The LIfespan of a Windows OS

Leo Notenboom has a very interesting article on the end of support for the various Windows operating systems.
XP, he says, has been supported for 12 years when the normal lifespan for any OS, including Linux, is about 5.
After that, it gets too expensive to maintain.

"Mainstream support for Windows Vista with service pack 2 installed ended two years ago on April 10, 2012. Extended support, in other words security fixes only, will last for another three years ending on April 11, 2017.

"Windows 7 with SP 1 installed comes to its mainstream end of support date next year: January 13, 2015. The end of extended support is January 14, 2020.

"And Windows 8, - actually Windows 8.1 – will have mainstream support until January 9, 2018 and extended support all the way into 2023."

How does mainstream support differ from extended support?
Read about it here.

Gil.

Would it be safe to download xp updates? Thanks
Richard

Richard,

Support for XP ended yesterday.
Unless I'm mistaken, that means you won't be able to download any service pack updates.

Gil.

That is great reading, Gil. Say what you will about Microsoft, try getting that kind of support from any other operating system.

What kind of XP updates are you talking about, kjos? As of yesterday, there will be no more security updates for XP.

It says updated are ready for your computer. Click here to install these updates. on the task bar.

If it just appeared, it's probably the nag message that will keep telling you that you XP support has ended. I told my XP to ignore that update since I have taken it off the internet.

Check to see what the update is... Jenny posted in another thread that the nag message is KB2934207.

Yesterday (April 8) was the last time Microsoft was going to provide NEW updates for XP. If you didn't get them yesterday, you should be able to get them today. Beware the one that says it's for the nag screen (not their words, but you can tell by reading the description of the update). Also beware the update for Security Essentials, which also adds a nag screen. You should still be able to update virus definitions through the anti-virus with the previous version of Security Essentials.

Microsoft is actually providing security updates for XP through 2015 for certain organizations -- just not for home users worldwide.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2139929/w...ot-for-you.html

Some people have suggested that Microsoft could make money by continuing to provide security updates for XP for home users -- for a nominal fee...

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2454844,00.asp

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2139929/w...ot-for-you.html