Instead of pulling the plugs on retail XP on January 31, 2008, M$ had a change of heart and decided to postpone the death of XP to June 2008. Who knows they may even extend it further. Read M$ Presspass article released yesterday below MS Extends Sales Availability of Windows XP If you live in an "emerging market" country you can continue to buy XP N edition until Jine 2010. If you live in Europe or USA, you have until June 2008 to get it. If you want Retail XP to live longer, keep up the pressure through MS customer feedback. i_Xp/VistaUser

BTW the only person who is not happy about it is no one other than Steve Ballmer. Remember he said "Windows XP is Windows Vista greatest competitor." I guess the new boss at M$ must have told him to shut up and listen to the customers. i_Xp/VistaUser

I'm not surprised about what reported, as I suppose the deadline date for Windows XP sales availability will be just the time Microsoft will release the famous SP3. Then shadowes will arise over XP empire.

IVO, I've heard that SP3 will be the end of XP, as we know it. I can't understand all the hype for Vista, what with the lack of real inmprovement in functionality. But then I never did understand all the hype over Win95 or Win98, either, for that matter. Small increments of improvement do not equate to earthshaking, revolutionary advance. Too many compromises along the way and you just end up with window dressing, cosmetic changes. Live up to the dream! Make something truly worthwhile! Give us more than just flash and dazzle. We need substance. We need reliability. We need power. If the PC is ever to become an appliance, it needs to be so reliable that we don't even think about it. It just works. Every time. I guess I'm a dreamer. A positive attitude won't solve all your problems, but it will annoy just enough people to be worth the effort.

PC Bob, you are not a dreamer, you are a pragmatic man, but pragmatic men do giant leaps, dreaming people are doomed by their illusions. YOU need power and reliability, PEOPLE do love dreams and M$ gives them just the loved food. That's why the world is what you see.

PC Bob wrote: Give us more than just flash and dazzle. We need substance. I couldn't agree more. As for Vista, it's all sizzle and no steak. Though I work as a customer support tech for Apple, I have my own private clients, most of whom run Windows XP. When I make my maintenance rounds, I'm inevitably asked: "Should I upgrade to Vista?" I reply with a question of my own: "How is XP performing for you?" They say they're completely satisfied. Many of these clients have a small business who rely on their PCs every day. After explaining Vista's need for more memory as opposed to XP, and the uncertainty of finding compatible Vista drivers for some third-party programs, they usually decide to wait. PC Bob hit the nail on the head a second time: If the PC is ever to become an appliance, it needs to be so reliable that we don't even think about it. That's the way my clients see it; they earn their living with their PCs. They don't need eye-candy. They want reliability. IronMan