Ballmer hints at extension for XP

Mon May 12, 2008 6:55PM EDT

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With concern over the end of the road for Windows XP reaches feverish levels, Microsoft appears to be altering yet again its timeline for killing off the popular operating system, which would ultimately force people into upgrading to Vista.

The latest news comes from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, reacting to criticism at a recent news conference, who said "XP will hit an end-of-life. We have announced one. If customer feedback varies, we can always wake up smarter, but right now, we have a plan for end-of-life for new XP shipments."

As of now the June 30 deadline stands, but PC makers may be encouraging Microsoft to get "smarter" by taking the rare step of openly combating Microsoft's direction that vendors move from XP to Vista. HP, Dell, and Lenovo have all said they will downgrade operating systems on new machines from Vista to XP at customer request and will continue to do so until 2009 (specific ending dates vary).

Note that no one's breaking the law here. Legally, anyone with a volume license or an OEM license for Vista can downgrade to XP without having to pay extra for the OS. The only exception is for those who purchased "full packaged product (FPP)" editions, which do not include downgrade rights, though Windows Vista Professional and Ultimate editions do. Whether XP drivers are available is another issue.

If asked, many companies will include an XP disc with your order, but Dell is installing XP at the factory as well. Cnet also offers some additional helpful advice on obtaining XP if you're buying a Vista machine.

My best advice is that if you're buying a new machine and want XP, get on the phone instead of using the company's website to configure the product. Salespeople can make options available, like downgrades, that you won't get online.

Of course, all of this could be moot in the next month or so if Microsoft bows to pressure from users to continue to sell XP. Stay tuned to see if Microsoft has a change of heart before the end of June.

Comments on Ballmer hints at extension for XP

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  • 26 Posted by coreboy7 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:29PM EDT Report Abuse

    XP should be killed off. However I think its too early to be set in June. As it has been said before I think XP should be sold along side vista.....atleast until microsoft decides to make these older programs compatible. Vista is for the most part eye candy. If you really think about it the only thing it really offers is directX10. And i'm no stranger to either operating system. I use Vista at work and XP at home for just about everything from music, pictures, video editing, website design, Gaming, etc. At first I really didn't like vista but it took getting used to and now its not that bad. My main problem is it takes too much of the system resources and often runs slow. As for the comment by naturebynatphotography, my vista machine at work has 1 gig of ram,a complete internet security suite and not much else (everything stored is on a server). It still tends to lag a lot when running multiple programs. It seems very ignorant of you to asume most of these people are lacking in maintenence. As for you installing vista and it running faster.....it sounds like your recent reformat has your computer running fast reguardless of the OS. Come back in a couple months when you've placed everything you had on your XP os on Vista and then make the same statement. I'm pretty sure it won't be true.

  • 27 Posted by dmg122884 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:45PM EDT Report Abuse

    Microsoft needs to realize that it is not necessary to create an entirely new operating system every few years. Obviously continuing with XP indefinitely is untenable, but replacing it with something that is, arguably, not an improvement makes no sense at all. In my humble opinion, an ideal operating system would have to be modular in the sense that an upgrade, even a major one, would only require swapping out specific components and not a complete redesign. At this point Microsoft seems to be concerned with acquiring relatively short term profits, rather than creating a superior product for the long term.

  • 28 Posted by gooddayz39 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:11PM EDT Report Abuse

    Haven't had the privelidge of learning Vista yet. I hope it will expand my productivity. And drive creativity above and beyond our preconcieved notions!

  • 29 Posted by wbskunk500@att.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:42PM EDT Report Abuse

    Vista blows XP out of the water! With features like Media Center, Ready Boost, DX10, superior security, Sidebar,etc, I really like it. I never did like XP at all. I tried it on other people's machines, but would not put it on mine.

  • 30 Posted by rogueist on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:49PM EDT Report Abuse

    I have done my bit. I have my MacBookPro now. No more Windows.

  • 31 Posted by momdiggs1 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:25PM EDT Report Abuse

    i think most of us havent learned enoth about any of the windows systeems but their are folk who say that the vista isn't all that it suppose to be and if their isn't any update on most of the systems then what good can it be. i'm still having problems with any of the systems because my information is always put in defult files and that not something i know about. i think this is away for most company to get us to pay more for something even harder to master.

