Windows XP Could be Extended, is That Bad News For Vista?

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Steve Balmer has indicated that Windows XP might be given an extension. He said that looking at positive customer feedback, Windows XP sell-by-date might be extended beyond the earlier cut off date of June 30. During a news conference on Thursday, Balmer said,

" XP will hit an end-of-life. We have announced one. If customer feedback varies, we can always wake up smarter, but right now, we have a plan for end-of-life for new XP shipments."

Customers have not only woken up smarter, in fact they are clamoring for an extension of the ubiquitous and still popular operating system. Many customers have complained that they are not able to buy computers at any of the major retailers just because these retailers are stocked with computers pre-bundled with Vista whereas they would rather go for XP. This forces them to go to the small outlets for the purchase.

The exact position of Microsoft is still unclear as big-name computer makers are still scheduled to have to stop selling models with Windows XP installed by the end of June. Mainstream technical support will continue to be available for Windows XP through April 2009 around which time Microsoft might ship its newest OS, Windows 7. The declared plan of Microsoft involves selling XP as a part of ultra low-cost PC's. They are PCs with slower processors, flash drives instead of hard drives and less of the bells and whistles which characterizes the power hungry machines running Windows Vista. The popular and mostly negative opinion on Vista has been well documented. Steve Balmer though reiterates that most consumers were choosing to buy Vista. It could be because most retailers sell their computers preinstalled with Vista.

"In the business environment, we still have customers who are buying PCs with XP" because information technology departments often have to work with old machines."

said Balmer.
His statement might fly in the face of market feedback but if Steve Balmer's statements are anything to go by, it hopefully means that Microsoft has its ear to the ground listening to the vote of confidence that is still their for Windows XP. What it also may mean is that with the impending release of Windows 7 and the possible extension to XP, Vista just might be left out in the cold.