According to a Microsoft email I got today
This fortnight marks 2 years to go until support for Windows XP SP3 and Office 2003 comes to an end. After April 8th 2014 there will be no more security patches, no updates to online technical content and no free or paid assisted support options from Microsoft. This means running Windows XP is becoming increasingly risky and potentially very costly, so we want to help you to start making the leap as soon as possible.
So where does this leave corporates and home users in the event of XP’s final “demise” ?
I guess we will finally come down to the wire – where the success and adoption of Windows 7 or as Microsoft are hoping Windows 8 is the deciding factor in the next “big thing” on the desktop. As I have used the Windows 8 preview it has struck me how much MS are betting on the success of this latest O/S and just how much could go wrong.
Vista was a wake-up call to MS but another mistake might be too much – so from here on its the billion dollar question – can Windows 8 be another XP for Microsoft and can it propel the O/S to the desktop of choice for both physical and virtual/