Microsoft has informed its customers in writing that it will continue support for the XP operating system until 2014, three years longer than previously announced, according to Vnunet. More than that, OEMs will be able to offer systems that have XP offered as a “downgrade” (from Vista) until January 31, 2009.
Bill Veghte, Microsoft’s senior vice president of Windows Business Group, wrote:
“Windows Vista is a very significant step forward, but our customers have made it clear to us that they want broader support for devices and applications in order to enjoy the overall experience.”
But the letter also delivered a firm promise that Microsoft’s next OS, known as Windows 7, will be available “approximately 3 years after the January 2007,” and acknowledged the compatibility problems Vista has experienced with some peripherals.
“You’ve also let us know you don’t want to face the kinds of incompatibility challenges with the next version of Windows you might have experienced early with Windows Vista. As a result, our approach with Windows 7 is to build off the same core architecture as Windows Vista so the investments you and our partners have made in Windows Vista will continue to pay off with Windows 7. Our goal is to ensure the migration process from Windows Vista to Windows 7 is straightforward.”
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