Bye-Bye Windows XP?

Is Microsoft TRYING TO FORCE its new OS upon us??

Being already in the middle of a lawsuit over the “Vista Capable” certification being misleading, Microsoft now finds itself in the middle of another brewing controversy.

The announcement of closing doors on Windows XP by Microsoft is not going well with users and manufacturers alike. On its Microsoft Life-Cycle Policy Web page, Microsoft has announced plans to discontinue shipments of Windows XP to OEMs from January 31, 2008.

With countless applications standardized on Windows XP, the transition to Windows Vista won’t be simple and in many cases almost impossible. With the current hardware requirements for Windows Vista, users will have to invest in more powerful machines to be able to run the applications with same speed and performance as their current Windows XP based machine.

Microsoft’s Windows XP has been a popular choice amongst SMB and home users alike and it is by no stretch of imagination nearing the end of its product life cycle. So the decision to shun Windows XP within a year of Vista’s release is being met with a lot of flak. Microsoft obviously wants to ensure that the OEMs and PC manufacturers gear themselves up for Windows Vista but taking the Windows XP option out of the system won’t go down well with vendors either. Dell has announced its decision to continue selling XP-based PCs to cater to the SMB market which according to Dell needs more time to migrate to Vista. The costs involved in training staff in adapting to a new OS is a clear deterrent for small and medium business houses who seem to be content with Windows XP and hence do not see a need to upgrade in near future.

VISTA FAILS TO MEET THE HYPE IT’S CREATED

While Windows Vista might look a lot cooler and offer some fancy features, it’s not as polished with regard to ore functionality and compatibility side yet. Windows XP has extensive software and driver support which makes it a lot more hassle free to adopt and maintain. With experts not yet convinced on the security
aspects of Windows Vista, users are also cautious about making the switch. Microsoft’s trick to keep DirectX 10 exclusive to Vista might help them get the hardcore PC Gamers on their side but this will take its own sweet time. DirectX 10 hardware is in a nascent stage and very few DX 10 games have been announced. Gamers clearly prefer to hang on to Windows XP for its superior compatibility and better performance yield with current games.

It’s quite possible that Microsoft has realized that Windows Vista isn’t quite the magic wand they expected it to be and it will take a while to get its grip on the market. Sighting a preference for Windows XP over Vista, Microsoft’s wants to keep its equation on the sales revenues and penetration figures for Vista intact.

AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK ELSEWHERE

“A reason to go open source!” a colleague responded to Microsoft’s announcement. While the open source community will give numerous reasons why we should upgrade to Linux, Microsoft itself has given OEMs and home-users a reason to consider other alternatives. Vendors might just offer a wider range of products without bundled operating systems, giving users a free hand in choosing the OS that best suits their needs.

It may not be surprising to see SMBs and home-users considering a shift to the popular Linux distributions that offer required functionalities. Hovering around the numerous local tech forums and community websites, I clearly gathered that common opinion of users not convinced with Vista revolved around deciding to stick to Windows XP while trying out various Linux distorts. Microsoft may do well to heed its community of dedicated users and continue to support Windows XP a while longer.