Windows XP still available—for now

Even though Microsoft stopped distributing Windows XP Home Edition to retailers on June 30, you can still buy either the upgrade version (with Service Pack 2 pre-installed) for $99.99 or the full version for $199.99 from some retail chains—at least as long as their inventory holds out.

This weekend, I spotted shrink-wrapped versions of both versions of XP Home on the shelves of a local Staples store. Intrigued, I checked online and found that both versions of XP Home can be purchased online at Best Buy, Staples, Office Depot, and OfficeMax. The Best Buy site said both were also available in most of the chain's retail stores. The upgrade version (but not the full version) can be purchased online at MicroCenter.

As we reported earlier, major computer makers stopped pre-installing XP Home on most of their consumer computers on June 18. So if you want to install or upgrade XP Home on a computer, this is a good time to do it.

—Jeff Fox

—Jeffrey Fox