XP gains five months of shelf life

Stephen Withers
Monday, 01 October 2007 04:04

Business IT - Technology

Windows XP will continue to be available to OEMs and as a retail product for an extra five months.

Microsoft had previously announced it would be withdrawn on January 30, 2008, but that deadline has been extended to June 30, 2008.

"[T]here are some customers who need a little more time to make the switch to Windows Vista," said Mike Nash, Microsoft's corporate vice president, Windows product management.

But next June will not usher in the demise of XP. As previously announced, system builders will be able to offer it until January 30, 2009. This is fine for individuals and small businesses that want to stick with XP for as long as possible, but it isn't a viable route for corporate customers buying in volumes that can only be realistically met by major vendors.

Customers in some geographical markets will be able to obtain XP with new systems for even longer. XP Starter Edition - a reduced cost, reduced functionality version designed to for low-end systems and available in more than 100 "emerging markets" such as Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia - will remain on general availability until June 30, 2010. This recognises the inability of ultra low cost PCs to run Vista.

"[O]ur official policy as of 2002 is that versions of Windows are available through our retail and direct OEM partners for four years after they ship. Obviously this policy didn’t work with Windows XP given Windows Vista’s delivery date," said Nash.

"As a practical matter, most of our previous operating system releases were available for about two years after the new version shipped, so maybe we were a little ambitious to think that we would need to make Windows XP available for only a year after the release of Windows Vista."