Microsoft Corp. said Thursday it will keep selling a version of Windows XP for use on a new breed of low-cost computers for at least two years longer than the older operating system will be available on mainstream PCs.
The software maker said Windows XP Home will be available through June 2010, or for a year beyond the release of the next version of Windows, for computers like Intel Corp.'s Classmate PC and ASUSTek Computer Inc.'s Eee PC. Those machines have smaller hard drives, less memory and slower processors than most Windows computers sold today, and most would have a hard time running the bulkier Windows Vista.
Microsoft had planned to stop selling most versions of XP at the end of June 2008, with exceptions for small computer-building shops and PCs sold in developing countries. But surprising demand in developed countries for what it calls ultra-low-cost personal computers prompted Redmond-based Microsoft to extend that deadline.
The software maker said Windows XP Home will be available through June 2010, or for a year beyond the release of the next version of Windows, for computers like Intel Corp.'s Classmate PC and ASUSTek Computer Inc.'s Eee PC. Those machines have smaller hard drives, less memory and slower processors than most Windows computers sold today, and most would have a hard time running the bulkier Windows Vista.
Microsoft had planned to stop selling most versions of XP at the end of June 2008, with exceptions for small computer-building shops and PCs sold in developing countries. But surprising demand in developed countries for what it calls ultra-low-cost personal computers prompted Redmond-based Microsoft to extend that deadline.
p.s. i recently switched to vista myself and you can tell it taxes the system more but on 'my' system it actually runs pretty good overall and im happy with it and would rather not go back to XP now
Seriously, the extension of XP's life was a good move on MS' part. I can't stand Windows when a Linux computer is available, but I'd rather use XP over Vista. Much smoother.
Although I am glad that they are putting XP on these computers compared to Vista. In that environment, XP kicks Vista's butt.
Last edited by Chrono951 on 04 Apr 2008 - 04:58
I think it's a great move tbh!
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/feature...04-03xpeos.mspx
Sales of XP for Retail and OEM CD's will end 30 June 2008.
XP Home will only be available pre-installed on specific low cost Laptop Computers.
PressPass: Will Microsoft extend sales of other editions of Windows XP?
Dix: No, there is no plan to extend sales of other editions of Windows XP beyond June 30, 2008. We are very proud of the progress that we have made with Windows Vista over the last sixteen months. Since its launch, Windows Vista has become the fastest-selling operating system in Microsoft history, and more than 100 million Windows Vista licenses have been sold worldwide.
Last fall, our OEM partners asked us to extend sales of Windows XP to give their customers more time to transition to Windows Vista while we worked with other software vendors to expand application compatibility. Today, more than 2,500 applications have received the Windows Vista logo (a ten-fold increase since launch) and more than 78,000 devices and components are supported by drivers either in-box or on Windows Update. On NPD’s list of the top 100 consumer applications selling at retail, 98 are now compatible—and the latest versions of the top free downloads (Adobe Reader, Shockwave and iTunes) are all compatible.
Given this landscape and after consulting with our partners, apart from today’s announced extension of Windows XP Home for ULCPCs, we are maintaining the timelines we announced in September.
I should also note that there will also be no impact on our technical support plans—mainstream technical support will continue to be available until April 2009 and extended support will continue until April 2014.
I knew it.
The short answer is because the replacement software is a steaming pile of ****
I have a full, legal copy of Ultimate, and would love be using it, but right now (post SP1), its just not good enough for my needs, and within a week of trying it yet again, I end up pining for the speed and usability of XP.
Just because you dont need it doesnt mean no one does.
Because it works, why not use it? Not everyone wants to run out and buy a brand new computer to do something that their current system with XP still does perfectly well. Did you know you can run Firefox on NT 3.51? My old 486 can still browse Neowin.
Because I do not need a quad core processor, 10 PCI-e bridged video cards, 1000 gigs of ram, 10000 TB of HD space & a 40,000 watt power supply to run all my high powered peripherals, just to surf the web & check my email.... Or do I?
Because I do not need a quad core processor, 10 PCI-e bridged video cards, 1000 gigs of ram, 10000 TB of HD space & a 40,000 watt power supply to run all my high powered peripherals, just to surf the web & check my email.... Or do I?
thats utter FUD.
Technology changes daily. Everyone said the same about XP, it was eXPansive eXPensive.
Oh noes what you mean i need more RAM to run XP, thats utter BS. etc etc. Im sorry but 7 years since XP was released i would EXPECT it to require MORE resources as technology changes. Most people now days should have atleast 1gb ram with a fairly good CPU. It's not as if hardware is as expensive as it was 7 years ago, so really there is no excuse to have a modern PC thats 64bit enabled atleast.
Its a case of either adapt or die.
Long live Windows XP - it has brought me years of fun using the OS.
Considering it's an aging OS it isn't doing too badly..
Last edited by TRC on 04 Apr 2008 - 10:00
but using xp is just stupid, xp is dead, it wont be but a couple years and you wont even be able to find a machine you can boot and install it on without serious kludging if at all.
id love to see a message about vista sucking that actually explained what problems the user had and gave the specs of their machine.
also, just because your machine shipped with vista dosent mean it can run it, remember that whole intel-microsoft lawsuit?
Commenting has either been disabled on this article or you are not logged in. Click here to login or register, its free!
Note: Anonymous commenting is disabled in order to keep the quality of responses to a high standard.