The American software giant is currently revising the information on its website to address criticism regarding its decision to cease support for Windows XP versions for consumers.
As of January 10, the website still announced that there would be no further upgrades for Windows XP Home and Windows XP Media Center after December 31, 2006. However, Ines Vargas, a program manager at Microsoft, confirmed that the company would extend support for Windows XP and XP Professional for an additional two years from the release of the new generation operating system, Vista. Specifically, Windows XP Professional, being a product designed for businesses, would receive an extended support period of five years, including patches and paid services.
Analysts believe Microsoft made this decision to avoid significant backlash from customers and to protect the company’s image.
The corporation has faced numerous criticisms regarding its product support policies. After a wave of user protests, they extended the support deadline for Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, and Windows Millennium until June 30, 2005.
This situation partly arose because Microsoft took too long to release a new version, leaving customers with insufficient time to transition and upgrade their systems accordingly. They have not introduced any new desktop operating system since Windows XP debuted in October 2001. In 2004, the anticipated release of Longhorn was canceled. Later that year, Microsoft announced the revival of the Longhorn project, which is now known as Vista, promising it would be unveiled in 2006.
“If Microsoft does not continue support, vulnerabilities in their own operating system will turn a multitude of computers worldwide into zombie machines, harboring viruses, spyware, and other dangerous software. As attacks and exploits proliferate across the internet, the sole entity responsible will be Microsoft,” stated Paul DeGroot, an analyst with Directions on Microsoft.
Gartner analyst Michael Silver also concurred: “Microsoft cannot stop the lifecycle of an operating system if the customer base for that product is too large.”
Additionally, Microsoft needs to issue a clearer extension announcement. “Not everyone can conclude that all Windows XP customers will receive an additional two years of support,” DeGroot remarked, referring to the policy Microsoft announced in 2004. That announcement stirred public debate as it seemed to focus solely on enterprise products and did not apply to consumers. “We have been misunderstood. This policy applies to all users,” Vargas said.
