Dell to begin charging some customers for Windows XP downgrade

Dell, in its infinite wisdom, will charge customers $20 to $50 to downgrade from Vista to XP. Only buyers of low-end Vostro PCs have to worry, though.

This is all because of Microsoft’s self-imposed June 30 end-of-life for Windows XP.

Says the shrill ComputerWorld:

Adding Vista Business to a Vostro 1000 notebook, for example, costs an additional $99 above the price with the default operating system, Vista Home Basic. However, selecting the downgrade option — Windows XP pre-installed and Vista Business installation media in the box — costs $149. That’s a $50 downgrade surcharge.

Shocking! We should be rocking the Drudge Siren for this.

Or, as John Biggs would say, get a Mac. No more downgrading nastiness.