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Microsoft says there are only 1,000 days left for Windows XP
SOFTWARE VENDOR Microsoft is calling on users of its Windows XP operating system to "move on", and it said there are less than 1,000 days of support left for it.
The news came from a blog post by Stephen Rose, a senior community manager for Windows client stuff at Microsoft, where he urged users to embrace Windows 7 instead.
While at first the 1,000 days of support left doesn't seem like that much, it's actually close to three years, which is more time than Windows 7 has been out. Support will end on 8 April, 2014, by which time Microsoft will have launched Windows 8 and started trying to push Windows 7 out to pasture.
Aside from the obvious desire for people to upgrade to the latest version, which means more money for Microsoft, it's likely that Microsoft is planning ahead to avoid a situation like what happened with Internet Explorer 6, which it has struggled to get people to upgrade from, despite the lack of support and the huge security vulnerabilities of using it.
Since the disaster of Windows Vista people have generally been reluctant to upgrade to Windows 7, despite it being a generally good operating system and a major improvement over Windows Vista.
This could lead to a situation where people are still using Windows XP after 2014, when Microsoft will no longer provide security patches and hotfixes, not to mention third-party support, which Microsoft says will also end, for the most part, within the next few years.
Rose said that Windows XP, which launched ten years ago, has had "an amazing run", but that it is time to move on and "retire" Windows XP. He said it's easy to upgrade to Windows 7 and that it could even result in cutting costs for businesses through its energy saving and automation features. We're not sure he's including the required hardware and software upgrade costs, however.
Rose cited a recent report by the US market research firm Gartner, which said that over half of organisations that don't start upgrading to Windows 7 by early next year will end up still running some Windows XP machines after Microsoft ends support for it. µ
Tags: Microsoft
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quote: ".Ubuntu Linux is a good alternative to XP if all you're doing is email, web browsing and photo/music collection management. The one glaring hole is support for iTunes..."
I consider the lack of Itunes to be the primary benefit of Ubuntu or any other linux in general
At some point in time people realize they really don't need a new car every three years. The car manufacturers don't announce that they're no longer going to 'support' their products. So the decision not to buy a new car is valid. You can bet the car manufacturers make money on 'support' plus if Ford treats you right, you'll be a paying Ford customer for a long time. That business model has been relatively successful for a few years now.
I tired of the ms update scheme so I've made the switch to Linux. Read that as free....no 16 character codes to install it, no register now, no authentication rigmarole, no virus threat. I'll keep XP (dual boot) as long as I need to run CAD programs that haven't yet been ported. (If Google would only port Sketchup)
Do ya think ms persuades other companies not to port their programs to Linux?
My friends and family use either Apple products (expensive, but work well) or Linux. For those that require WinXP for favorite programs, I install VirtualBox and create an XP virtual machine.
Ubuntu Linux is a good alternative to XP if all you're doing is email, web browsing and photo/music collection management. The one glaring hole is support for iTunes...but the benefit is no viruses!
"the world keeps telling us to be green but companies like microsft and HW vendors tells us to BUY BUY BUY , UPGRADE! REPLACE!!, that doesnt sound like green to me,..."
Yes, they are raking in GREEN as we speak. ;)
It would have been much easier to install the next incarnation of MS-DOS Windows, if all those nice games which require Windows XP would also run on Windows 7 (without emulation). Not to mention the lack of hardware support.
Sorry, but the way to go is Linux + Wine, OpenOffice and not a single cent for Microsoft. Die, die, die. :-Q
Does this tell you something about how much added-value your new products have Billy and Stevey?
I'll keep using XP until there something which compels me to upgade....and hopefully by then there will be an alternative acceptable to me, and others, so we can leave the MS era of PC's behind. You've hurt the industry and held us back long enough!
YAH, JUNE 30 2008 WAS EOL FOR WINDOWS XP ACCORDING TO BALMER.
WELL YOU KNOW WHAT, I CAN RUN WINDOWS XP FROM WITHIN WINDOWS 7 PROFESSIONAL. SO WHAT THE FUZZ? THATS LIKE TELLING PS3 PEOPLE 'NO, YOU CANNOT RUN YOUR FRIGIN LINUX NO MORE'.
OHHH....
...as Jackie Charlton once wisely said...
Most people who are still running XP do it because their hardware isn't supported by Windows 7. I go to banks, and they are running XP. Most cash registers are still running XP. ATMs are running XP (which I find amazing as buggy and vulnerable as XP is). CNCs and industrial control are running XP. In fact, there are so many installations of XP that can't be upgraded to Windows 7 that Microsoft should stop giving away the updates and sell a subscription service. Microsoft should face the fact that XP will probably still be in use 10 years from now, it's just that prevalent.
My company loves XP and will not get rid of it till there is official support. Earlier Microsoft support is phased out, earlier we will get a new 64 bit operating system like Windows 7 which has also seen a service pack release as well. All out new machines come with windows 7 preinstalled but IT loves installing windows XP on them
Not a big deal for me as I am not a windows user in general. I use it to play a few games and to run a couple programs. That's it. I do have several Win7 licenses on various laptops and desktops. But...I also recognize that XP is still very much viable. There's no need to retire it for most people.
My job is to repair computers and I have had my share of sheer disdain for Win7. When it fails it fails. The problems that plagued XP are still there. Some performance and organization issues that plagued Vista are there. It has some great features, but you can get those in just about any OS today (Linux (including Android) or Mac).
Friends and family should all be told about the alternatives. They should be encouraged to look at what they do day to day and if they don't need Office nor the tools for big business, where they essentially browse the web, chat, play videos and angry birds, they really need to consider an alternative to Microsoft's offering.
as for myself, i'm not reluctant to mocing to Win7, in fatc i find it to be as good as XP, not better, but as good (it's the same F* thing but with shiny menus.)
the fact that i dont upgrade yet is because i got HPs and Dells laptop that are still fully functionnal with XP, but the vendor dont offer drivers support for win7 on those models. and findings custom drivers around the interweb can be a pain in the backvalley.
so if no win7 driver from hardware supplier = no upgrade to win7.
hope fully in 3 years my laptops will be now obsolete due to multiple powerhungry updates from adobe's flash and ultra-mega HD videos of kitties foolin around
if by 2014, my single core laptops still are good for browsing and suff, it will be linux time for them..
the world keeps telling us to be green but companies like microsft and HW vendors tells us to BUY BUY BUY , UPGRADE! REPLACE!!, that doesnt sound like green to me,...
I'll stick with my pirated windows XP.
as long as antivirus companies still support it, I'm good.
hopefully malware will also move on to Windows7 and require 64bit OS to run..
otherwise, I'll just switch completely to Linux, 2014 sounds like a good Year of Desktop Linux.
When XP was released with activation, they said that when they stopped selling it and after a suitable time, they'd release a patch to remove the activation.
I wonder what excuse they'll come up with so they don't have to do anything that might let people use their favorite OS....