"I think if we make a change to a support lifecycle we will make those changes sooner in the support lifecycle," said Andy Erlandson, director of product support services for Microsoft. "That's one thing we learned from this go-around."
Linux waiting in the wings
The coming years may represent the best opportunity yet for Linux to make headway against Windows on the desktop, given customers' ambivalence toward upgrading, combined with Microsoft's extended product delivery schedule. The company is not planning a major upgrade to Windows XP until Longhorn arrives, perhaps around 2006. But when it does arrive, Microsoft promises a major advance that could widen the gap between what Windows has to offer versus competing operating systems. "Longhorn -- if they can deliver on the vision -- will be a very compelling upgrade, I think," RedMonk's O'Grady said.
"That's why Linux has to get established now," he said. "I think the climate is never going to be better for them and is likely to get significantly more difficult" with Longhorn.
On the server side of its operating system business, Microsoft faces a similar challenge. Windows NT 4 Server -- long superceded by both Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 -- still accounts for more than a quarter of Windows server installations. Paid support for NT 4 is ending at the end of this year, a fact that Microsoft touts prominently on a special Web site geared toward convincing server customers to upgrade to Windows Server 2003.
The software maker is walking a fine line, as it tries to gently nudge customers away from NT 4.0 without pushing them away from Windows entirely.
Sensing an opportunity, IBM last week launched an effort to try and woo Windows NT users to its Linux-based servers. An executive from Big Blue predicted that the workload from as many as half of the 2 million servers out there could eventually migrate to Linux-based machines.
Microsoft executives acknowledge the looming threat. "Anytime a customer is considering a platform change the field is wide open, not just Linux," said Jim Hebert, a general manager in Microsoft's Windows Server group.
CNET News.com's Mike Ricciuti contributed to this report.
Talkback
I use Win98se and purchased WinXP some 18 months ago but have been reluctant to install it due to negative feedback, "XP is like big brother... I had to buy new hardware when I upgraded', was the general comments from friends.
I thought I would give XP a try by running both Win98 and WinXP on different machines, I also installed a firewall just to keep tabs on what the two OS's were up to!
Without going into great detail the result is this.
XP is being placed in the bin, its not that it doesn't work, it's just infuriating to told by MS what it is and is not going to allow me to do on MY PC!
I will continue to use Win98 for the present but with severe restraint on its access to the net and I'm going to take another look at 'Lindows'.
I have a more relaxed attitude towards Microsoft spying on me. I let it all hang out there. I'll move to alternative OS'es the moment I am restricted in what I want to do.
Chances are that will happen. There are so many ludicrous business models out there that are enforced by technology. (Ink more expensive than inkjet printers, DRM and so on)
Here is wishing our Microsoft user friends the very best of "luck" in the future....
I just knew they would have to review the support for 98, 98SE and Me. It's going to hit Microsoft too much not to continue support.
Also they need to review their prices as a version of XP Home gets you 1p change from £90, way too dear for an ordinary UK home user. I have used it once, the version I had was shipped with all ports OPEN, would you believe, so that when I booted up and got Windows loaded, it connected straight to the Internet and I got it with Blaster and this was before I had chance to install my firewall or anti-virus software so use XP ... NO WAY, Jose!!!!!