Life after Windows XP

A guest editorial from Izzy Woods……

Despite being more than a decade old, Windows XP continues to be the most widely used operating system among both home and business users. Over half of all desktop computers still use XP, despite original equipment manufacturers (OEM) no longer installing it and Microsoft having released two subsequent operating systems into the mainstream – Windows Vista and Windows 7.

Indeed, Vista, often seen as a failure by many analysts, owes much to its lack of success to the reluctance of people to switch from XP to what users perceived as bug-ridden and a clunky system. Windows 7 has been more prolific in its use, partly because XP is no longer an option for anybody installing a new system, but many users with older machine are reluctant to upgrade even now.

A nice problem to have

XP’s success has dogged Microsoft, who has wished for years that the popularity of the ageing operating system would wane. XP has affected sales. Both Vista and even Windows 7 have failed to reach sales figures that the software giant hoped for, and for a company that only has operating systems as its main revenue stream, despite branching out into the world of online search and other Internet businesses, XP’s success has been Microsoft’s undoing.

Users have solidly stuck with XP, regardless of the millions spent on ad campaigns and incentives to make them switch. And it’s not just because of cost reasons, or because they didn’t want change, they stuck with it because of XP’s simplicity and usability. Rather than a complete new interface, Microsoft built XP on its other former success stories, Windows 95 and 98. People knew how to use these systems, knew how to do things – they grew up with them. The biggest challenge for Microsoft now, is when users are finally forced to switch from XP there are alternatives to choosing another Microsoft package. With the rise of the fabled iPad and Apple’s resurgence in computing, people are becoming familiar with Apple’s way of doing things, almost as familiar as they have been with XP. The danger for Microsoft is that many users may choose an Apple product or even Google’s Android system (if the company finaly gets around to releasing a desktop version), rather than the latest Windows product.

The end is nigh

And XP users will soon be forced to make that switch. All support for Windows XP will cease in 2014 – three years longer than originally planned – but a timeline that is marking the death knell for the most popular operating system in history. By this time, Windows 8 will probably be on the shelves, but Windows 7 will also still be around. And considering the preference demonstrated by XPs success for tried and tested operating systems, for users who don’t migrate to an Apple or Android systems, Windows 7 may become the new XP, because it will be a system that’s had enough time to have its creases ironed out.

Fortunately, unlike Vista, Windows 7 hasn’t been dogged with the same problems and is incredibly stable, and for home use, Windows 7 isn’t too expensive, either. You could pay for it by trading in an old phone on a cash for mobiles site, for instance, although, for business users, multiple licenses may soon add up, and is perhaps one of the reasons businesses have been so reluctant to upgrade XP systems.

Of course, some users may refuse to switch, despite the lack of support. However, this will drastically undermine their systems and make them vulnerable, so the wiser XP diehards are looking to make the switch now, or at least are planning a migration. With Windows 8 still at least a year away, this means Window 7. The good news is that Windows 7 is very easy to use and has many new features that improve efficiency and reliability.  Because all new machines come installed with Windows 7, it use is growing in popularity too and perhaps it will soon overtake XP in popularity, even before the 2014 deadline. If this is the case, and Windows 7 becomes the next beloved operating system, then it leaves Microsoft with the same problem caused by XP’s popularity, how to shift users from Windows 7 to Windows 8. It seems Microsoft is going to be a victim of its own success again.

Alureon rootkit tops the list of malware caught this month

See the details in my new InfoWorld Tech Watch blog.

Windows XP downgrade rights inanity

Fairly frequently, I skip over “news” items that seem to take the computing world by fire. For example, you haven’t seen me post anything about Windows 7 Build 7105. Why? I don’t have Build 7105 yet, and I have no intention of adding to the vacuous link-to-somebody-who-links-to-somebody chain that amplifies and speculates, but does nothing to elucidate.

Another example: the raging ersatz-news that Microsoft is going to let Windows 7 owners “downgrade” to Windows XP. If you read the fine print, the Microsoft announcement only covered volume-license versions of Windows 7, so it only applies to companies that buy big licenses for Windows 7. Ed Bott has a great take on the news: big companies have always had “downgrade” rights, for every volume-license version of Windows since the time of the pterodactyls.

If you buy a new computer after, oh, mid-August, I can guarantee that the last thing you’ll want to do is downgrade it from Windows 7 to Windows XP. I’ve been running Windows 7 Ultimate (beta build) on an Asus Eee PC 1000H for more than a month, and it works great. I wouldn’t trade it in for a Windows XP version for all the tea in China.

Microsoft’s program allows for big companies to continue to run older versions of Windows on older computers and keep their licenses valid. Microsoft may even allow hardware vendors to ship computers with Windows XP pre-installed, at least for a little while. That’s going to be a foolhardy choice. Wait. You’ll see.

What to do about KB 967715?

Reader TJ writes:

Currently I’m a bit fuzzy on your recent post on KB967715 as whether to install now or wait. I do use the “shift” key, but am not clear as to install now or not. Could you please be a bit more specific on this in one of your next blogs? ( have to remember, I an xp dummy—-lol).

Good question.

Right now, I recommend most users remember to push the Shift key when inserting any kind of memory into an XP computer – USB drive, the SD card from your camera, even a CD or DVD.

People in a corporate environment aren’t so lucky. Companies can’t expect eveybody to hold down the Shift key – and they’re paying for it.

The definitive articles on the topic, in my opnion, are the two Susan Bradley wrote for Windows Secrets Newsletter. Her March 5 Top Story AutoRun patch a long time coming for XP users describes the patch and its shortcomings. Her March 12 follow-on article Microsoft flubs a way to disable AutoRun in XP tells you where Microsoft went wrong – and how to fix it.

The bottom line is that it’s a LOT of work to get XP to disable AutoRun. Ain’t worth the effort for people who are smart enough to hold down Shift. But you HAVE to remember to hold down the Shift key every time you insert memory.