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XP Run Extended

Consumers haven't had much to say about Vista. They just head on down to Wal-Mart, buy a new machine with Vista and go home to compute.

IT is a tougher lot. You guys are waiting for Vista to prove its compatibility, performance and ease of learning.

IT (even in my own company) is sticking to XP. Microsoft is getting this message and -- like it has done so many times with so many products -- is extending the life of XP. (Anybody remember how many lifelines Microsoft threw NT's way?)

In this case, XP will be sold for an extra five months, or until the middle of next year. My guess? XP will get several more extensions while Vista gets a service pack or two.

While critics may say soft Vista sales are bad news for Microsoft, keep in mind what's being sold instead -- not Linux or Mac OS, but XP!

How long should Microsoft keep selling XP, and what are your Vista plans? Let us all know at [email protected].

Posted by Doug Barney on October 01, 2007


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