Microsoft are keen to remind us that as from October 22nd this year, as they announced last year, OEMs will no longer be able to preinstall Windows XP Home on new Netbooks.
“However for a majority of our customers, they may not notice much change; many PC makers have already been actively manufacturing and selling a broad set of Windows 7 netbooks since Windows 7 released in October, 2009” wrote Microsoft’s’ Brandon LeBlanc in a blog.
“In fact, according to NPD’s Retail Tracking Service, by April 2010, 81% of netbook units sold at retail in the US came with Windows 7 pre-installed”.
Windows XP has been an incredibly popular and successful operating system however, it’s basically past it now and it’s time to move on.
Microsoft had intended to kill off Windows XP much earlier than they did but two things stood in their way.
The launch of Vista, which was nothing less than a complete disaster for Microsoft who discovered that many consumers didn’t want Vista full stop so continued to install XP, and others who put up with it, continued to complain.
The other thing had an even bigger impact on Microsoft’s decision to keep Windows XP for a bit longer and that was the introduction of Netbooks.
The very first Netbooks, those cheap and cheerful computer devices we love and hate, came with a Linux operating system and they were a huge hit.
Microsoft were keen not to miss out on a share of the market so immediately reduced the price of Windows XP for manufacturers and gobbled up most of the Netbook business to become the dominant player.
The reason this strategy worked was simple, as so many people were familiar with Windows XP and wanted to stay with what they knew. That is no longer the case, so alas, we now have to say goodbye to an era and to XP.
Of course if there are any stubborn die-hards out there, you will still be able to find a copy of Windows XP and downgrade if you really want to.
“I would also like to remind people who are still running Windows XP that as of July 13th, 2010, Windows XP SP2 will also reach the end of support” continues LeBlanc on the blog.
“You will need to install the latest service pack available (Windows XP Service Pack 3) via the Microsoft Update website or look at moving to Windows 7 to be running a supported version of Windows. Support for Windows XP Service Pack 3 will continue through April 2014” he concludes.
