Extended Life for XP

Posted on April 3, 2008

After I recently stated that Microsoft should can Vista, release XP in an extended version, and move on, they have admitted XP is still a viable product by extending the deadline for sales to June this year for the major computer makers, June 2009 for smaller companies, and June 2010 for something called Starter Edition which isn’t sold in the US.

This is the second extension they have awarded and though it only covers ‘ultra low-cost PCs’, still it is an admission that Vista isn’t sweeping everyone’s interest nearly like Bill would hope. Dell was forced to offer XP as an option on its new PCs last year after sales drooped when they switched sales entirely to Vista.

Seems like Microsoft has carried the operating system a bit too far anyway. It always seemed to me that that the OS was a lot like an automobile. Its main purpose is to get you from point A to point B. Now you can glitz it up and show it off, but its primary function remains the same, which in the case of the OS is to primarily be the support mechanism for software applications. The apps should be the real stars here, but Microsoft has made every effort to make application usage take a back seat to the system software.

Dell has just announced a reduction in its workforce due to softness in the market — they may be laying off a whole lot more after June when they are no longer able to offer an alternative to Vista.