windows XP licenses runs out. An OEM such as Dell can sell you a PC that starts out with Vista Business or Vista Ultimate on it, and then downgrade the operating system to Windows XP Professional before shipping the machine out to you. In the box, you will receive discs for Vista, XP, Vista drivers, and XP drivers. That way, if you decide you'd prefer Vista, you can use the installation disc and drivers to upgrade to that OS.
You can do this only with Vista PCs for which the OEM has decided to offer downgrade rights, however. A Dell spokesperson says that Dell will provide the option for its XPS line of gaming PCs (the XPS M1730 laptop, XPS 630 gaming desktop, and XPS 730 gaming desktop), for its line of Vostro small-business PCs, and for enterprise customers. Dell won't offer the choice indefinitely, though--only through January 31, 2009.
HP also offers a downgrade option on its business desktops, notebooks, and workstations, and will continue to do so until at least July 30, 2009, says a company spokesperson. As with Dell PCs, when someone buys a system, it will have XP Pro installed, and will come with discs for both XP and Vista.
January 31 of next year is also the last date you'll be able to buy XP on a machine from a "system builder"--a company that builds no-brand custom PCs from components and purchases Microsoft software from a distributor rather than directly from Microsoft itself.
If you buy an ultra-low-cost PC--which Microsoft describes as a notebook with "limited hardware capabilities" intended for entry-level buyers or people seeking an inexpensive second system--you're in luck. Such laptops, including the popular Asus Eee PC, can be sold with Windows XP until June 2010. The notebooks must have small screens and low-powered CPUs to qualify.

How to Get Support, Post-Cutoff
Obtaining support for XP after June 30 will be easier than trying to buy XP after that date. For starters, you have access to what Microsoft calls "mainstream support" for XP until April 14, 2009. Mainstream support includes the release of bug fixes and security patches, so you'll still be receiving updates for the operating system. You can pay Microsoft for help, as well, and the company will also honor all warranty claims until then.
After that date, and until April 8, 2014, Microsoft will offer what it calls "extended support" for XP. During that time, Microsoft will continue to issue security patches but won't release public bug fixes. Businesses that signed support contracts with Microsoft will be able to get bug fixes, but no one else will. Paid support will still be available, but warranty claims won't be honored. Microsoft says Windows XP customers will have to take up such claims--even if they relate to software--with the PC manufacturer at that point.
Whether you can obtain support from your PC's manufacturer may depend on the way in which XP was installed on your system. For example, Dell will support XP on your system as long as Dell installed it--perhaps via the downgrade option--or prior to June 30. But if you bought a Windows Vista PC and then installed XP yourself, Dell won't support it.

Where to Find More Details
If you're looking for more information about support for XP, check out Microsoft's Windows Life-Cycle Policy pages and the Microsoft Support Lifecycle Blog.

Online-Diagnose: Dr. Google stürzt Hypochonder in Todesangst

Das Internet ist die perfekte Fundgrube für Hypochonder. Dort erhalten sie sofort passende Belege für ihren Krankheitsverdacht. US-Forscher sprechen bereits von "Cyberchondrie": Die Betroffenen tun nichts anderes mehr, als im Netz ihre Symptome zu prüfen – dabei stehen sie Todesängste aus.

Jörn Schäller war sich sicher: Er hatte Lungenkrebs. Die Diagnose hatte der 35-jährige Hamburger von einem Webportal. Der anhaltende Husten, die Schmerzen in der Brust und das Schwächegefühl waren typische Symptome, hatte er dort gelesen. Dass sich sein Verdacht später als unbegründet erwies, konnte ihn kaum beruhigen - er litt Todesängste.

Für Mediziner ein typischer Fall: Denn die zahlreichen Krankengeschichten aus der Gerüchteküche des Internets hinterlassen bei vielen ein mulmiges Gefühl. Und wer wie Schäller ohnehin zur Hypochondrie neigt, fühlt sich nach einem Gesundheitscheck im Netz schnell kränker als zuvor.

