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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  • 46 Posted by mikepompura on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:20PM EDT Report Abuse

    If developers are not writing drivers for XP anymore, and the drivers cannot be obtained from the vendors hardware and support site directly (which I have no reason to see why not), then perhaps the devleopers should move their rear ends and start writing code for the Vista platform in a little more hasty mode than what they have been doing. That is only ONE of the major irks about Vista: the LACK of software which will run on its operating system, and the LACK of drivers for hardware of only a few years of age. What Microsoft has essentially done is *forced* an awful lot of people to go out and buy new hardware that can run on Vista - and in this tight current economical state where people are losing their jobs, losing their houses, working 2 or 3 jobs to make ends meet - making the decision to whip out the plastic to buy another PC to replace the otherwise old one that is still in good operating condition just because VISTA is being force-fed down the public's throats is simply not an option. It's crunch time for a lot of people. Do I feed the kids and buy them clothes for school, or do I buy a new PC because XP is being phased out? I have Microsoft XP disk - and that key has been "used up" so many times already from the constant reimaging I have had to do from the constant compromises and hacks. Many times I have had to call that 800 number and get a valid new key - and since I paid $US$ dollars for this product, I expect for it to be valid for as long as I care to use it. For those of you who want to go to VISTA; good for it. That is your decision, and what America is all about; choices and selections. Freedom of choice. I choose XP for now. I may go to Vista in the future - but that is *my* choice alone; not Microsoft's. The only good I see from this force-feeding of Vista down the public's throat by Balmer and company is a surge en masse towards the open source alternative: i.e = LOST $SALES$ ( are you paying attnetion Microsoft?) (Disclaimer: I am not an Apple-supporter, nor do I generally like the Linux variants. I have been with Microsoft and their products since 1983; back in the days of DOS 3.1 I have spent over 4 years and too much money towards formal education, degrees and certifications in Microsoft products. If anything, I am biased TOWARDS Microsoft. Forcing anything on anybody is an overall bad idea.

  • 47 Posted by henrymusicplus on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:18PM EDT Report Abuse

    I was forced to use vista when I had to buy a new laptop last year. It was terrible . with just a little effort I learned how to use Linux [especially puppy linux ] and will never use windows again

  • 48 Posted by jeff.pirate2 on Wed May 14, 2008 12:38PM EDT Report Abuse

    I'm a big fan of both windows & MacOS becuase we used macs in all Pattonville schools, expect maybe a few of our aministrator offices. I've only used Vista once and it was on a computer at the hotel we stayed at while on vaction. From what I'm hearing Leppard is way better than Vista, so I think should extend the EOL for XP, Plus I'm thinking geting a new dell laptop,, and I'm going with one thiers that includes the choice between Vista & XP. I'm a special needs student who just finshed high school. I don't its a good idea for Microsoft to end the shelf life on XP because we just don't know how good Vista is for people with special needs like me and some of my friends.

  • 49 Posted by kmanstudios on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:52PM EDT Report Abuse

    I've not upgraded to Vista because of issues that are still present. As i also beta test software, I've seen many issues that cannot be resolved because the difficulty lies in Vista and not in the software itself. I agree that eventually XP will die off, but, forcing customers to upgrade before the problems are resolved and all things are compatible is not good customer relations. There are too many things that can be listed here that I have not read about being solved. And, if the software I use is not running 100% as capable as it does in XP, I cannot upgrade. I cannot lose the time because of the issues I am seeing in beta. One of the core problems I have read about is that Vista is geared towards the casual user. If one of my core programs ran on LINUX, I would be there in a heartbeat and never look back. As for companies not writing drivers and what not is not entirely true as they are more responsive to customer needs than Microsoft is. So far, I have no problems finding XP drivers and hardware.

  • 50 Posted by qazwsxl on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:23PM EDT Report Abuse

    I beta-tested Vista. I hated it then. It made my computer crash (Fujitsu Lifebook circa 2006) and I can't use it, however, my husbando bought a laptop with Vista on it. He loves it.

  • 51 Posted by dawn_bahr on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:38PM EDT Report Abuse

    There is no need to get nasty when someone says what is on their mind. Why can't both programs be available, let the people choose which systems they want to use, stop taking our right to choose away from us.

  • 52 Posted by mr_boy92 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:28PM EDT Report Abuse

    In my opinion the customer should always have the right to choose XP over Vista, some people prefer one over the other and it is not right to take that choice from them. "Vista has been fixed!" has been said a total of three times, it has been taken off the market and put back on numerous times, yet XP has never been taken off. I urge people to think about it....

  • 53 Posted by mhennigan_pcpro on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:17PM EDT Report Abuse

    I just purchased a laptop with Vista and have had no issues so far. I was skeptical as well with Vista vs XP but I can say I prefer Vista now.

