Several petitions are going around online for Microsoft to continue selling and supporting Windows XP. One petition, hosted at InfoWorld.com, reportedly has more than 10,000 signatures so far, and there are many others located on blogs and sites all across the Web.
Windows users claim that XP is the most stable operating system ever developed by Microsoft, and even though XP is now six years old, many PC users cannot bring themselves to “upgrade” to Windows Vista. The problem is, Microsoft is planning to pull Windows XP off store shelves in June of this year. Microsoft boasts that Windows Vista is a superior operating system, and the time is right for all Windows users to begin upgrading.
Unfortunately for Microsoft, most windows XP users don’t agree with this sentiment. Microsoft’s Vista operating system received only lukewarm — or in some cases, downright hostile — reviews, and is generally regarded as being less intuitive, slower and with more bothersome security pop-ups then Windows XP.
There is also the question of incompatibility with certain programs and hardware devices. Vista is still not compatible with as many printers, for example, as Windows XP. For all of these reasons and more, many businesses have refused to upgrade to Vista, citing lack of cost efficiency and compatibility problems with existing hardware.
Although Microsoft is aware of the petitions going around to extend the Windows XP deadline, so far the company is refusing to budge. A Microsoft statement quoted by the Associated Press indicated the company would continue to listen to customer feedback, but offered no further promise of extending XP.
As an operating system, Windows XP has now been around for over six years, which is practically a lifetime in the computer technology arena. But the problem with introducing a new operating system every two or three years is simply this: operating systems take time to mature, develop and become stable.
In this sense, computer operating systems are a lot like people. When they are young, they are flashy and new, but as they age they become more stable and compatible, with fewer nasty surprises. Windows XP, at six years old, has reached this maturity, and is now a relatively stable operating system, which gets the job done and offers few surprises in the form of compatibility problems or unknown bugs.
For these reasons, the computer industry probably needs to change its paradigm which says that “newer is always better.” When it comes to hardware, newer may indeed be better. But where software operating systems are concerned, that is not always the case. The lesson to be learned from Windows XP’s continued popularity is that a mature and stable operating system will beat out a flashy newcomer every single time.