„Das Internet ist oft die erste Anlaufstelle für Menschen mit Krankheitsängsten - die Hemmschwelle ist hier einfach niedriger“, sagt die Psychologin Gaby Bleichhardt, die an der Mainzer Universität zu dem Thema forscht. Die Gefahr sei dabei, dass sich im Netz zu jedem Symptom gleich eine passende Krankheit als Erklärung finden lasse. „Dadurch verschlimmert das Internet die Ängste der Betroffenen oft noch.“ Hypochonder erhielten so im Handumdrehen passende Belege für ihren Krankheitsverdacht: Bauchschmerzen deuten dann auf ein Magengeschwür hin, und ein Kribbeln in den Fingern wird zum ersten Anzeichen von Multipler Sklerose.

Das Web ist dabei nicht nur die perfekte Fundgrube für Hypochonder, manchen macht es erst zum eingebildeten Kranken. So könnten die vielen Krankheitsgeschichten im Netz auch Ängste bei Menschen wecken, die sich bisher keine übermäßigen Gedanken über ihre Gesundheit machten, sagt Bleichhardt. Das beobachtet auch Prof. Detlev Nutzinger, der in einer Klinik in Bad Bramstedt Betroffene behandelt. „Das Problem ist ja, dass Laien zwar unglaublich viele medizinische Informationen im Netz bekommen, ihren Wahrheitsgehalt aber kaum einschätzen können. Das verunsichert viele.“

Suche nach Krankheitsbelegen wird zur Sucht

US-Forscher wie Brian Fallon von der Columbia Universität in New York haben für dieses Phänomen schon ein neues Fachwort erfunden: die „Cyberchondrie“. Seinen Studien zufolge ist der Hypochonder von heute meist ein „Cyberchonder“ - Betroffene tun nichts anderes mehr, als im Internet ihre Symptome zu prüfen. Jörn Schäller kann das bestätigen: „Das ist quasi eine unendliche Spirale. Ohne die nötige Disziplin, den PC rechtzeitig auszuschalten, kann das schnell zur Sucht werden.“

Der 35-Jährige, der in Hamburg eine Hypochonder-Selbsthilfegruppe gegründet hat, ist mit seinem Problem nicht allein. Laut Bleichhardt leiden schätzungsweise rund sieben Prozent der Deutschen unter Krankheitsängsten, betroffen ist also jeder 14. Bürger. Laut einer Studie der Weltgesundheitsorganisation ist das Phänomen weltweit betrachtet in Deutschland besonders weit verbreitet - nicht zuletzt der Komiker Harald Schmidt gilt als bekennender Hypochonder.

Das klingt für manchen amüsant, ist für Betroffene oft aber bitterer Ernst. Denn Hypochonder seien keine Simulanten, erklärt Nutzinger. „Die Betroffenen haben messbare Schmerzen.“ Oft führe die Furcht Patienten sogar in einen Teufelskreis: „Die Angst vor einer Krankheit verschlimmert die Symptome dann tatsächlich.“ Hypochonder macht ihre Panik vor dem Kranksein also häufig wirklich krank. Ein solches Leiden habe dann oft schlimme Folgen im Alltag: So bleiben Beruf und Familie bei Betroffenen oft auf der Strecke, weil sich für sie alles nur noch um die eigene Gesundheit dreht.

Betreiber von Medizin-Portalen weisen die Schuld von sich: „Wir wollen Menschen keine Angst machen - es geht darum, mögliche Symptome und Krankheiten besser verständlich zu machen“, sagte Katharina Larisch von „Netdoktor.de“ in München. Allerdings sollten Surfer nicht alles glauben, was sie im Internet an Krankheitsgeschichten lesen. „Vorschnelle Diagnosen wie Durchfall plus Bauchschmerzen gleich Darmkrebs sind natürlich Unsinn.“

Zudem ist laut Bleichhardt nicht jeder gleich ein Hypochonder, der aus Sorge über eine mögliche Erkrankung im Netz nach einem Symptom sucht. „Denn Angst vor Krankheiten hat wohl jeder - krankhaft wird diese Angst aber erst, wenn sie Betroffene über einen Zeitraum von mindestens einem halben Jahr ständig beschäftigt.“

Daylight Saving Time

U.S. Daylight Saving Time Schedule

2004: April 4 - October 31

2005: April 3 - October 30

2006: April 2 - October 29

New Federal Law In Effect

2007: March 11 - Nov. 4

2008: March 9 - Nov. 2

2009: March 8 - Nov. 1

2010: March 14 - Nov. 7

2011: March 13 - Nov. 6

At 2 a.m. on March 9, 2008, groggy Americans will turn their clocks forward one hour, marking the beginning of Daylight Saving Time (DST).

