Users fight to save Windows XP
section: windows, for your questions: KezNews forum, 15.4.2008
Microsoft Corp.'s operating systems run most personal computers around the globe and are a cash cow for the world's largest software maker.
But you'd never confuse a Windows user with the passionate fans of Mac OS X or even the free Linux operating system. Unless it's someone running Windows XP, a version Microsoft wants to retire.
Fans of the six-year-old operating system set to be pulled off store shelves in June have papered the Internet with blog posts, cartoons and petitions recently. They trumpet its superiority to Windows Vista, Microsoft's latest PC operating system, whose consumer launch last January was greeted with lukewarm reviews.
No matter how hard Microsoft works to persuade people to embrace Vista, some just can't be wowed. They complain about Vista's hefty hardware requirements, its less-than-peppy performance, occasional incompatibility with other programs and devices and frequent, irritating security pop-up windows.
For them, the impending disappearance of XP computers from retailers, and the phased withdrawal of technical support in coming years, is causing a minor panic.
Take, for instance, Galen Gruman. A longtime technology journalist, Gruman is more accustomed to writing about trends than starting them.
But after talking to Windows users for months, he realized his distaste for Vista and strong attachment to XP were widespread.
"It sort of hit us that, wait a minute, XP will be gone as of June 30. What are we going to do?" he said. "If no one does something, it's going to be gone."
So Gruman started a Save XP Web petition, gathering since January more than 100,000 signatures and thousands of comments, mostly from die-hard XP users who want Microsoft to keep selling it until the next version of Windows is released, currently targeted for 2010.
On the petition site's comments section, some users proclaimed they will downgrade from Vista to XP — an option available in the past to businesses, but now open for the first time to consumers who buy Vista Ultimate or Business editions — if they need to buy a new computer after XP goes off the market.
Others used the comments section to rail against the very idea that Microsoft has the power to enforce the phase-out from a stable, decent product to one that many consider worse, while profiting from the move. Many threatened to leave Windows for Apple or Linux machines.
Microsoft already extended the XP deadline once, but it shows no signs it will do so again. The company has declined to meet with Gruman to consider the petition. Microsoft is aware of the petition, it said in a statement to The Associated Press, and "will continue to be guided by feedback we hear from partners and customers about what makes sense based on their needs."
Gruman said he'd keep pressing for a meeting.
source:
news.yahoo.com
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Comments(16)
if you love xp so much why don't you marry it?
as great as xp is, it's heyday is quickly passing. just like win2k made way for xp and
win98 made way for win2k.
just let it go already, or make plans to let it go.
microsoft knows there's too many people for whom vista is working well to give
up on it, so start praying that sp3 doesn't ruin your precious xp. if it does, i
wouldn't be surprized if microsoft ended support for xp sp2 prematurely. now that would
s.uck.
wow, istill dont get why people hate vista,
i i were a die hard windows 2000 person,
i would say the exsact saame thing about windows xp,
windows xp goes way f-ing slower
than 2000,...blablabla
idiot people
if you wish to use xp buy some cheap copys after it has been stoped
why wait ? , you can already buy xp very cheaply now.
for vista i'll wait for sp5,
then maybe the bugs will be eliminated....
by then a cheap copy of vista will also be
available.
won't vista sp5 be windows 7 sp2 or even windows 8?
with support for xp due
to end, i don't think there's ever been a better time to switch to linux.
people are idiots. as if new computer users will buy xp. if you love xp so much then
stick with xp. is that a hell lot of work? no.
are people fighting for xp having a joke, xp compared to vista and windows 7 cannot
compare, xp is old, crappy and outdated how meany times do people have to say this so that
idiotic people let go of this shity xp. vista is just getting better and already is far
better than xp and windows 7 will probebly beat vista and everybody will go on windows 7,
this is how it goes. theres a reason why microsoft is making new windows... so they can
get better they whouldent make vista or windows 7 for no reason or so it is worse than xp.
like other people said, if you want to be a noob, stupid, and outdated then keep your
xp and stay with it's features.
xp has had a great run, its time to let this very old os die..
i still like xp
very much and still use it on older computers, but this nonesense needs to stop, let the
os die..
i find it very interesting that the majority of satisfied vista users tend to be very
angry and insulting on forums. maybe that's because they're s**ually frustrated as they
can't find a female interested in their (future) vista pc or perhaps they're frustrated
with vista but won't admit it.
it seems that the majority of businesses,
professionals and technicians with many years of pc experience, or “stupid
noobs” as vista users call them, can see that all you gain by using vista is bloat.
i think it’s very obvious now that vista is a flop, even microsoft seem to
think so, already building hype for windows 7, lets hope they take a good look at what
worked in the past before they try to invent the future.
it's obvious iq is no regular keznews user!!!
someone like iq that supports vista
with so much effort and devoted time can only be someone that has something to win by
doing so...
someone that works for microsoft possibly...
oops... did i say
that.. i better leave now...
bye...
all os's have to retire, give it up already. if you are too cheap to buy or not smart
enough to build yourself a new computer don't bitch. i'm sure you have some old piece of
crap from 4 years ago, of course vista will be slow on it stupid. hell...if we shouldn't
use xp either, we should just use windows 3.1, 32mb os i'm sure it will scream with speed
on a dual-core. freaking idiots...
i like the argument about the 'outdated computer'. many people have very modern
computers, that are easily capable of running vista. but vista is a bug ridden, spyware,
abortion, that no amount of memory is ever going to fix!
vista is a failed os. sure xp will be replaced eventually, but not by vista for very
long. windows 7 is due out june 2009. anyone that can f.uckin read knows that vista is a
sorry ass flop.
hey iq, kiss my ass!
meh a bunch a retart teck heads latching onto xp because their 5 year old printers wont
work on vista...
i;ve been using vista since launch & have no thoughts of ever
going back to xp. all my games run perfect, all my emulators work perfect, all my devices
work perfect & btw it looks awsum. get over xp, its not that good.
can anyone name 1 single major bug with vista???, i have never used a os from launch that
has worked so perfect in my life before. 2 thumbs up for ms on vista :p .
Add a Comment
Soooo
By wubbles on 16.04.2008 - 01:04