The End of Windows XP
George Adomavicius
Citizen Journalist

July 2008 was a big month for Microsoft, and the start of two big changes.
   The first was that Bill Gates finally stepped down from the helm.
   For years he was an icon of the technology industry, but he can now focus his time and efforts on the philanthropic efforts of his charitable foundation. What the Gates have done and plan to do is admirable. I wish that all people with so much wealth would devote even a fraction of the time and money that this couple does. For more detailed information, the Wikipedia entry on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation gives a good overview of their efforts.
   It is possible for any individual to make a difference in this world. You and I in our small, more local ways, can impact our sphere of influence; and the very wealthy can impact on a much grander scale.
   The other big July event for the company was the end of Windows XP.
   What does that mean? If you get a new PC after July 1, and want Windows on it, you will get Vista. There is no other option.
   It has been six years since XP arrived. XP will still be maintained, i.e. there will still be security and other updates released for some time.
   Vista has struggled in the press since its availability. But if you buy a PC for your child at school, or for a relative as a gift, it will now have Vista, with no other Windows choice. Microsoft has enough market presence that they can dictate actions like this.
   I must admit, most people who get Vista for the first time find something annoying about it. It could be something that used to work under XP now doesn’t. Or that it simply works differently, in some way that is initially aggravating and takes some time to get used to it.
   It was similar with Window ME. That was a release between Windows 98 and Windows 2000 that did not get a lot of acceptance in the marketplace. But at least then you could still buy Windows 98 for a long time.
   I know there are several large corporations that plan to wait out the Vista phase, and only consider its follow-on for mass replication.
   Most corporations, if they are slow to adopt Vista but still want to buy new machines, will just put XP back on. This is not such a challenge to them, as they probably do a lot installation and customization to their machines anyways, with a software image that suits their environment.
   But for the average home user, to figure out how to load XP after you’ve already paid for a pre-installed Vista is onerous.
   Am I exaggerating this perception of Vista? The trade press shows both sides as Microsoft has a huge advertising and marketing budget. I’ve helped several customers with Vista issues, so maybe I’m just seeing the negative side.
   I’d like to hear from Garner citizens what their experience has been with Vista.
   Send me you comments or experiences, whether positive or negative, on Vista, and I’ll share them with the readership of The Garner Citizen in a subsequent article.
   Feel free to submit your questions or topics to Technology Corner to lanzena@earthlink.net.