XP reprieved until 2010, maybe later

Stephen Withers
Friday, 04 April 2008 02:16

Opinion and Analysis

Those users won't be able to get "the Windows they already know" because "there is no plan to extend sales of other editions of Windows XP beyond June 30, 2008."

Instead, they'll have to switch to Vista. Given then much-vaunted UI changes in Vista, will it really be any easier for them than moving from say a Linux-based device? Especially one with a Windows-like GUI. Remember, the argument is about familiarity with the operating system, not the ability to keep using the same applications.

Anyway, it turns out that XP could be around for even longer. Microsoft's announcement was that "Windows XP Home for ULCPCs will be available until the later of June 30, 2010, or one year after general availability of the next version of Windows."

So unless you can see Vista's successor ("Windows 7") arriving before the middle of next year - and the money seems to be on a 2010 release - XP could still be selling on low-cost notebooks into 2011.