If you’re reading this article on a Windows XP system then it’s time to upgrade. We have all come to love Windows XP, but Microsoft is now on its 8th version of Windows and using a 2001 operating system is not the place to be.
Microsoft has stated that on April 8th, 2014 the 2001 operating system will lose all support. That includes service packs, updates and the most important thing, the loss of security patches. On the second Tuesday of every month Microsoft sends out periodic updates via the Windows Update service. Typically these contain patches for security holes or bug fixes.
In the beginning of Windows XP it was one of the most hacked Windows yet. Hackers knew every security hole, and it became a huge problem for Windows XP users, especially since the birth of the World Wide Web or the Internet gave hackers a great way to connect. Amazingly many businesses and schools still use Windows XP even though the security rate is so high. When looking at the statistics of Windows, XP still accounts for one-third of all desktop operating systems. Windows XP over the years has gotten bogged down with its massive three service packs, security patches and other files. Since Windows XP’s requirements are so low business and schools use just the bare minimum computers to get by.
Starting with Windows 1.0 Microsoft has always typically released a new version of Windows ever two to three years. However that wasn’t the case for the time-lapse of Windows XP to Vista. The year difference between the two OSs was five years. When Microsoft released Windows Vista many people were hesitant to upgrade. It was rushed to production and carried many bugs that would cause daily crashes or Blue Screens. To fix the issue Vista also received two massive service packs. Due to this issue business, home users and schools all stuck with the working OS, XP. In 2009 Windows 7 was released and it was a new surprise to everybody. It was stable, a whole new layout and now gave many people the opportunity to upgrade from XP.
One last thing to mention is that Microsoft will also end support of Office 2003. With Office 2013 connecting your entire suite expect to also buy a copy of that or at least Office 2010.
Just recently Windows 8 was released to the public. Now many people may not enjoy the look and feel of the OS but that doesn’t mean you should stick with XP. Windows 7 is still recommended for upgrading users as we like to see it as the “Windows XP of today”. The popular OS has had a great run for 13 years but it’s time to move on.
4 Comments
Hmmmm apart from XP being released a long time this article doesn’t actually give any reason to upgrade to 7 & doesn’t mention the massive hardware requirement of Win 7 either, as long as Win XP still doing a good job (which it is) there is no reason to splash out on new hardware & software just for Intel & Microsoft’s benefit!
Actually WIndows 7 will run on most Windows XP computers. Its just a matter of RAM. With a 2GB minimum requirement a XP computer should be able to run Windows 7 and preform everyday tasks.
but windows 8 should not count windows 8 is horrible!
Just because Windows 8 isn’t outstanding on a PC desktop doesn’t mean it shouldn’t count.