Microsoft says 74 percent of work PCs still use Windows XP, extends downgrade rights (update 2)
By Sean Hollister 
posted July 12th 2010 10:47PM
posted July 12th 2010 10:47PM
The latest Microsoft operating system may be selling seven copies a second, but it's no match for the behemoth Windows XP, still the most popular OS in the world despite recent nefarious attempts (we kid) to invoke spontaneous shutdowns, slow hard drives and trigger blue screens. In fact, a Microsoft exec admitted today that practically three-quarters of business computers still run the nine-year-old OS on hardware averaging 4.4 years old, and Computerworld's now reporting Microsoft will extend XP's lifespan Update: So it seems as if that 2020 date is incorrect, according to Microsoft's PR team. We're presently waiting for an official update of some sort, and will let you know if / when we get it. Don't worry about the robots -- we've got top men working on Plan B.
Update 2: The official Windows Team Blog has stepped forward to reduce the confusion, but they've only toned it down a tad. Microsoft won't commit to an exact date for Windows XP downgrade availability, saying instead that you can trade in your OEM copy of Windows 7 Pro or Ultimate until the company stops selling it... which is presently slated to be two years after Windows 8 ships... whenever that is. Find the complete non-committal statement at the more coverage link.
holy hell 2020?
haha xp will never die
@ThomasBags imagine running xp on a 24-core machine (if that's possible)
@ThomasBags
It seems somebody now understands that the "Windows 7 hits 150 million licenses: that's seven copies a second", is largely due to Vista users looking for a solution and new PC buyers.
@ThomasBags
Also explain why Microsoft is a more superior OS.
@ThomasBags Microsoft just kill XP, I know you kin!
@cdf74dc9
...microsoft is not an operating system, it's a company
@bo3of
hey XP is good for low end machines if you still want to be able to run windows programs (without the use of wine or virtual machines)
@bo3of
Hoho! I see what you did thar!
@cdf74dc9 yeah where is Mac OS 9.2? oh
@tu eres estupido
On behalf of those of us who are forced to fix problem after problem on these machines, F*** Y** MICROSOFT.
@ThomasBags -- "hey XP is good for low end machines if you still want to be able to run windows programs"
I agree, and I wonder if Microsoft will ever drop the price of Windows XP.
A quick check on NewEgg shows that I can get a copy of 9 year old XP for $99.... or a fresh copy of Windows 7 for $99
@tu eres estupido
@kamikazeshrimpy
It would run like shit since xp can't even fully use two cores
@ThomasBags
It's a company who make XP. The complete name for XP is Microsoft Windows XP.
@Punisher Plum - It's more fun to fix all the problems on machines w/ newer Windows versions???
@ThomasBags
That's because XP is awesome. Not sure what happened after XP, but MS needs to go back to its roots and just make XP2. Same UI, same organization, same everything, but much faster and secure.
@kiza
honestly I hated XPs interface
looks cartoonish and the system options is poorly organized
I've come to love windows 7 interface
@ThomasBags
MS killed Kin but they can't kill XP...
@ThomasBags The problem with upgrading from windows XP to windows 7 is that it brings little to the table in terms of reasons for an upgrade. In reality there are a very few number of things windows 7 can do that XP cannot, and businesses understand that. From a business perspective XP gets the job done, so why spend more money or something else?
@mrnapalm32 Really?
My work machine is a core2 quad with 8gb ram. I use every bit of the specs.
This would be impossible on XP
@mrnapalm32 Except it makes better use of multiple-core processors. That's probably most important. More robust.
@kamikazeshrimpy
Running XP on 24 cores would be a lot like running it 4, or 2, or a good strong 1 for that matter. XP's single-thready software hit its performance peak long ago. Anything more than a good P4 and 2gb of ram is going to waste on that antiquated OS.
@cdf74dc9
Microsoft isn't an OS. It's a company.
@dradis
Dammit! I just realized someone else said the exact same thing. lol.
@NewBie
Hey any store I go to there's a mac right next to the pc's. If the users wanted to they could opt for the mac; they just simply aren't. It's a choice - people want Windows no matter what you keep fooling yourself. The argument that most people are using Windows because they have no choice is nonesense; you make it sound like the only way to get a Mac is to fly all the way to cupertino and gets Jobs to hand you one. The marketplace has spoken; the mac is a niche platform and even the sucky Windows Vista outsold every single Mac ever sold from 1970-2008.
@mrnapalm32 To back this up, Subway (the restaurant chain) still uses, actually, mandates the use of Windows XP SP2 on all POS systems.
@mrnapalm32 -- "In reality there are a very few number of things windows 7 can do that XP cannot, and businesses understand that.
If XP is perfectly fine for businesses... what does Windows 7 add for the home user that XP couldn't deliver? It just makes me wonder why Microsoft even bothered with Vista and Windows 7.
Most people today only browse the web and visit Facebook at home anyway. Seems like Microsoft could have saved a couple billion dollars by just continuing to make service packs for XP instead of making 2 brand new OSes that no one needs.
