How much will XP cost you?

With a month to go until Windows XP springs to life, many IT users are still unsure if the benefits are worth the expense of upgrading.

So before handing over shed-loads of cash to Microsoft for its latest operating system (upgrades will cost Â£89.99 for XP Home Edition and Â£169.99 for XP Professional), it could be worth checking out the Forbes.com site.

Here you will find the Forbes Windows XP ROI calculator, an online test to calculate how much the upgrade is likely to save (or cost) individuals or companies in the first two years after the switch.

Surfers answer questions on expenses associated with the transition - such as how many PCs are destined for the upgrade, the percentage of machines that will need extra memory or disk space, and if many will have to be replaced with new hardware.

After the data is pumped into the ROI calculator, it tells the user if it is worth their while to invest in the upgrade. The whole procedure takes about ten minutes.

News source: The Register