Over forty thousand people have signed our US-based sister title InfoWorld's 'Save XP' petition, which was launched last week. Roughly half were from the US. and the rest from other countries.
The petition asks Microsoft not to discontinue Windows XP as planned on June 30, but to instead keep it available alongside the newer Windows Vista indefinitely. InfoWorld will deliver the petitions to Microsoft later this spring.
See also:
XP marks the spot for a better Vista
Windows 7 fast-tracked due to unpopular Vista?
Could your videos save Windows XP?
PC Advisor's forum thread on 'Save XP'
More than 100 people have added their own comments to InfoWorld's Save XP blog, and many external sites have promoted the campaign by adding InfoWorld's countdown clock to their sites. The vast majority of comments supported the petition drive, providing a variety of reasons that both individuals and companies do not want to lose the option to obtain new XP licenses available after June 30. Lack of compelling benefits in Vista, coupled with the training, support, and other costs of upgrading was the most cited reason. Some cited compatibility concerns.
Some of those commenting thought the campaign was silly, arguing that change is a fact of life in technology and that there's no sense in sticking with older technology. This argument drew retorts that change for its own sake was not a worthwhile approach.
In an interview, Burton Group executive strategist Ken Anderson suggested that the strong emotional support shown in the comments indicated a fundamental shift in how people, including IT staff, now think of operating systems. They have become a familiar extension of what we do and how we work, thus not something want to change often. "When technology becomes part of you, you don't want people to mess with it," he said.
Anderson likened the reaction to XP's impending demise to what happened in the 1980s when Coca-Cola replaced its classic Coke soda formula with New Coke, causing massive protests and forcing the company to bring back the now-rechristened Coke Classic. "XP has come to the point of being Coke Classic," he said.
Comments
Dennis Frederick Ambrose said: what s wrong with xpwindowsI have not experienced anything wrong and I have been running it ever since it came outvista to me is another money making version for Microsoft
Beryl said: I was happy with Windows 98 I never had any problems Then I bought a new PC with XP Home on it It has been nothing but trouble since the word go More and more patches were added I dread to think how much space this is all taking Recently I bought a new PC with Vista Home on itIt takes forever to load up and I dont like it at all It has loads of bells and whistles that are all very well but I have no use for Even the Office Suite is only a trial copy I am waiting for my SIL to come and strip Vista out and install XP What I would really like is a new XP with all the bugs fixed In the meantime I am still using the old PC I wish now I had just got extra Ram instead of a new PC
Keith Jenkins said: Gates has amassed a fortune through forcing all computer owners to upgrade year on year and continue to pay over and over for the privilege Once any software is initially purcahsed we should only be asked to pay a small fee to upgrade to the next version after all theres little difference between the versions - XP is about the best Gates has produced since 31 Lets hope one day that someone will develop a system we can all use and Gates can have some real competition One hoped that Linux would have been that competitor but alas it was not to be Keep XP - Scrap Vista There is too much going on behind the window in Vista
seasaw50 said: There is no good reason to get rid of XP Leave it alone if it aint broke dont try to fix it
reb said: I bought a new laptop with the option to upgrade to Vista I duly did this Result Lots of useless and tiresome eye candy and an inability to use software that has served me well over the years I reverted back to XP Pro Like others I say If it aint broke dont fix it
SLG said: Agree with brj Dump M and use Linux Remember when you started using Windows There is also a learning curve for Linux but much easier now The reward is great The resources of your machine are properly used when needed and not for the OS benefit alone
D Johns said: Retired Cannot afford to up-date with Vista and I know that my older printer and scanner do not have drivers to keep them working Without e-mail I cannot keep in touch with friends and so much information now is only available on the web
Phil J. said: Microsoft as a company has grown into a blinddeaf monster that can neither see or hear the needs of its customers Instead it plods blindly along thinking it knows whats best for its users without ever questioning its own suitability for the job
John Bramham said: In my considered view Vista is no more than an overgrown version of XP with too much eye-candy and more gizzmoes than the average user can shake a stick atThe respondent who defended it on grounds of a lack of hardware capability to run it really ought to get real customers want what they want not what Gatesy and his mob want us to haveUntil M wake up to that basic fact theyll be the ones losing the businessJB
Vlad said: I have grave reservations about Vista and the direction in which Microsoft appears to be heading If they drop support for XP and try to force me down the Vista route against my wishes I will simply switch to a Mac My friends and colleagues who use Macs seem to have far less trouble anyway Perhaps Microsoft is deliberately trying to drive business away
Ed said: I just dont understand it I love Vista it has never failed me from day one but then again I bought a new laptop with a 2Ghz core 2 duo with 4 gig ram and nvidia 8600m GT graphcs last october I suspect people are trying to run Vista on an old systemRememebr how they hated XP becasue it was to resource hungry but now they have upgraded it is goodmmmmmArgument is simpleolder system use XPdont knock it just becasue you have not got the required spec to run it
Philip Hennessy said: I cannot keep on buying new editions of the Microsoft operating systems as they become available simply because of the cost involved If MS do away with XP I shall seriously have to consider alternative operating systems
processor said: For normal everyday use XP is more than capable Additonal features in Vista are totally unneccesary and require amounts of power that many millions of older computers do not have Not everybody wants gaming videos media centres massive amounts of screaming abdabs pop music files and photograph storage on huge computers Particularly the older generation do not wish to spend hard earned savings on new computers just because Vista will not run on anything two or three years old
Keith M Taylor said: Keep windows xp as I like it and windows vista still assome problems where as xp works ok
David Robinson said: Xp does all I want it toMy computer would only operate with the basic vista ie the warmed over version of Xp so I cannot see the point in using Vista
Tom Blakesley said: We dont require new gadgets visuals -kick out Vista and invest in the update of XP ProHome
barrie heaton said: i fully agree that windows xp should continuei personaly think it is the better os
David Horner said: I will neeeevvvver upgrade to Vista Ive heard too much bad about it and I dont like some big corp thrusting stuff down my throat thankyou very much For Gods sake lets SAVE XP right on
David Horner said: I will neeeevvvver upgrade to Vista Ive heard too much bad about it and I dont like some big corp thrusting stuff down my throat thankyou very much For Gods sake lets SAVE XP right on
Chris Dye said: Ive just loaded Vista on my new laptop and while I like the general feel of it Windows Mail is likely to see the laptop hit the wall Im going to duel boot as some programs I have wont run either