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One Year Later, "Dead" XP Still Going Strong

snydeq writes "Microsoft pulled the plug on Windows XP a year ago today, no longer selling new copies in most venues. Yet according to a report from InfoWorld, various downgrade paths to XP are keeping the operating system very much alive, particularly among businesses. In fact, despite Microsoft trumpeting Vista as the most successful version of Windows ever sold, more than half of business PCs have subsequently downgraded Vista-based machines to XP, according to data provided by community-based performance-monitoring network of PCs. Microsoft recently planned to further limit the ability to downgrade to XP now that Windows 7 is in the pipeline, but backlash against the licensing scheme prompted the company to change course, extending downgrade rights on new PCs from April 2010 to April 2011."

21 of 538 comments (clear)

  1. Windows 7 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    This trend will stop when Windows 7 is introduce.

    Mark it on the wall.

    1. Re:Windows 7 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yes, the Windows 7 theme really makes Vista much better.

    2. Re:Windows 7 by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 2, Funny

      Can anyone explain why parent is modded "Troll"?

    3. Re:Windows 7 by bangthegong · · Score: 1, Funny
      So the lesson here is, install a clean copy of windows and don't install any software unless you want your boot time to go up by 4x and the machine to not be responsive?

      I'm so glad I finally smartened up over the past few years and abandoned windows for greener OS pastures...

    4. Re:Windows 7 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yes, this throws me off too, but IMO it's more logical because everything else in the control panel is a Noun and not a Verb.

      However, when technically adept users get tripped up by a Windows control panel being renamed, it's really no wonder that Linux isn't taking off on the desktop.

    5. Re:Windows 7 by Kjella · · Score: 2, Funny

      Once you reach OT level III, it's revealed to be "-1, pro-M$" but it's still shown as troll to the unbelievers.

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
  2. Zombie XP by geekgirlandrea · · Score: 5, Funny

    Clearly, Microsoft used worcestershire sauce as an embalming fluid.

    1. Re:Zombie XP by Abreu · · Score: 4, Funny

      And ketchup instead of bat blood...

      Now they have to wait until the moon is in the Eighth House of Aquarius again to attempt the resurrection

      --
      No sig for the moment.
    2. Re:Zombie XP by dkleinsc · · Score: 2, Funny

      Look, it's not dead, it's resting. Wonderful OS the Windows XP, beautiful plumage.

      --
      I am officially gone from /. Long live http://www.soylentnews.com/
  3. Re:Success by snl2587 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Though if by "successful" they mean "successful at making their users' lives more difficult one bizarre error at a time", I'd say they're spot on.

  4. It's dead, Jim by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    XP is going to die rather quickly once one or more of the following happen: 2.5TB or bigger hard disks drop below $100 (no GUID partition table support in XP), applications make good use of more than 4GB RAM (XP64 driver support "could be better"), USB3 devices become available in mass quantities (no USB3 support in XP), IPv4 addresses run out and major ISPs offer IPv6 access (IPv6 support in XP is incomplete and lacks a UI), Duke Nukem Forever is released for Windows 7 only.

    1. Re:It's dead, Jim by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      great. i'll be sitting there with my 3 terabyte drive, and windows vista ...which happens to suck at moving or copying terabytes of data.

      fuck me.

      and they call this progress.

  5. Re:Count me in by TheRealMindChild · · Score: 5, Funny

    You know what amazes me. Back in the days when Windows 95, the OS constantly ate itself. Blue screens were common. Rebooting was a constant need when things started going south. Reinstalling the OS became habit for even the least technical of computer users.... and you know what? For whatever reason, they didn't complain nearly as much as you people do. You have a piece of shit software firewall that isn't playing nice with your Vista and *BAM* that's it. The OS blows and that's that. Back in my day we wrote init strings to our modems over a serial connection AND LIKED IT! Now if the newfangled cheap-as-dirt wireless card doesn't plug in, magically know which network is yours and your password without asking, and give you theoretical limits in speed then you BREAK OUT THE PICKFORKS and demand the head of a virgin.

    I'm out of beer.

    I'll be back.

    --

    "When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
  6. Re:Who cares? by Savage-Rabbit · · Score: 2, Funny

    Can we do away with the "XP still alive" stories?

    Why? I was kind of hoping "XP is dying" would replace the "BSD is dying" joke since the latter is pretty much worn out and needs a replacement.

    --
    Only to idiots, are orders laws.
    -- Henning von Tresckow
  7. Soon to be dead by gmuslera · · Score: 4, Funny

    According to unofficial sources, the planned "End of Life" for Windows XP will be in December 21 of 2012.

  8. Re:Who cares? by alienunknown · · Score: 2, Funny

    and a couple people will slurp up the Jobs flavored Kool-Aid

    Where can I buy this Jobs flavoured kool-aid? I'm so glad all these big tech companies are investing in the flavoured beverage market. Why, I'm sitting here enjoying a cold glass of Google Gulp as I type this. They really should make an MS-branded kool-aid beverage though, as long as its not Ballmer flavoured which would probably taste like armpit sweat.

  9. Re:Count me in by numbski · · Score: 2, Funny

    So I'm building a new system for my wife and be sure that I'm going with Ubuntu.

    There, fixed it for you. :) You really gotta learn to spell that right. It isn't that hard!

    --

    Karma: Chameleon (mostly due to the fact that you come and go).

  10. Re:XP is Good Enough. by Runaway1956 · · Score: 1, Funny

    I'm headed down to the bus station. See you all later.......

    --
    "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
  11. Re:WIN 7 64bit on an SSD - feels like next gen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    News flash!
    Any OS running on 64 bit will support more than 4GB ... get your facts straight, Ballmer ...

  12. Re:Some areas prefer Vista. by Pentium100 · · Score: 2, Funny

    64 bit audio recording.

    Wow, professional sound cards can do 64 bits now. Now that's a good dynamic range... My card only has 24 bits, but they are enough for me.

  13. Re:Who cares? by blind+biker · · Score: 2, Funny

    Can we do away with the "XP still alive" stories? At this point "everyone" knows that people are going to continue using XP for as long as possible. The other people with Software Assurance or other Microsoft volume licensing programs are going to stay on XP just until they can plan a migration to Windows 7. A small minority will finally make the shift to Linux, and a couple people will slurp up the Jobs flavored Kool-Aid and justify spending significant amounts of money to be locked into a completely proprietary hardware/software "solution".

    Can we do away with these retarded posts that complain about a story but comment on it? And yours was actually a juicy little useless rant - you really put your heart into it!

    --
    "The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.