The End of an Era: Windows XP Sales Ending

Retail sales and direct licensing to major PC manufacturers of Windows XP ceased on June 30, 2008. Since its launch on October 25, 2001, Windows XP has been installed on more than 400 million PCs worldwide.

What Does This Mean?

As of July 1, 2008, Windows XP is no longer sold in any retail location. However, that does not mean Windows XP is completely unavailable. According to an open letter published last week by Bill Veghte, Microsoft Senior Vice President:

“[C]ustomers who still need Windows XP will be able to get it. For example:

1. For businesses small to large, buying Windows Vista Business or Windows Vista Ultimate 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 that license Windows, such as Windows Vista Enterprise, through our Microsoft Volume Licensing programs. In addition, some of our OEM partners are planning to offer services designed to help business customers that buy these versions of Windows Vista on new PCs to exercise their downgrade rights. This is a great value because it lets you use Windows XP on new PCs today if you need it and then make the move to take advantage of the additional capabilities of Windows Vista when you are ready, without having to pay for an upgrade.
   
   If you’re interested in learning more about how to get Windows XP Professional through downgrade rights, contact your favorite PC maker.
2. As our next generation PC platform, Windows Vista has many advantages that make it the best choice for people who are buying a new Windows-based PC to use at home or in a small business. However, some small business customers may have applications that aren’t compatible with Windows Vista. In most cases, your software vendor should have an updated version of these applications. In the case that you still need Windows XP Professional as noted above, you can purchase Windows Vista Business or Windows Vista Ultimate on a new PC and then use downgrade rights until you are ready to upgrade to Windows Vista. When you are ready, you are “future proofed” since you already have a license for Windows Vista.
3. For customers interested in buying a low-end personal computer (often referred to as a “NetBook” or “NetTop”), we are making Windows XP Home and Windows XP Starter available for use on these budget systems. Additionally, System Builders (sometimes referred to as “local OEMs”), may continue to purchase Windows XP through Authorized Distributors through January 31, 2009. All OEMs, including major OEMs, have this option.”

What About Support?

Despite the end of sales of Windows XP, it will continue to be supported, at least in limited ways. Jared Proudfoot, a manager in Microsoft's support life cycle group, recently posted in a company blog about the future of support for Windows XP:

Support for Windows XP will continue, in accordance with the Microsoft Support Lifecycle policy.  This means that the Mainstream Support phase will end on April 14, 2009 and the Extended Support phase will end on April 8, 2014.  That’s at least another 6 years of support remaining for Windows XP!

Remember, that Windows XP was launched in 2001 and Microsoft committed to providing a minimum of 10 years of support (5 years of Mainstream Support and 5 years of Extended Support) at the time it was released.  In accordance with the policy, when we announced the updated release date of Windows Vista, Microsoft also provided additional 2 years Mainstream Support for Windows XP.  Last year, we also announced the addition of an Extended Support phase to the consumer editions of Windows XP. 

What is the difference between Mainstream Support and Extended Support? This chart from Microsoft’s website summarizes the differences:

(click chart for a larger image)

Why Is this a Big Deal?

In January 2007, Microsoft launched the successor to Windows XP, Windows Vista. Many customers have resisted switching to the new operating system due to driver incompatibilities, incompatibilities with certain software, and fairly heavy hardware requirements. A large segment of the customer base, particularly in corporate circles, preferred to continue use of Windows XP. Major manufacturers, Dell in particular, balked at installing Vista in lieu of XP and continued to offer XP for those that preferred it. Now all manufacturers will have to operate under the terms listed above.

Can’t Live without XP?

All hope is not lost. In the online world in which we live, copies of Windows XP can easily be found. Currently, there are thousands of copies of XP on sale on eBay, often selling for under $100. If you already have a copy of XP, hold on to it. Remember, XP will continue to have some level of support until at least 2014, so XP will function at least that long.

The Future of Windows

For those that have resisted Vista, the next version of Windows, working name “Windows 7,” is supposed to be released in early 2010 (although Microsoft’s announced release dates are notoriously off the mark). The industry will just need to wait and see if Windows 7 will be the ultimate successor to XP for many users, with them skipping over Vista entirely.