Windows XP. 6 years old, and still going strong!

Is the end near for XP? I think not. XP was released in October 2001, and after 6 years, it seems it is here to stay a little longer. Dell, HP, Gateway, and other top PC manufactures were scheduled to stop selling XP after January 31, 2008. Yet due to high demand, Microsoft has extended the sale of XP until June of 2008. Why the high demand for the aging XP platform? Well, Windows Vista has a lot to do with it.

Vista never received the warm welcome from consumers that Microsoft planned. This is due to several reasons. Concerns over hardware incompatibilities, and system requirements, have caused many businesses to put plans on upgrading to Vista on hold. Most consumers do not want to spend the extra money to upgrade their memory and video card, which may be necessary in order to support some of Vista new features. Almost a year after its release many printers, faxes, and other hardware peripherals, still do not have Vista support.

Performance in Vista has become a factor with PC enthusiasts. Recent tests have shown XP to run common applications, and games significantly faster than Vista. In some cases, up twice as fast. Sp3, the long over due service pack, for XP, is slated for release in early 2008. Sp3 will further enhance XP's appeal with consumers with enhanced security and performance updates.

Some of the features said to be included in Sp3 are Network Access Protection compatibility. This feature allows Windows XP to interact with the NAP feature in Windows Server 2008. Product Key-less install option, which allows XP to be installed without entering a product key during Setup.

Router detection algorithm. XP gains the ability to ignore network routers that incorrectly drop certain kinds of network packets. Sp1 a service pack for Vista, is due in the first quarter of 2008. Sp1 is said to address some of the issues presented here such as performance, added reliability, and more support for existing and emerging hardware. Only time will tell. In the meantime, Windows XP is here to stay, and continues to appeal to business and consumers alike.