I guess my question is... why do new operating systems come out when the old ones are just fine? For about 9 years... Windows XP was THE operating system to have. Businesses moved from Windows 98 *to* XP at some point... why can't they move *to* Windows 7? Do they really need 10 more years?
If there's gonna be Windows XP for offices and Windows 7 for home... that's fine. But that's probably not what Microsoft intended. I bet the original Windows XP team was relieved to finally move on to Vista and Windows 7... only to be dragged back to supporting XP again...
@dradis
I know that sh#t head. It just a figure of speech which you fail to realize.
@ThomasBags hmm looks like microsoft wants to hold on to the netbook market. good move!
@NewBie Duh...what else would it be
@kamikazeshrimpy
I think even that would be possible considering that they fixed 4Gb RAM limitation extending addressing from 32 bit to 34 bit.
Won't be surprising to see Service Pack 4(SP4), SP5, ...
@kiza give me a break. Everyone said the same damn thing about Windows 95 after moving from 3.11. Then the same thing on XP after moving from Windows 2000. Everyone. And I do mean everyone bitches about the new and improved, until they use it for an extended time and then realize that it does rock.
A major reason for this is due to corporations taking forever to approve of and roll-out a new OS on their computers. I work alongside some of the biggest companies in the world, and a few of them are just a few months removed from approving VISTA.
@icon808
Yeah after using windows 7 for over a year now I cant imagine owning even a netbook running xp. Companies just dont have a need big enough to justify the cost of a switch from xp to 7. Serves Microsoft right for making a quality OS in 2001.
@NewBie You, on the other hand, need to realize that we're talking about billions of office computers here, alot of them being 5-7 years old trashcans that will never see an upgrade until they break down.
@ThomasBags
still ponders me why the hell they left a downgrade option for vista because for businesses that can really is a downgrade
@norp I use an quad core AMD Phenom and 4GB of RAM without any problems - good luck on finding 64bit drivers .
@ThomasBags So, change it. You can do whatever you want with it if you put your mind at work. And speaking of cartoonish, did you ever found a use for Aero, or are you a closet fanboi?
@cdf74dc9 Go back to your bridge troll, or go comment on CNN where your obvious brilliance and insightful commentary will enlighten the masses. Moron.
@ThomasBags
Last week I was surprised to find out the company I work for is going to be upgrading from XP to Win7 in the near future. I thought it would be at least a couple more years. Vista was skipped over like the plague.
So, there go 120,000 more Win 7 licenses.
@ThomasBags So by proxy, IE6 will also live on until 2020.
@DefPoet What do you mean by "XP can't even fully use two cores"? Here's my XP machine fully utilising a six core processor:
http://i30.tinypic.com/1zyd7xf.jpg
Could it be that you're a clueless moron who's talking straight out of his arse?
@Azrael666 What do you mean good luck getting drivers? Everything in my work pc is as new (or newer than) the cpu. It all has 64 bit drivers.
The issue with 64bit is far far behind us.
@ThomasBags XP is the Chuck Norris of the OS's.
You do not upgrade XP! IT upgrades YOU!
@norp
And to repeat - what has this got to do with business? Most business apps (engineering apps excluded) do not even need more than a P4 to run efficiently; let alone a dualcore system.
@ThomasBags
Gee, great... Another 10 years of IE6.
@ThomasBags
The way I see it, businesses will only switch from XP, when the alternatives match it's stability and speed. Don't fix what ain't broken. But all these Win7 Fanboys here don't realise that these businesses don't care about your features and better performance on better machines, as they're using word and outlook and need about 1 GHz to do that well. It's like IE6 vs IE7, IE7 is tons better, but it's bloated and uses about 200MB RAM, unlike IE6's 5MB.
@ThomasBags
The XP Theme Song:
Never gonna give you up,
Never gonna let you down,
Never gonna run around and desert you,
Never gonna make you cry,
Never gonna say goodbye,
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you
XP will continue to rickroll users everywhere.
@ThomasBags
I work in IT on a helpdesk actually. All those who say that XP is fine, I agree to a point. We have lenovo T500's and X301's for the most part with a few Dells for our CAD laptops. We did not "upgrade" to Vista and we will eventually go to 7 but XP does not manage things as well as 7.
Now to manage LEAP, XP needs software that runs on top of the OS. To manage our fingerprint readers, we needs software that runs on top of the OS. There are a lot of simple things that do not integrate into XP. They work because the hook into login scripts but that causes HUGE problems and lots of bluescreens when either Lenovo or MS update files. Aircards are a pain in the ass too.
Now we have a few hundred windows 7 test machines and windows will handle all of that extra stuff in parallel with the OS. No longer is there Lenovo software fighting for control with ATI's or Verizon/AT&T's software. things are much smoother.
Also, rolling out new computers with 7 is faster and uses less man power than XP. There is an automated system that will point to a server and pull images down much like SCCM and WSUS do for applications and updates.
It allows for companies to be more productive.
@bo3of
I see what you did there.