Goodbye XP… Ten Days to Go
By Moshe Zeidman in Reader
Posted in IT strategy, Microsoft on June 20, 2008 at 2:25 pm
As of June 30, large PC makers will no longer be able to sell Windows XP-based PCs, at least on mainstream notebooks and desktops. Retailers will also have only until their current supply is exhausted to sell boxed copies of the operating system. Despite a brief “Save XP” movement (and continued criticism of Windows Vista from many corners), it appears that Microsoft is not going to change the deadline, which is now just 10 days away.
When speaking with clients, (especially if IT departments have put their collective foot down) Vista really hasn’t had the takeup you would expect almost 18 months and one service pack into its life. Why is that? I don’t remember there being this level of resistance with the transition from Windows 2000 to Windows XP. Is it because XP is so good or Vista so bad?
I imagine the real answer lies between the two. What do you think Microsoft would answer? (Assuming the marketing department would admit that Vista sales are anything other than fantastic). A clue might be in the strategy to build future operating systems in a more modular way. This makes it possible for Microsoft to change specific components of the OS more quickly than before because the effects of those changes will be better isolated. ‘Windows 7′, the codename for the next Windows update scheduled for 2010 will be the first to adopt this model, although the Server 2008 contains a basic form of modular Windows. Users can configure it to run in Core mode, which strips out all non-essential operating system features.
Certainly a problem with Vista adoption has been the effort needed by software developers to rewrite their applications to run in the new environment. It is hard to offer this work as a ‘new feature’ and even harder to pass on the cost of it. This has extended the time IT Directors have been willing to move away from XP. Modularisation is a way of dealing with this issue.
Do you really think it is ‘Goodbye XP’ or will Microsoft relent? Is your business ready to change Vistas? Let me know your thoughts.
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