This has not been the first request of this type, and it probably will not be the last. Microsoft is months away from retiring Windows XP, but it is clear as daylight that not everyone is ready to move to a newer operating system.
At least, not move to a newer operating system before April 8, 2014, the end of support date.
And now China has called on Microsoft to extend support for Windows XP, claiming that many government computers in the country are still running this aging platform. Officials say that Redmond should keep the supporting Windows XP because they paid for a legitimate license.
Microsoft, however, seem all set to stick with the date. A company spokesperson once again made it clear in a recent statement that the time for Windows XP has passed:
“While Windows XP was a great operating system for its time and introduced some great anti-malware and security features, it’s no longer enough to defend against the onslaught of modern threats that organizations face.
With every new version of Windows we have made substantial security updates from the previous versions and both consumers and organizations can get advice on how to upgrade to a more recent operating system at www.get2modern.com.”
Anyway, getting back to the Chinese officials, they claim that a potential transition to Windows 8 is much too expensive — the modern operating system currently has a 3 percent market share in the country, a few notches below the 8 percent worldwide average.
In any case, considering just how much Microsoft wants to move away from Windows XP, a sudden change of heart is completely (and clearly) not to be expected.
All Comments
Microsoft can make the switch cost-effective. Whenever you spend money on something, you should down the line to the day you have to replace it, it’s not like Windows 7 and 8 just sprung up last week. Some of these groups should have been at least discussing a transition.
If they can delay it once, they will ask for more delays. That’s the greed of human beings. How many years win7 has been out? How many years they need to upgrade their systems? If they don’t start, it will take forever.