Windows XP

I like Windows XP.
Really. I like it a lot. I wish I could simply keep using it. It serves all of my needs and does what I want reliably.

But, stagnation isn't the way to survive, let alone thrive.
Windows 7 also meets my needs and has additional functions that some people will find very helpful.
I have yet to actually see Windows 8 in anything other than online video.


There are many people in the world still using Windows XP. As the above statements outline I understand this and I see their warranted belief in keeping an XP computer. The hardware is fast enough to do most everything they need and the capacity for storage is less of an issue in the age of "cloud" storage.

These feelings of wanting to keep what is current have legitimate roots but they are usually coupled with comments about the lack of warning and the "forced" nature of the upgrade.

The two side comments are completely illegitimate. XP is the operating system that has been in service the longest of any consumer-grade operating system. There is NOTHING forced about the new products coming along and the manufacturer working to create newer products that take advantage of the greater power of the newer hardware. That this is uncomfortable for you doesn't mean it's forced any more than having your car wear out after 10 years and you finally needing to replace it is the automobile manufacturer forcing an upgrade on you.

The lack of warning is also a fallacious assumption. On April 14th, 2009 Microsoft outlined that this product was being shifted into the End of Life phase of product support. That means that, for the last 1,820 days this product has been on a limited timetable and headed toward lack of support. That is 6 days shy of five years of warning that this product's life was to be terminated.

Put this in comparison - Windows 98, which is arguably the best predecessor to XP, had a lifespan that started on June 25th, 1998 and terminated on July 11th, 2006. 2,938 days in total. XP's 1,820 days in post-life maintenance seem completely respectable on this comparison alone but it becomes even more relevant when one considers the full lifespan that Microsoft has supported XP. XP was released on August 24th, 2001. The termination of it's support on April 8th, 2014 means it has been actively supported by Microsoft for 4,610 days.

If you're on the edge of complaining about this please reconsider and, before you do, consider whether or not you have other products that have had such a lengthy support cycle.... especially software products.

Then just be quiet.

(Additional note: I'm a MAC user at home. I CHOOSE to use a Mac over Windows. Even with this I am defending Microsoft of this decision because they've been MORE than fair to XP users).