If you are purchasing a new Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) computer any time soon do not expect it to have Microsoft Windows XP as part of it’s operating system. Although Dell has committed to provide driver support for the XP operating system  until the end of 2012, any computers shipped after October 22 2010 will not have XP installed.

Microsoft has made its position known and is phasing out on the development of Windows XP and as a result PC makers, such as Dell, also have to bow to the developers upgrades. The deadline to shift over to the new OS, Windows 7, is October 22 and any computers shipped after that date will not have Windows XP home or Windows XP Professional installed.

As outlined in the Dell Computer blog, the writer says, “that we will stop offering XP as an option for customers starting this month in preparation for next month’s deadline”.

Dell will offer the XP to a select few qualified customers. If consumers don’t qualify they will have Windows 7 installed and also they will be able to run XP applications on their new computers.

Windows 7 has not been as popular as Microsoft would have liked and users are comfortable with XP.  To hasten along the change Microsoft has decided to ‘pull the plug’ on the XP and encourage people to upgrade.

Windows 7 has some interesting features such as Jump Lists. Here users can right-click and ‘jump’ to specific files within an application. For example, by right-clicking Word, a list of the most recent files will pop up. By right clicking Internet Explorer, a list of frequently visited sites will appear. Some people also think that Windows 7 is faster as well.

For every plus there are people who do not want to upgrade. The Cyber Cynic blog outlines reasons for not wanting to upgrade. The blog points to lackadaisical security features and expense as two main reasons that computer users will not want to upgrade.