Microsoft warned us well over a year ago that XP will Die Die Die, at least on new computers, by the end of June, 2008. Petitions and prayers notwithstanding, XP has a firm date with Boot Hill. RIP, XP.

Change is the only constant and we need to embrace new things, yada yada yada, but this is business. Many voices in the tech biz complain about Vista, with good reason. I have yet to see an advantage for small businesses that Vista provides over Windows 2000 with a handful of third party utilities. Even some Microsoft apologists will apologize for Vista when you force them to tell the truth.

All this is beside the point. Do you really need to ensure every added computer comes into your business with XP for valid technical reasons, such as special software you wrote that doesn't work with Vista? (a problem for big companies that write their own software). Or are you just afraid of change, or afraid of spending the money that a jump to Vista often demands? Let me show you a way to sidestep both problems and avoid Vista a bit longer, maybe even another two or three years.

First, check out the refurbished desktops and laptops at the major brand outlets. Prefer Dell? HP? Gateway? Lenovo? They all have factory direct refurbished systems for sale, and some still have XP installed. But this option won't last long, because refurbished systems are usually those computers returned by users who either didn't like them or couldn't figure them out, so they tend to be fairly new. Many of them have already been infected with Vista, so you'll have to act quick to grab the last XP systems from the refurb piles at major vendors.

Second, check systems that have been returned after their lease term from huge corporations refreshing their desktop and laptop inventories. Companies tend to keep their systems three or four years before replacing them, so the off-lease systems available today were purchased originally in 2004 or 2005, prime XP years. When the hard disks are wiped (and they will be from reputable outlets), the original OS gets put back on. Almost all off-lease systems include the Windows Certificate of Authority label on the box and XP on the drive. Sometimes these systems are labeled off-lease, recertified, or reconditioned, depending on the outlet.