Windows XP: Night of the Living Dead OS
by John Paczkowski
Posted on December 22, 2008 at 10:00 AM PT
XP will hit an end-of-life. We have announced one. If customer feedback varies, we can always wake up smarter, but right now we have a plan for end-of-life for new XP shipments.”
Looks like Microsoft (MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer woke up smarter again.
Microsoft had planned to cut off sales of its Windows XP operating system through the retail and original equipment manufacturer channels on Jan. 30, 2008–one year after the Windows Vista debut. But the poor reception given Vista and the unwavering loyalty of XP users caused the company to extend that deadline to June 30, 2008. A few months later, Microsoft extended the deadline further, to Jan. 31, 2009. And now, amid reports that more than a third of all new Vista PCs are being downgraded to XP, it extended the XP deadline again.
Microsoft (MSFT) will now stop distributing Windows XP to PC makers on May 30, 2009. ChannelWeb reports that while distributors must place their final orders for XP OEM licenses by Jan. 31, 2009, they can take delivery against those orders through May 30. And the company will continue to support the OS with security and other critical updates until April 2014 (that’s 13 years after XP was first released).
Which means it’s now not only possible to hang on to Windows XP long enough to upgrade directly to Windows 7 in 2010, but entirely realistic.
Comments
I know the arguments against it and I am eagerly looking forward to Windows 7, but I do not get the continued hate on Vista. Just got a new laptop with it and it took about a week and a half, but I love it. As a techie I know I may come off as a heretic, but I really think its the best OS Ive used(have yet to play with Linux). I use OSX at work and really feel Vista wins out. All of Vistas issues were due to third party software that Apple doesnt have to worry about as much and I have yet to run into an issue as I think most companies have adapted software for Vista. I know Im that 2% in the World that actually likes Vista, but wanted to speak out.
Posted by Dominic Pannone at December 22nd, 2008 at 11:59 amI also use Vista. I really like the OS. I think the issue most people are having is not having the latest hardware. I bought a machine about 6 months ago with 4GB and a AMD Quad Processor. This machine is the best machine I have every had. Vista merges the Computer, TV, and the Internet beyond what I expected. I have not had any issues with hardware or software. I am running the 64-bit version of Vista. I use this computer as my HDTV. I think that Vista is highly under-rated. I believe that if users buy a new computer with decent specifications that they will also have a good experience.
-Cheers
Posted by John Sanfilippo at December 22nd, 2008 at 12:17 pmHey, dummy. We don’t -want- to all go out and buy ridiculous huge expensive new computers just so we can see more-garish icons. For most of us, a computer is a mailbox and a radio. If you want ultra for yourself, get ultra for yourself but leave the rest of us alone.
Posted by Alan Paprocki at December 23rd, 2008 at 4:49 pm