I write, readers write back. Funny how that happens. Here are some of the more interesting things to land in my inbox lately. Cringester D. R. laments: I've been told by two different distributors/VARs that OEMs are bowing to pressure from Microsoft and that I won't be able to buy systems with XP installed. Supposedly, there will be a "downgrade" process where the VAR ships me a single CD-ROM and I'll be f I write, readers write back. Funny how that happens. Here are some of the more interesting things to land in my inbox lately.Cringester D. R. laments:I’ve been told by two different distributors/VARs that OEMs are bowing to pressure from Microsoft and that I won’t be able to buy systems with XP installed. Supposedly, there will be a “downgrade” process where the VAR ships me a single CD-ROM and I’ll be forced to reinstall the OS to actually get XP. I’m disgruntled because this will cause extra work for my staff, and because I’m being used by Microsoft to falsely pump their Vista sales numbers. … How many thousands of other business customers are in the same situation that my company faces? Good question. The answer is… lots. Exactly how many we’ll probably never know, but it was enough to force Microsoft to simplify the process of downgrading, according to ZD Net’s Mary Jo Foley. You’ll find Vista downgrade instructions here. Reader W. W. feels slimed after receiving a snail mail promo from Dell promising him the chance to win a Chevy Tahoe Hybrid. The letter directed him to a Web site where he could purchase an Inspiron notebook, but no sign of any contest. (The contest is real, but not at the URL Dell appears to be promoting.) There are two ways to enter the Dell Free Ride drawing: buy a new XPS Notebook before August 22, or mail in a 3 by 5 card with your name, address, and date of birth on it. And if you mail in three boxtops from specially marked boxes of Cheerios, they’ll throw in a secret Michael Dell decoder ring.A funny thing happened to Cringe contributor J. J. when he updated his expired copy of Trend Micro PC-cillan Internet Security 2006 last month. His anti-virus subscription automatically renewed itself, only now it has an expiration date of January 1, 1900. He says it’s working just fine, though, downloading virus definition updates each day.Apparently Trend Micro missed that whole Y2K thing that happened, like, seven years ago. This can mean only one thing: It’s time to party like it’s 1899. Got hot tips or stupid tech tricks? Post them below or email me here. Operators are standing by…. Software DevelopmentSmall and Medium Business