Microsoft Extends Support for Windows XP To 13 Years

[Jahness]

Microsoft Extends Support for Windows XP
To 13 Years


Mike Kent, newsfactor.com
Tue Jun 24, 4:51 PM ET

With many business and individual PC users rejecting Windows Vista, Microsoft took an unprecedented step this week by promising support for Windows XP for a full 13 years. That is three years longer than it has allowed for previous Windows operating systems.

In a letter sent to customers this week, Bill Veghte, a Microsoft vice president, also seemed to confirm that Windows 7 will be released in 2010. That OS, Veghte wrote, will ship "approximately three years" after Vista became available in January 2007.

Avoiding Vista

Meantime, security patches and updates to Windows XP will be provided until April 2014, Veghte promised. In what could be considered an understatement, he wrote, "Our ongoing support for Windows XP is the result of our recognition that people keep their Windows-based PCs for many years."

Many large businesses have avoided upgrading to Windows Vista, which has been plagued with widely publicized problems, including incompatibilities with drivers for legacy hardware and applications. Upgrading to Vista could also be very expensive for enterprises that would need to upgrade older hardware. Many businesses and individuals have opted to buy Windows XP on new PCs.

While June 30 remains the cutoff date for selling Windows XP, retailers such as Dell are still selling preconfigured PCs with XP. And enterprises with volume licensing contracts will still be able to install XP even on new machines.

Downgrade Option

In addition, Microsoft has promoted a licensing loophole that allows new hardware buyers to purchase Windows Vista and then downgrade it to a previous version of Windows. Microsoft has cited such purchases as evidence of support for Vista, but many Web postings have disputed that.

"It's true that we will stop selling Windows XP as a retail packaged product and stop licensing it directly to major PC manufacturers," Veghte's letter says. "But customers who still need Windows XP will be able to get it."

Microsoft will also continue to sell a version of Windows XP to makers of low-cost computers through June 2010. Such machines as the Asus Eee PC are incapable of running Vista and the alternative would be for the makers to install open-source Linux as the operating system.

Microsoft Extends Support for Windows XP To 13 Years - Yahoo! News

Copyright © 2008 NewsFactor Network, Inc.

[Im The Truth]

I'd figure they'd have to do this I don't see myself using Vista anytime soon nor any of there Office 2007 and up software. Vista & Office 2007 have to be one of the worst decision made by M$.

[Jahness]

Originally Posted by Im The Truth

I'd figure they'd have to do this I don't see myself using Vista anytime soon nor any of there Office 2007 and up software. Vista & Office 2007 have to be one of the worst decision made by M$.

Greetings Im The Truth!

I agree with you. They must have been pressured in some way to make this decision to keep supporting XP for that lenght of time. VISTA is a proper mess and a daily headache to those who rely on it.

As for the Microsoft office products it is bloated, bloated and more bloated with not much advance features for the average person unless you are truly a power user of those office products.

Plus there is so much free alternatives that people are not really going to pay all that money to buy new software when they don't really need it much less when it really does not give them any real benefits.

Thanks for taking the time to share!

Peace & Blessings!