While most of the current talk is about the recently released Windows 8.1, and how the new operating system performs on the market, another version of Windows is a regular feature in news.
The ancient favorite, Windows XP is fast approaching its retirement date of April 8, 2014.
And while Microsoft has delayed the support end date once in the past, there seems to be no signs that the software titan will postpone the retirement of Windows XP for the second time. Redmond has made it clear that it intends to stick with this cutoff date, whatever happens.
Businesses and organizations across the world, however, are starting to make the move to a newer version of Windows. It is a slow process — from initial planning to application testing and then the final upgrade. And this is without taking into account the (hardware and software) costs involved.
Anyway, Bill McCluggage, Ireland’s chief information officer, has a different view of things.
Talking to a local newspaper, the expert claims that Microsoft has no other option than to wait a bit longer before pulling the plug off the old operating system. In fact, it may be forced to do so.
And the reason, as expected, is simple — businesses need more time to upgrade from Windows XP to a newer platform. The transition is not only expensive, but also time consuming, as it requires additional training for employees.
While it is unreasonable to expect Microsoft to talk about delayed retirement now that the Windows XP user base finally seems to be moving ahead with the upgrade, the company would surely be keeping a very close eye on statistics as the retirement date looms near.
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