The federal law that established "daylight time" in the United States does not require any area to observe daylight saving time. But if a state chooses to observe DST, it must follow the starting and ending dates set by the law. From 1986 to 2006 this was the first Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October, but starting in 2007, it is observed from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November, adding about a month to daylight saving time. (See: New Federal Law.)

No More Sunlight in Arizona and Hawaii
Arizona (with the exception of the Navajo Nation) and Hawaii and the territories of Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa are the only places in the U.S. that do not observe DST but instead stay on "standard time" all year long. And if you've spent any time in the sweltering summer sun in those regions you can understand why residents don't need another hour of sunlight.

The Dawning of DST in Indiana
Until April 2005, when Indiana passed a law agreeing to observe daylight saving time, the Hoosier state had its own unique and complex time system. Not only is the state split between two time zones, but until recently, only some parts of the state observed daylight saving time while the majority did not.
Under the old system, 77 of the state's 92 counties were in the Eastern Time Zone but did not change to daylight time in April. Instead they remained on standard time all year. That is, except for two counties near Cincinnati, Ohio, and Louisville, Ky., which did use daylight time.
But the counties in the northwest corner of the state (near Chicago) and the southwestern tip (near Evansville), which are in the Central Time Zone, used both standard and daylight time.
The battle between the old system and DST was contentious and hard-won—bills proposing DST had failed more than two dozen times until finally squeaking through the state legislature in April 2005. As of April 2, 2006, the entire state of Indiana joined 47 other states in observing Daylight Saving Time. But it wasn't quite as simple and straightforward as all that—telling time in Indiana remains something of a bewildering experience: eighteen counties now observed Central Daylight Time and the remaining 74 counties of Indiana observe Eastern Daylight Time.

New Federal Law—Springing Forward in March, Back in November
Months after Indiana passed the law that got it in step with the rest of the country, the federal government announced a major change in Daylight Saving Time. In Aug. 2005, Congress passed an energy bill that included extending Daylight Saving Time by about a month. As of 2007, DST starts the second Sunday of March and ends on the first Sunday of November.

Comparisons Around the World
More than one billion people in about 70 countries around the world observe DST in some form. Here are interesting facts about some of these countries:
Most of Canada uses Daylight Saving Time. Some exceptions include the majority of Saskatchewan and parts of northeastern British Columbia. In the fall of 2005, Manitoba and Ontario announced that like the United States, they would extend daylight time starting in 2007. The attorney general of Ontario commented that "it is important to maintain Ontario's competitive advantage by coordinating time changes with our major trading partner, and harmonizing our financial, industrial, transportation, and communications links." Other provinces have indicated that they may also follow suit.
It wasn't until 1996 that our NAFTA neighbors in Mexico adopted DST. Now all three Mexican time zones are on the same schedule as the United States.
Also in 1996, members of the European Union agreed to observe a "summer-time period" from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October.
Most countries near the equator don't deviate from standard time.
In the Southern Hemisphere, where summer arrives in what we in the Northern Hemisphere consider the winter months, DST is observed from late October to late March.
Three large regions in Australia do not participate in DST. Western Australia, the Northern Territory, and Queensland stay on standard time all year. The remaining south-central and southeastern sections of the continent (which is where Sydney and Melbourne are found) make the switch. This results in both vertical and horizontal time zones Down Under during the summer months.
China, which spans five time zones, is always eight hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time and it does not observe DST.
In Japan, DST was implemented after World War II by the U.S. occupation. In 1952 it was abandoned because of strong opposition by Japanese farmers.