After 8 years, thousands of updates, and three service packs, today marks the official end of Windows XP’s distribution to the OEM channel (Small system builders such as Just Bytes). As of now Microsoft will no longer be accepting orders from distributors for any Windows XP OEM products, and distributors are already running low on stock – so to anyone considering purchasing a new computer that absolutely *must* have Windows XP, I suggest you act now, tomorrow may be too late!
So what’s the future hold for Windows then? Microsoft is already well underway with Windows 7 – building on Windows Vista, with performance enhancements, as well as improvements to some of Vista’s less popular features – such as User Account Control.
Whilst I personally am very happy with Vista, I know there are people out there who either don’t understand it, have heard so many bad things they won’t give it a chance, or simply don’t want to change, so where does that leave you? Firstly, XP is an 8 year old operating system, it’s time to let it go. Secondly, if you haven’t already had a good play with Vista, I suggest you do so – it’s not as bad as you may have heard. Thirdly, if you still don’t want Vista and would rather wait until Windows 7 is released, you may not have to wait a year or two until it’s released to benefit from a new PC. Microsoft have released preliminary details for a low-cost upgrade program from Vista to 7 for PC’s purchased later this year. Whilst this intel is still quite new and is not finalised yet, it should mean you can retire the old beast for a new machine sooner rather than later. Stay tuned!
To Summarise:
XP – Gone
Vista – Good
7 – Coming
Simple huh? 
