So what you have to ask yourself is, do you feel lucky, punk?

[unixronin]

That may be the question if you're considering "upgrading" to Windows Vista.  There's apparently enough doubt in the success of a Vista upgrade that many retailers are allowing Vista upgrades to be returned if your upgrade failed ... but now electronista reports that it appears a Vista upgrade permanently invalidates your XP license keys.  So you may not be able to go back.

What's more, you cannot do a clean install using a Vista upgrade by showing it your XP install media — a Vista upgrade will install only on top of an existing installation.  So if your Vista system craps itself badly enough that you have to reinstall, you have to reinstall XP first, only your XP license keys may by now be invalid ....

Sucks to be you, don't it?

Comments

[laurarey.livejournal.com]

Yeah, my very smart, very frustrated 74 year old mother discovered as much this past week. She called and asked, "Laura, why exactly would someone make a product that once you install it, you can't go back to what you had before? That's just wrong....and isn't a good consumer experience."

I thought for a moment and said, "Because they can."

My next response would have been, "Mom, have you thought of switching to Linux?"

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

I thought for a moment and said, "Because they can."

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up ... Microsoft knows it's the 800lb gorilla. It's like the days of Ma Bell and the SNL Switchboard Lady: "We're the phone company. We don't HAVE to care."