Their Passon is XP
- From: Lookout <mrLookout@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2008 07:04:23 -0500
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hP-PJpWPOXhxZHpqZ_M-Euh6DntwD90153BG0
By JESSICA MINTZ, AP Technology Writer
Sun Apr 13, 2:30 PM ET
SEATTLE - Microsoft Corp.'s operating systems run most personal
computers around the globe and are a cash cow for the world's largest
software maker. But you'd never confuse a Windows user with the
passionate fans of Mac OS X or even the free Linux operating system.
Unless it's someone running Windows XP, a version Microsoft wants to
retire.
Fans of the six-year-old operating system set to be pulled off store
shelves in June have papered the Internet with blog posts, cartoons
and petitions recently. They trumpet its superiority to Windows Vista,
Microsoft's latest PC operating system, whose consumer launch last
January was greeted with lukewarm reviews.
No matter how hard Microsoft works to persuade people to embrace
Vista, some just can't be wowed. They complain about Vista's hefty
hardware requirements, its less-than-peppy performance, occasional
incompatibility with other programs and devices and frequent,
irritating security pop-up windows.
For them, the impending disappearance of XP computers from retailers,
and the phased withdrawal of technical support in coming years, is
causing a minor panic.
Take, for instance, Galen Gruman. A longtime technology journalist,
Gruman is more accustomed to writing about trends than starting them.
But after talking to Windows users for months, he realized his
distaste for Vista and strong attachment to XP were widespread.
"It sort of hit us that, wait a minute, XP will be gone as of June 30.
What are we going to do?" he said. "If no one does something, it's
going to be gone."
So Gruman started a Save XP Web petition, gathering since January more
than 100,000 signatures and thousands of comments, mostly from
die-hard XP users who want Microsoft to keep selling it until the next
version of Windows is released, currently targeted for 2010.
On the petition site's comments section, some users proclaimed they
will downgrade from Vista to XP - an option available in the past to
businesses, but now open for the first time to consumers who buy Vista
Ultimate or Business editions - if they need to buy a new computer
after XP goes off the market.
Others used the comments section to rail against the very idea that
Microsoft has the power to enforce the phase-out from a stable, decent
product to one that many consider worse, while profiting from the
move. Many threatened to leave Windows for Apple or Linux machines.
Microsoft already extended the XP deadline once, but it shows no signs
it will do so again. The company has declined to meet with Gruman to
consider the petition. Microsoft is aware of the petition, it said in
a statement to The Associated Press, and "will continue to be guided
by feedback we hear from partners and customers about what makes sense
based on their needs."
Gruman said he'd keep pressing for a meeting.
"They really believe if they just close their eyes, people will have
no choice," he said.
In fact, most people who get a new computer will end up with Vista. In
2008, 94 percent of new Windows machines for consumers worldwide will
run Vista, forecasts industry research group IDC. For businesses,
about 75 percent of new PCs will have Vista. (That figure takes into
account companies that choose to downgrade to XP.)
Although Microsoft may not budge on selling new copies of XP, it may
have to extend support for it.
Al Gillen, an IDC analyst, estimated that at the end of 2008 nearly 60
percent of consumer PCs and almost 70 percent of business PCs
worldwide will still run XP. Microsoft plans to end full support -
including warranty claims and free help with problems - in April 2009.
The company will continue providing a more limited level of service
until April 2014.
Gillen said efforts like Gruman's grass-roots petition may not
influence the software maker, but business customers' demands should
carry more clout.
"You really can't make 69 percent of your installed base unhappy with
you," he said.
Some companies - such as Wells Manufacturing Co. in Woodstock, Ill. -
are crossing their fingers that he's right. The company, which melts
scrap steel and casts iron bars, has 200 PCs that run Windows 2000 or
XP. (Windows 2000 is no longer sold on PCs. Mainstream support has
ended, but limited support is available through the middle of 2010.)
Wells usually replaces 50 of its PCs every 18 months. In the most
recent round of purchases, Chief Information Officer Lou Peterhans
said, the company stuck with XP because several of its applications
don't run well on Vista.
"There is no strong reason to go to Vista, other than eventually
losing support for XP," he said. Peterhans added that the company
isn't planning to bring in Vista computers for 18 months to two years.
If Microsoft keeps to its current timetable, its next operating
system, code-named Windows 7, will be on the market by then.
http://weblog.infoworld.com/save-xp/
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