This week marks 10 years since Windows XP was first released, but not everyone is reeling with excitement.
For Microsoft, it marks a series of failed attempts to get customers to upgrade to a newer operating system. The company has been pressured to extend previous deadlines as to when it promised to end support for the OS.
There are a few factors as to why so many have been hesitant to leave their beloved XP, but none is more of a black eye for Microsoft than the fact that its successor, Windows Vista, was by all accounts a huge flop.
People did not like the look and feel of Vista, leading to an utter lack of sales and making users even more comfortable with just holding onto XP.
Of course, XP was revolutionary when it first came out and for many corporations, it was the first time they bought mass licenses of an operating system, something that is expensive to upgrade. Budget-conscious enterprise customers see little value in moving to a new operating system.
In a blog post on the Windows Team Blog, Microsoft ‘celebrated’ the landmark anniversary by convincing people they need to get rid of it.
The post reads, in part, “Think about phones – would you even carry a flip phone now? Think about music – would you still claim that Destiny’s Child is your top favorite band (if you or your wayward self ever did)? Think about hair – are you still rocking the same cut? Why then are you still on Windows XP when Windows 7 is so much better?”
So it seems this is both a birthday party and a funeral. Microsoft really wants you to dump XP.
