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XP and Office Support Saga

All good things must come to an end. On Monday we reported that Microsoft is ending free or "mainstream" XP support. If you have an XP problem, you best have a valid credit card. Then yesterday we ran a nearly identical story -- only this time it was free Office 2003 support that got the boot.

If Vista and Office 2007 were easy transitions, I'd cut Microsoft some slack. But Vista is a known nuisance and the new Office 2007 interface is more confusing than a conversation with Paula Abdul. My quick take? If the software can be installed and work properly on existing hardware, not utterly confuse the customer, and has a reasonable upgrade price, then phasing out free support is justified. Neither Vista nor Office 2007 seem to suit this rather simple criteria.

When is the right time to end free support, and who out there likes the ribbon? Answers to either question equally welcome at [email protected].

Posted by Doug Barney on April 15, 2009


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