Are those windows of yours looking a little smudged lately? No, we're not talking about the windows in your house or apartment, or the windshield of your car. Instead, we at Switched, like many other consumers and tech watchers out there, are looking at the somewhat confusing view put forward by
Microsoft and computer makers for the future of Windows the operating system.
Windows Vista was introduced last year to much fanfare but has since proven to be a bit of a
disappointment among individual computer users and businesses. They've all been slow to adopt the new system. And in an odd twist in the normal progression of new technology, Windows XP (the older and widely-used operating system in use on the majority of PCs in the marketplace) will continue to be available on many machines through June – and even beyond – along with various levels of support by Microsoft.
Why would anyone want an older operating system such as Windows XP? Well, if you've tried Vista recently, you'll probably have learned that many programs and computer peripherals still don't work for the new operating system. And don't even get us started on how slow Vista can be. Windows XP, which has been around for a few years, has none of the above problems.
If you think Windows XP is still the right operating system for you, then there are solutions available.
June 30th is the last official date that Windows XP will be available on regular new computers. HP and
Dell, however, will offer an operating system "downgrade" on several models beyond that date, which means you buy one of their computers with Windows Vista, but also receive the installation discs with Windows XP, giving you a choice of which system to use. These downgrade options will continue through the beginning of 2009.
And then there are the makers of
ultra-low-cost PCs, which will offer Windows XP on some of their bare-bones models until June 2010.
And this is the story of Windows XP: It doesn't die, it just fades away. [Source:
PC World.]
