Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs

I’ve been reading a lot lately about how Microsoft is dumping any support or updates for folks running Windows 98 and Windows ME. Brian Krebs at the Washington Post has recently covered the issue well. ( More Info ).  He even wrote about security tools like WinPatrol that still worked on older versions of Windows.

This morning InfoWorld reports Microsoft has finally released a new version of Windows called “Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs”.  The new OS essentially turns a older less powerful PC into a thin-client computer. 

“The OS can run only a few programs locally, such as security tools, management tools and document viewers, which means line-of-business and productivity applications will need to be run remotely on a server. “

Unfortunately, this version isn’t for the general public. It’s only available to customers of the “Microsoft Software Assurance” licensing and maintenance program. As of this morning it was not yet available on my Microsoft download page.

Microsoft Software Assurance is a maintenance offer that helps your organization get the most from Microsoft software through a broad range of benefits. From deployment planning and staff training to product support and software upgrades, Software Assurance benefits help you increase worker productivity, accelerate organizational performance, and realize a return on your software investment faster.

WinFun is actually based on a special version of Windows XP “Embedded” SP2. Microsoft says this will help users transition to Vista when they can afford to upgrade their older hardware. ( More Info )