  • 32 Posted by techwerx on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:59PM EDT Report Abuse

    If anyone cares to do the research, the "Looping" problem is almost exclusively an issue with those using AMD processors.... having been in the IT field for over twenty years, I have NEVER used AMD for this and several other reasons (Especially in the early-mid 90's). Do your homework BEFORE blindly installing a major SP from Microsoft. There is a KB regarding this known problem. As for keeping with XP, I'm treating Vista like WinME, and I'll wait for Windows 7.

  • 35 Posted by the_00_and_perfect_agent on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:06PM EDT Report Abuse

    I agree with the posters who think Microsoft should let XP die. Continuing to let XP live will just end being worse for the entire tech market, as new technologies will be slower to develop. Vista has had some growing pains, but people will like it just as much as they liked XP. With superior hardware specs, Vista is clearly a superior OS. So, people who have their old computers can keep XP for now, but when the upgrade the hardware, it's time to get Vista along with it.

  • 36 Posted by le_mog on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:50PM EDT Report Abuse

    Well I bought a brand new high-end notebook last year with Windows Vista on it and it was the biggest piece of crap I've ever had the experience to work with. The fan on the notebook ran continuously (even with all the eye candy jacked way down), NOD32 absolutely refused to install (even though it was supposedly Vista compatible) and our company's VPN access software choked on it. Needless to say, I spent 2 hours trying to cope with it and then formated the drive and re-installed XP Pro. I'll wait for Microsoft to (maybe) get it right and keep my nice stable 'obsolete' OS humming right along. If it's any indication, my friend works for a school division and based on their preliminary tests, they're not even thinking of deploying for at least 2 years if not more.

  • 37 Posted by nestosimple on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:36PM EDT Report Abuse

    All I could say is that Vista was a big headache for me. If they do not come up with better solutions or service packs I am going back to good old xp or maybe even to Mac. I am not a geek but it is interesting to see so many professionals complaining about Vista ,so things are sticky here.

  • 38 Posted by joy2youandme2000 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:41PM EDT Report Abuse

    What's the deal with Service Pack 3 crashing my computer by creating endless reboots. Apparently, large numbers of others are having the same problem Everybody's pointing fingers at each other. I blame Microsoft. They had no business releasing imcompatible junk. I wouldn't be suprised if Microsoft deliberately did it to force the upgrade to Vista. Whatever the truth is, they sure as heck didn't do their homework. Microsoft seriously needs to be sued for damages. Im never, NEVER buying their crappy products again. From now on, I'm going with MAC.

  • 41 Posted by xcalibursoljur21 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:52PM EDT Report Abuse

    personally.. i like xp so much better.. vistas so wackk and i use both at th esame time. my desktop is xp n my laptop is vista.. i wish i got xp for my laptop instead

  • 42 Posted by tothewack on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:18PM EDT Report Abuse

    I have 3 machines all with AMD processors and I have never gotten hit by the loop while upgrading to SP1 on Vista. I also have a bunch of buddies who have the same setup and not a single error. I personally don't care for Vista yet. I feel that OSX is such a better OS period. I cant believe its been over six years since they released XP. Though, I don't have any faith in M$ to deliver what they promise. I want ONE OS that will do everything at a RESONABLE price. Not five or six OS that are hamstrung.

  • 43 Posted by revans611 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:37PM EDT Report Abuse

    I have Vista Ultimate. No problem with installing SP1, and no problems with Vista. However, IE7 seems to be a bit buggy.

  • 44 Posted by fantam4 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:58PM EDT Report Abuse

    You will still be able to get drivers for XP just as manufacturers still support older versions of Microsoft like 2000, ME, etc. They would never JUST make a driver for one version of an OS, thats business suicide. Get with the program people, manufacturers want people to buy their stuff and use it no matter what.

  • 45 Posted by tedfelsberg on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:59PM EDT Report Abuse

    yo who the heck cares about windows, mac's are taking over the world, one day at a time, one day you will all have to abandon your pcs and virus infested vista!!!! hahahahaha

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