Windows XP Be Gone!

It is time to ditch Window XP! If your business hasn't moved to Windows 7, then the time is now...and here's why...


I'm not a Microsoft raving fan, nor am I an unofficial representative. Rather, I am just a computer consultant that has business clients and has to deal with the realities of the Microsoft dominance of the business computing market. When Microsoft came out with Vista and promoted its innovations, I took a pass and kept all my clients on Windows XP. Vista proved to be buggy, unstable and slow. Business needs systems that are reliable, stable and efficient. Waitng for Windows 7 proved to be the best idea. The improvements Microsoft made to Windows 7 over Vista were numerous and well worth the wait. It is fair to say that Windows 7 is my favorite of all the Microsoft operating systems.

Micosoft has annouced that it will stop supporting Windows XP in April of 2014. That may sound like along time away. But, let's get real! Lack of support means that there will be no security patches which will leave your computer vulnerable to the latest attacks. As a business you need to be in compliance with Federal and State data security laws and you can't be in compliance if you can't keep your systems secure. Also, lack of support means software vendors will stop making applications for Windows XP. So, increasingly your company will have fewer and fewer application options for new software or even updates to your current applications.

Your business needs to plan NOW for the transition.

Again, let's get real! You can't set up a new business computer and have all the functionality you have now with your old computer...in 5 minutes! Yeah, I know...you wish. It is going to take time and money. Plan your budget and plan for the time it is going to take to purchase, install, configure and train your staff.

And, if Microsoft stopping support on Windows XP is not enough, Microsoft is going to be coming out with Windows 8 by 2013 (And, maybe sooner if Microsoft can get is engineering act together!) Some of you may be thinking that it would be best to wait for Windows 8. You may be thinking choosing to transtion from Windows XP to Windows 8 would be fine. Think again.  My recommendation is DON'T WAIT! Get Windows 7 while you can..here's why...

According, to Paul Thurrott who is a highly respected industry analyst for Window IT Pro magazine and SuperSite for Windows puts the reason into perspective, "Windows 7 was a minor update with extremely clear goals: Keep everything that was right about Windows Vista but make it faster, smaller, lighter, and more manageable. Windows 8, meanwhile, is a revolution. And these things take time." And, as a "revolution" as Paul Thurrott states, the operating system will most likely be like Vista was in that it will be buggy. Paul continues "...there's this measure of doubt that something has gone wrong....Some (developer) complaint posts are so long and so frequently commented on that they're actually locked because they've become too unmanageable. Finding a positive note here is next to impossible."

The wait for Windows 8 may take more time than you think, and there is a strong probabilty it won't be worth the wait for the intial release. But, regardless of what happens with Windows 8, Microsoft will continue with it's plan to phase out Windows XP. It is time to ditch Windows XP and move to Windows 7!