Will Microsoft extend the life of Windows XP beyond May 30th 2009?

Has to vista is such a stuff up

@curios
oh such a nice way of saying vista sux

I think Vista rox

I knew u would say that chatarra..... only thing we agree on is stars :)

@Dean:
If we were neighbors, the cops would be called weekly. . . LOL.

I like Vista because it does a better job of protecting the operating kernel when installing new programs.
It seems less likely to be corrupted by registry bloat.

Now, if they could get a decent advertising campaign like Apple has.

Vista stole that from linux u know...so when do u think windows will go open source :)

Windows will NEVER go open source - too bad though. Best software solutions are usually open source.

umm chatarra, there is always a possibility remember in 2006:
http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS6932977445.html

I have a friend in America that would leave us all for dead .he initially worked on with microsoft on the very firs PC set up in 1962 and until just recently was with google (has just retired)
because he was with goggle had to work with vista and xp he finds that vista takes to much memory to initiate i asked him once what he thought where the best he said when they first came out 95 was until xp came that 95 was he is looking forward to the new think its 2008 or something like that .
and dean is perfectly correct it is surprising the number of people that use the Linux system.

its windows 7 hopefully released in 2010

I don't think that you have to wait till 2010 for windows 7. From what I have heard (from a good source) is that we will only have to wait about 6 more months for final version of windows 7 to come out. And be on the store shelves in time for back to school computer purchases.

Six months is the absolute minimum possible, it's more likely to be 12-18 months. Even once they've built the final release, there's a lot of marketing, manufacturing and organisation (with OEMs for instance) that has to happen before the release date.

The current beta they have available isn't ready for release, I had it BSOD several times on me when I tried it. There's still a lot of bugs to iron out.

BSOD on beta is possibly driver issues???? Not really sure about that - I am not an expert, but an avid user.
I agree that it will be a while before 7 is available.
I hope they have a strong marketing campaign before release this time.
Vista was not presented to computer users before release very well.
Users want and deserve compelling reasons to make the switch.

@Curios
Your friend is correct - Vista is definitely a memory hog, but I like it anyways.

I suspect they'll have to keep XP going until Windows 7 is released. I'm running the Windows 7 beta and although it's an improvement over Vista it's not ready for prime time. :-0

This has already happened. http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2008/apr08/04-03xpeos.mspx

"REDMOND, Wash., -April 3, 2008 - Today Microsoft announced the worldwide extension of the availability of Windows XP Home for an emerging, new class of mobile personal computers commonly known as ultra-low-cost PCs, or ULCPCs. Windows XP Home for ULCPCs will be available until the later of June 30, 2010, or one year after general availability of the next version of Windows."

Vista is not only a memory hog, but a processor hog. 5 min until being usable after boot? Seriously? 1995 called, and wants it's boot time back. And file copying time. And...

@NightWish,
You are right about vista being a memory hog. As for boot times, I would check what is located in your start-up folder.
I am A+ certified and build my own PC's. While I don't have access to your machine, having too many different files all trying to start up upon reboot can slow down any machine to a crawl.

I stand by my earlier statement about liking Vista, but it is not only a memory hog, but requires a lot of processing power as well.
I am running a dual core E8400 3GHz processor and 2 GB's of ram.

Perhaps a better way to compare systems is to compare "Windows Experience Index" - mine is 3.6
Boosted recently by adding a video card.
(located by right clicking on computer icon on desktop for properties.)

a word of warning to (nightwish) un less you know what you are doing get a tech to take out your start upfiles ,that are not necessary there is a danger in doing it yourself.
chatarra suprised the video card was not with your 3.6

From the question:

"So many consumers and computer makers wanted to continue using Windows XP in low cost netbook systems that Microsoft extended the deadline for retirement was set to be January 31, 2009."

"Editor's clarification: Extension has to be for main line PCs and laptops, not ULCPC's or other niche machines"

Umm - does the editor realize that "ULCPC" is just another term for "Netbook"?

This belated and erroneous edit contradicts the original question - in fact *leaving* it self-contradictory, as shown above.

ULCPC/netbooks are NOT a "niche" - they're a major and rapidly growing market segment, projected for 20-35 million units this year, out of 155M total portables and versus about 100M desktops.

Windows XP is Better than Windows Vista.....!

I am betting no to this, XP is a stable OS which does satisfy most people however Microsoft have ironed out must of the bugs in Vista and the system requirements for Vista is met by all mainstream consumer computers on release at present.\\r
\\n\\r
\\nIf Windows 7 is as good as most people claim then why continue to allow manufacturers to sell computers with an old OS even though XP has a lot more credibility than Vista.\\r
\\nI believe Microsoft will allow manufactures to sell Windows 7 with new computers before the end of this year. Windows 7 currently benefit from a substantial amount of good PR, why continue to sell XP and allow it to detract from the positive buzz that surrounds Windows 7.\\r
\\n\\r
\\nIt would be madness to support three mainstream operating systems at the same time. I know that Microsoft have not always done what most people regard as the common sense thing but they need to concentrate on rolling out Windows 7 in the best possible light and presently - most critics like the new os.\\r
\\nXP has served us well but it is good business decision to stop selling it. Businesses are not adopting Vista and Microsoft will want to promote Windows 7 to businesses as well as consumers before the end of the year. This will be difficult if XP is still an alternative.\\r
\\n\\r
\\nI expect that Microsoft will promote Windows 7 as being the best of XP and Vista put together.\\r
\\nMosts critics claim that Windows 7 is easier to use compared to Vista yet W7 demands less system resources. W7 has all the features of XP and Vista plus more.\\r
\\nWhy would any computer manufacturer support Microsoft in selling XP. Most people already have XP, why attempt to sell computers with an old os. This would reduce the chances of people buying new computers and take the shine off Microsoft\'s claim that W7 is better than both their previous operating systems.\\r
\\n\\r
\\nMost people know very little of W7 but if you were to give most consumers the choice between XP and W7 on a new computer - I expect that most people would choose the W7 version simply because it is new and shinny.