  • 54 Posted by grievingarchangel on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:13PM EDT Report Abuse

    Many times there is a bit of uncertainty when dealing with an upgrade; however, there has been talk inside Microsoft comparing Vista's failure to that of Windows ME. The failure has been so great that there has been rumors about moving the release date of Windows 7 from 2011 to as early as 2009. I began originally testing Vista when the RC2 Beta was released and as with beta's found it to be buggy, the major thing that caught my eye however was the massive amount of resources this OS required. Granted Vista is a much "prettier" OS with some nice features, but thus far I have found nothing in it that warrants the massively reduced performance. I currently have a home network with seven computers, 4 running XP, one dualbooted with XP MCE and Server 03 Enterprise, one with Suse Linux, and one with Vista Ultimate. During testing on performance speed, the Server/XP box, running on the XP side (3200 AMD 64, 1.5 GB PC333, generic video card) v.s. the Vista box (1.8 Dual Core Intel, 2 GB PC667, Nvidia 5400 GT), the XP box performed DVD encoding at a rate of about 30% faster than the Vista box. Also I have had multiple networking issues with the Vista box, and likewise I have had clients with similar problems. Frankly Vista is bulky, requires a massive amount of memory, and really is rather buggy. Likewise it takes my Vista box roughly about 5 minutes minimum to fully boot with minimum programs running at start. I really have to say that it is rather pathetic that my CF-27 Toughbook (that I use for field notes) with a Pentium 266 and 192 MB PC100 can fully boot an XP install faster than that. What I have told my clients and I suggest to anyone right now is that if your current box is doing its job then stick with it. I would honestly stay with XP (unless the computer just comes with Vista and it is for basic home use) until Windows 7 comes out and figure it out from there. Otherwise just go with Linux.

  • 55 Posted by dbrhbrght on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:39PM EDT Report Abuse

    Not everyone can afford anymore upgrades due to everything is rising in high costs like gas for one is too much, and food at the grocery store etc.I heard from a few friends that the Windows Vista was not that good and expensive. Right now I still have Windows 2003 because I have to save to get the new 2007. Not everyone has that choice to just get any upgrade. debb08

  • 56 Posted by shawnblaze84 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:18PM EDT Report Abuse

    I don't understand why people thinks Vista is such a bad OS. I have been testing Vista for several months now and find it to be a far more useful and better OS then XP. Both uses the same platform so I don't understand why some people are encountering technical difficulties. All I know is that Vista is design to run on newer computers that have high processing speed and memory, so if you are still using anything less then you should not be running Vista in the first place. Vista have tons of useful functions that I believe is a must have.

  • 57 Posted by nikon_guy2 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:38PM EDT Report Abuse

    The article contains a huge error. You may only downgrade to Windows XP if you purchase a PC with Windows Vista Business or Windows Vista Ultimate. Windows Vista Basic and Windows Vista Home premium DO NOT have downgrade rights.

  • 58 Posted by jcreeves121255 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:31PM EDT Report Abuse

    Interesting comment that a product manufacturer shouldn't "cave" to their customer's demands. What ever happened to "...give the customer what they want"? As for OEMs not writing deivers for XP...simply not true. Most Vista drivers I've come across are backwards compatable. How can Dell, Lenovo and HP (according to this article) commit to extending support for newly installed XP machines into 2009 otherwise....hmmmm?

  • 59 Posted by co2mc@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:27PM EDT Report Abuse

    Oh no, not again... everytime I'm feeling secure in my Operating System... things change... can I keep up without losing my mind? I've had problems with Vista and the ever loving loop... God help me if the new upgrade is not simple (like me).

  • 60 Posted by kays1974 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:48PM EDT Report Abuse

    There isn't anything wrong with Vista. User error! Keep you're computer in check and updated. You are in control, not the machine. I've used Vista for over a yr now and all is well. My husband works in the IT field and I know more about Vista than he does just from being on the computer all day. My friend couldn't figure out why her "bought off ebay" computer was so slow. I found she was running XP Professional on a laptop designed for Windows 98. DUH! Know your hardware before attempting to complain about the software.

  • 61 Posted by chgo_midway on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:23PM EDT Report Abuse

    i've tryed windows vista, it is horrible. why can't they just leave well enough alone. vista is just one headache after another. time to try a MAC. Mike(chgo_midway)

  • 63 Posted by nkyajr on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:39PM EDT Report Abuse

    If you take the same amount of time learning a new PC operating system, you could learn Mac OS and then never have to relearn anything again. There are PC compatable programs and you have more control over all your projects. I can run 10 programs in 'standby' without waiting instead of running 2 programs and God forbid sometimes 3 and then ending up having to restart the PC. Maybe Macs are a bit more expensive, but that's simple economics. Spend $1000 on something that will last 10 years, instead of $500 on something that will last only 2 (cheaper in the long run).

  • 64 Posted by rdtrujil1951 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:33PM EDT Report Abuse

    All I can sayis that I work for Intel and we still use XP. We got a message from our IT dept. telling people if they wanted to "upgrade" their laptops to Vista, it was ok but not recommended. The rest if the network will be XP. I personally think Vista is the software version of a gas hog SUV. And I'll use XP as long as I can or until Microsoft op systems get better quality control.

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

    why even get a pc seriously, macs are the future, they cost the same if not less, and they operate better. i'll word it like this: buying a pc instead of a mac. is like going through the drive thru window, and giving the cashier a hundred for your double cheese burger and saying keep the change! i hope you enjoy the smell of your crap, cause thats what your doing with your money.....flushing it.

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