Windows XP is not dead yet. With a week to go, the vibes are getting stronger that the unpopularity of Vista (deserved or not) will force Microsoft to back off from its plan to kill XP entirely.
There was a notable pause a few days ago when I asked Kevin Johnson, who runs the Windows division, whether XP would get a stay of execution (as anyone who knows the self-assured Johnson will attest, this in itself is out of character.) This is what he finally had to say, after careful consideration:
We’ll announce what we’re doing whenever we’re ready to announce. The number one priority is we want to take great care of our customers. The fact is today that any customer that buys the business version of Vista has downgrade rights to XP anyway. So, XP is available to them. The fact is we’re going to support XP for many, many years to come, we’re going to support Windows Vista for many, many years to come. The priority is taking care of our customers.
Forcing companies to buy “pre-downgraded” PCs is a nonsense. And it doesn’t take account of consumers, particularly those who buy low-priced machines that aren’t capable of running Vista with the new aero interface (which has, all along, been one of the main hooks for consumers to switch to the software.)
Another source hints that there may well be a stay of execution for XP before the month is out, though one that is very limited in nature.
Either way, there are still a few more days when you can be assured of ordering a machine with XP. As this Dell page today blares, sales of XP on the company’s website have been “Extended by popular demand.” The clear message to Microsoft, in case they haven’t heard it already: at least some companies are listening to what their customers are saying.
