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Microsoft has announced its approach to the phasing out of Windows XP and its
future plans for Windows Vista. Though June 30 was the last date for the retail
availability of XP, the company assured that XP customers would continue to
receive support from Microsoft. “We recently released Service Pack 3 for Windows
XP and will continue to provide security updates and other critical updates for
Windows XP until April, 2014. Our ongoing support for Windows XP is the result
of our recognition that people keep their Windows-based PCs for many years and a
reflection of our commitment to provide the highest level of support for all our
customers,” said Prasanna Meduri, Director-Windows Client Business Group,
Microsoft India
While Windows XP will no longer be available through retail outlets and
Microsoft OEM partners, it will be available to buyers of assembled PCs until
Jan 31, 2009, through the company's system builder partners. The company
recently also introduced a version of Windows XP for the ultra
low-cost PC (ULCPC) category, and this version of Windows XP will be available
till June 30, 2010.
In addition, for small to large size businesses, buying Windows Vista
Business or Windows Vista Ultimate, Microsoft provides the option to use Windows
XP Professional through a customer benefit known as 'downgrade rights.'
Downgrade rights are also available to all business customers holding licensed
Windows, such as Windows Vista Enterprise, through Microsoft Volume Licensing
programs.
Meduri said, “In addition, some of our OEM partners are planning to offer
services designed to help business customers who buy these versions of Windows
Vista on new PCs to exercise their downgrade rights.”
Talking about the reasons behind the discontinuation of Windows XP, Meduri
added, “Since launch, our investments in Windows Vista have paid back-during
2007, Windows Vista had half the number of critical vulnerabilities compared to
what Windows XP Service Pack 2 had, during the same time period. PCs running
Windows Vista were 60 percent less likely to be infected by malware than those
running Windows XP Service Pack 2. The phishing filter in Internet Explorer
7-which is included with Windows Vista-stops about one million phishing attempts
every week.” Page(s) 1
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