Bowing to pressure from customers and computer makers, Microsoft plans to keep Windows XP around a little longer.
Large PC manufacturers were slated to have to stop selling XP after 31 January. However, they have successfully lobbied Microsoft to allow them to continue selling PCs with all flavours of Windows XP preloaded until 30 June, a further five months.
Microsoft also plans to keep XP on retail shelves longer and will allow computer makers in emerging markets to build machines with Windows XP Starter Edition until June 2010.
The move indicates the continued demand for the older operating system, some nine months after Windows Vista hit store shelves.
In recent weeks, several PC makers launched programs that allow new PC buyers to more easily "downgrade" their Vista Business and Vista Ultimate machines to Windows XP. Fujitsu, which was among those lobbying for the change, has started including an XP restore disc in the box with all of its laptops running Vista Business.
"This allows the installed base of Windows XP users more time to manage the transition to Vista, which is important for some smaller companies with limited resources," Paul Moore, senior director of mobile product marketing for Fujitsu, said in a statement.
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Dell also said it support's Microsoft's decision.
"We believe the additional time will help some customers to prepare for the transition from XP to Vista," the company said in a statement.
Microsoft, for its part, sought to downplay the impact of the move, disagreeing with the notion that there is still strong demand for XP.
"We wouldn't term it strong," said Kevin Kutz, a director in Microsoft's Windows Client unit. "We would describe this as accommodating a certain element who needs more time."
Kutz said Microsoft had seen similar demand patterns with past releases and noted that in the past, old operating systems remained available for around 18 months after the release of a new operating system.
"While Windows Vista sales are still going strong... we recognise there are some customers that need more time," Kutz said.
Talkback
Is any one fooled by this so called back down by Microsoft. So XP stays on sale for another few months. This isn't going to fix the problem that Vista is fundamentally not what users want. People want XP and should be allowed to buy XP and not be bullied into buying something that they don't need or want. Something that requires big investment in hardware to run but gives little or nothing back in functionality. Microsoft need to wake up and realise that most of the stuff in Vista is just not wanted or needed by the vast majority of users, its just 'coloured steam' looks good but has no substance. Basically they have blown millions of dollars developing a white elephant, and the only way to sell it is to force it upon people.
Interesting article given other news - e.g. "Why Microsoft must abandon Vista to save itself" (see http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9785337-7.html?tag=tb).
It seems to me that Mafiasoft have to options:
1) continue as they are and lose the commercial initiative; or
2) go the Winux route
The latter would be the most damaging to the open source movement.
Being a gamer it would be nice to have a system that i can us my existing games on. With some games having no vista upgrades made it's a minefield for any avid gamer.
Another problem seems to be that with vista using alot of memory this reduces the amount available to games and with some of the most recent game using towards 1GB of memory, a standard home user isn't going to jump in for 4gb of memory to start with.
It seems that some game issues can be resolved by making the game run 'as administrator' , an idea solution.
I'll be sticking to XP for quite some time.
You are so right about that. Last night I reverted to XP (a schlep but worth it) and am now looking forward to picking up Oblivion for pretty much the first time since my "upgrade".
I have a decently-specced computer - why hide it with Vista?
<i>Kevin Kutz, a director in Microsoft's Windows Client unit. "We would describe this as accommodating a certain element who needs more time.</i>
Love that comment - a "certain element" makes it sound like anyone who hasn't moved to Vista yet is remedial or a subversive...a certain unruly element - that thinks it can make its own decisions!!!
The interesting thing is that no one is talking about Vista at all really - usually with a new piece of tech - my friends - knowing I work in tech - will ask my opinion but no one is interested. What's more - I am not interested! It's a whole new Microsoft OS but I am not bothered about seeing it to be honest. I'm writing this via OSX at home I from what I have seen of Vista, Microsoft doesn't have anything to rival Front Row or the other brilliant features of OSX...and we haven't even see Leapord yet.
Windows Vista is garbage, worse than Windows ME, if anyone remembers that fiasco.
We want Windows XP because it works. We don't want Windows Vista because it doesn't work.
Microsoft should abandon Windows Vista, work on a new OS for 3-5 years and offer users a truly new OS that is superior in every way to Windows XP.