Windows XP sales ended on June 30, 2008, and since then it can no longer be found in stores. Its lifecycle has ended, and many people wonder why?
For many reasons, and don't think it's just for economic reasons, of having a new product to sell. It's important to understand that Windows XP is already outdated; there are new requirements, such as the advent of 64-bit and computers with more than 4GB of RAM.
The end of Windows XP should have come with Windows Vista, but that didn't happen. Vista was Microsoft's shame; made with an attractive aesthetic, Vista was incompatible with several programs and disappointed even the most optimistic due to its poor performance.
But now, with the success of Windows 7, Windows XP, which was already struggling, is finally dead.
I tested Windows 7 for months, followed the technician versions, up to the final release, and there's no doubt that it came to bury Windows XP for good and make us forget that Vista ever existed.
Windows 7 for 64-bit is the ideal option; it showed superior performance to 32-bit even on machines with less than 2GB of RAM.
Small, local PC manufacturers, known in the industry as "system integrators," can continue to sell PCs with Windows XP until January 2009.
If your company relies on Windows XP, you still have a way to get it. When you purchase Windows 7 Business or Windows 7 Ultimate, you automatically have the right to downgrade the system to Windows XP Professional through what we call "downgrade rights."
Additionally, you can find devices called Netbooks or ULCPCs (Ultra-Low Cost PCs) with Windows XP Home. We plan to sell Windows XP Home for these machines with limited hardware until June 2010.
And one more thing: we are not "killing" Windows XP. Although Windows XP is no longer sold in stores, Microsoft and its partners will continue to offer technical support for Windows XP for a long time to come. In fact, Microsoft plans to support Windows XP until April 2014.
We are proud of Windows XP, a product that has helped and entertained hundreds of millions of people over the past eight years. But technology cannot stand still. And neither can we. – Microsoft
There are two types of support today: Base, which is free, and Extended, which is paid. Base support for Windows XP will continue until April 2009. Extended support for Windows XP will continue until April 2014.
