Microsoft last week painted Windows XP consumer and small business customers into an even smaller corner when it said it could not recommend that they upgrade to Windows 8.1, the update to Windows 8 slated to ship Oct. 18. "Windows 8.1 is not designed for installation on devices running Windows XP or Windows Vista," said Brandon LeBlanc, a company spokesman, in a Sept. 17
blog announcing the retail prices for Windows 8.1. LeBlanc also said the new update was "not recommended" for hardware now running Windows XP or Vista.
