[RTC List] The remaining life of Windows XP

[Sherman Schapiro]

The use of Windows XP and Vista came up at last week's boot camp as well.
The information here came from Radio Computer Guru Kim Komando.
Sherman Schapiro
Making sense of the XP phaseout

[image: Q]I bought a computer in March. I opted for Windows XP, at the
salesman's suggestion. He said it was cheaper, which was important to me.
Now I hear that Microsoft is phasing out XP on June 30. Did I make a
mistake? What does this mean for people like me?

[image: A]You didn't make a mistake. Microsoft is pulling the plug on most
XP sales. But it has promised to continue security updates and technical
support. That support will expire in April 2014.

In some cases, Microsoft will continue selling XP. There are some ins and
outs to this. So, here's a brief rundown, from the company's site:

--On June 30, Microsoft will stop distributing XP. There probably will be
packages in stores for awhile. But stores will no longer be able to order
XP. Anyone who wants a copy should act soon.

--System builders (your neighborhood computer store) can use XP through
January. Presumably, customers can choose XP or Vista on these new machines.


--Large computer manufacturers—for instance, Dell, Hewlett-Packard,
Lenovo—will no longer be getting XP.

--Netbooks, which are very low cost laptops, can offer XP until June, 2010.

There have been many tears shed over XP. For instance, more than 200,000
people signed an InfoWorld.com petition. That apparently did them no good.

This reminds me of the passing of MS-DOS. MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating
System) was the dominant operating system until Windows 3.0 came along. That
was in 1990. Even then, MS-DOS was still the operating system. Windows 3.0
ran on top of it.

In 1995, Windows 95 came out. The base was still MS-DOS, but it all came in
one package. MS-DOS veterans harrumphed loudly and often. But the
handwriting was on the wall. Microsoft eventually quit developing MS-DOS.

A lot of people felt the loss of MS-DOS keenly. But the sun continued to
rise in the East. And operating systems continued to improve. MS-DOS just
faded away.
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