NEWS
The death of Windows XP may have been greatly exaggerated.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said the company could re-evaluate its plans to phase out Windows XP by 30 June, if customers demand it stick around. So far, they have not.
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According to Reuters, during a news conference Ballmer said: "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."
Big-name computer makers are still scheduled to have to stop selling models with Windows XP installed by the end of June. Mainstream technical support will continue to be available for Windows XP through April 2009, and more limited support will continue through April 2014.
Microsoft does plan to continue selling Windows XP for a limited class of PCs it calls "ultra-low-cost PCs". It's a category that covers machines with slower processors, smaller screens and, in many cases, flash memory, rather than a traditional hard drive, for storage.
Ballmer said most consumers are choosing to buy Vista, the current version of Windows. Many acquire Vista by default, however, since most new PCs ship with the operating system. Businesses have been slower to catch on, as many have clung to Windows XP and older versions of Windows.
While Microsoft ponders yet another stay of execution for Windows XP, it's readying a new version of Windows, being developed under the code name "Windows 7."
Earlier this month, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates indicated that Windows 7 could come within the next year in some form - possibly a developer-oriented version - far ahead of the development schedule previously indicated by the software maker.
Ballmer on Thursday also reiterated Microsoft's intention of appealing directly to Yahoo! shareholders, if the company rejects Microsoft's offer of $43.6 billion for the company.
Reuters reported: "We've sent them a letter that says, 'it's a good price; please let us know. If you don't let us know, maybe your shareholders will think it's a good price'."
Comments
There are 3 comments. Join the discussion
1. Karen Challinor
well here's my vote for XP
and I know a lot of people who would like a downgrade path from Vista Home versions to XP Home versions
2. Andrew Robb
Given that most private PC purchasers are stuck with Vista Home ..., they do not have the free option of installing XP. This distorts update figures in favour of Vista. If MS had continued shipping XP Home OEM with free update to Vista, manufacturers would probably have stayed away in droves.
Vista just does not run a huge number of popular third-party applications without buying updates for them. So replacing a PC also requires replacing most of your software too. You might as well buy a Mac.
3. Nick Cole
People do not choose to buy Vista. The presence of this operating system is a consequence of the anti-competitive practice of (forced) bundling it with a new PC.
Apart from a new appearance (experience) what have customers really got for their expenditure? Is it really worth it, especially for corporate installations?
If they think it represents value for money, how are they really evaluating it?