Microsoft will discontinue selling its Windows XP OS by early 2008, according to the company’s Windows Life-cycle policy web page. The company will stop selling Windows XP from Jan 31, 2008 despite its popularity and will focus on marketing its new Windows Vista OS, which has received lukewarm response since its launch earlier this year. The webpage also said retail license will be discontinued at that time which means Professional edition, Tablet PC, Professional x64, Home edition, and Media Center edition of XP will not be available next year.
According to news reports, a company spokesperson called it standard practice to allow OEMs, retailed and system builders to continue offering the previous version of Windows for a certain time after a new version had been time after a new version had been released. Microsoft has also confirmed that from 31 January 2008, large PC maker, such as Dell, HP and Toshiba will no longer be able to buy licenses for the software so they can install it on new machines. Meanwhile, Windows Vista has not been received too well in the US and Europe. A poll by US market researched firs Harris Interactive found that only 10% of those questioned were planning to upgrade to Windows Vista in the near future. The study of 2,223 web-using Americans found that although 87% had heard of the OS only 12% of those who knew of it were planning to install it. While the survey did find that some people waited for Vista even before buying a PC, 60% said that its appearance had no effect on their spending plans. It also found that currently 79% of those questioned were using Windows XP on their home PC.
No comments:
Post a Comment