While Windows XP is getting ready to make a comeback over at Dell, along with a triumphant Ubuntu 7.04, Hewlett-Packard has announced that it will remain loyal to Windows Vista. In mid April, Dell revealed that, following customer demand, Windows XP and XP Pro would be pre-loaded on Dimension E520 and E521 desktops, and on Inspiron 1501, E1405, E1505, and E1705 notebooks.

Additionally, the US computer manufacturer also bowed to customer input when it came down to Linux, and announced that the Ubuntu distribution of the open source operating system will also find its way onto Dell computers. However, while Dell is diversifying its offer in the detriment of long time partner Microsoft, this is not the case of HP.

Hewlett-Packard's vista is that Windows XP is a thing of the past. Microsoft representatives have steered clear from declaring XP expired, but did mention that an operating system that's over five years old is not tailored for the current environment. According to CIOL, Todd Bradley, executive vice president, Personal Systems Group, HP revealed that there are no plans to bring Windows XP back, and that the company will move forward with Windows Vista.

"So far we have received quite a favorable response for Vista and all our models will be available with the same," Bradley explained. "Windows Vista has been proven to work in the market and is liked by the users. I believe Dell is reacting to a small minority of users, who have asked for XP."

HP is indeed offering Windows XP alongside Windows Vista; still, the leading computer manufacturer worldwide is not doing it for the end consumers. HP permits only enterprise customers to opt to go back to Windows XP. Additionally, Hewlett-Packard has been offering Unix and Linux workstations long before Dell.

As of mid April, HP was controlling over 19.1% of the global personal-computer market, while Dell accounted for a share of just 15.2%.