[vip_students] Users petition to keep Windows XP
- From: "Paul Traynor" <paul.traynor@xxxxxxx>
- To: <vip_students@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2008 09:36:48 +0100
Story taken from the RSS feed of: CNN Technology News.
Users petition to keep Windows XPStory Highlights
Six-year-old operating system set to be pulled off store shelves in June
Vista complaints: Hardware requirements, performance, incompatibility
Save XP Web petition gathering more than 100,000 signatures, comments
User: Microsoft thinks "if they just close their eyes, people will have no
choice"
Next Article in Technology »
SEATTLE, Washington (AP) -- 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.
Windows XP is set to be pulled off of store shelves in June, but supporters
hope their petition will prevent that.
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.
Don't Miss
InfoWorld: Save XP petition
Microsoft: Support timeline
"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, Illinois --
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.
U.S. | CNN U.S. TV | CNN International TV | Headline News |
Transcripts © 2008 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights
Reserved.
Terms of service | Privacy guidelines | Advertise with us | About us
| Contact us | Help
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG.
Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 269.23.0/1379 - Release Date: 15/04/2008
18:10
********************************************************************
NOTICE: The information contained in this email and any attachments
is confidential and may be privileged. If you are not the intended
recipient you should not use, disclose, distribute or copy any of
the content of it or of any attachment; you are requested to notify
the sender immediately of your receipt of the email and then to
delete it and any attachments from your system.
NCBI endeavours to ensure that emails and any attachments generated
by its staff are free from viruses or other contaminants. However,
it cannot accept any responsibility for any such which are
transmitted. We therefore recommend you scan all attachments.
Please note that the statements and views expressed in this email
and any attachments are those of the author and do not necessarily
represent the views of NCBI
********************************************************************
Other related posts:
- » [vip_students] Users petition to keep Windows XP
