Microsoft’s Windows XP operating system was released for retail sale on October 25, 2001. It has had its ups and downs, but overall it is one of the biggest client operating system success stories in Microsoft’s long-lived Windows franchise. However, change is inevitable and it is time for us to move on.
Effective October 22, 2010, Windows XP will reach its end-of-sales milestone. This means that Microsoft will not allow Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to sell computers pre-installed with Windows XP after that date. All new computers will ship with an edition of Windows 7. Please don’t confuse this with end-of-support, which will not arrive for Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) until April 2014.
In preparation for this deadline, Dell will no longer ship computers pre-installed with Windows XP after October 1, 2010. Dell will begin removing Windows XP as an option in September. While this particular announcement is from Dell, all OEMs will certainly follow down a similar path.
The bottom line is clear. If your business isn’t ready to integrate or upgrade to Windows 7, and you have computers that are in need of a refresh, now is the time to buy.
Windows 7 has proven to be an outstanding operating system and a solid successor to Windows XP for businesses of all sizes. If your business relies of software that is not compatible with Windows 7, Microsoft provides Windows XP Mode in Windows 7 Professional or higher. This feature provides a compatibility layer for software that isn’t ready to run on Windows 7 natively.
If you want to purchase new computers before the end-of-sales milestone, or you want to explore Windows 7 migration, or you want to learn more about Windows XP Mode under Windows 7, please contact Colden Company for help. We can be reached at 518-885-2857, info@coldencompany.com, or on Twitter @coldenco.