Happy Birthday! Windows XP is 10 Years Old Today
Do you remember the first time you hit that "Start" button?
Ten years ago, on October 25, 2001, Windows XP was released on retail shelves for sale.
Until September, Windows XP has still been the world's most popular operating system and will be, according to StatCounter, surpassed in market share by Windows 7. Born as the sixth major generation of Windows, the software was introduced in 25 languages around the globe, but did not sell well initially. Within the first three days after launch, only 260,00 copies were sold in the U.S. Windows XP only gained traction when drivers became available and system vendors began offering computers with XP preinstalled.
By 2006, XP had reached a milestone of 400 million active copies, according to an IDC analyst. The successor Windows Vista was launched in January of 2006, but enthusiasts as well as the notebook segment held on to XP and widely rejected Vista. Microsoft announced the discontinuance of Windows XP several times, but delayed the end of retail sales until June 30, 2008. OEM distribution of XP ended on October 22, 2010. Extended support for XP users is still available until April 8, 2014.
Even if it is a decade old, Windows XP is far from being dead. StatCounter suggests that Windows XP lost its OS market share leadership position to Windows 7 this month. Windows 7 has 40.41 percent of the market, while XP has fallen to 38.51 percent. This is still far more than Vista ever reached; Vista peaked at 23.60 percent in October of 2009.
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Wolfgang Gruener is an experienced professional in digital strategy and content, specializing in web strategy, content architecture, user experience, and applying AI in content operations within the insurtech industry. His previous roles include Director, Digital Strategy and Content Experience at American Eagle, Managing Editor at TG Daily, and contributing to publications like Tom's Guide and Tom's Hardware.
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pug_s mindless728and it should have lost support the moment that Windows 7 came outReply
You would think, but Windows XP is a fairly stable and usable OS compared to Microsoft's predecessors. -
mavroxur mindless728and it should have lost support the moment that Windows 7 came outReply
Unfortunately, several software companies have yet to update their products to support Windows Vista/7. And due to that lack of support, corporate America has held on to Windows XP. We have *several* very expensive apps at work used in various departments that just flat out will NOT work with Vista/7, which forces us to maintain XP in various areas. It's not that we want to support XP, but we're forced to because there's no upgrade option with those particular vendors yet. -
soo-nah-mee This is like celebrating my dead relatives birthdays. They were kind and reliable, but no longer with us.Reply -
igot1forya Some day we will upgrade from XP to 7 here at work.Reply
I've had a budget meeting where I pitched Windows 7 to our CFO... then the question comes up on where Microsoft extended support to 4/8/2014... now I'm stuck with XP until the 2013 budget year.
Why Microsoft!?!? Why?!?!? If you keep extending support, venders wont have any reason to develop support for Windows 7! ARG!!! -
southernshark Igot1foryaSome day we will upgrade from XP to 7 here at work. I've had a budget meeting where I pitched Windows 7 to our CFO... then the question comes up on where Microsoft extended support to 4/8/2014... now I'm stuck with XP until the 2013 budget year.Why Microsoft!?!? Why?!?!? If you keep extending support, venders wont have any reason to develop support for Windows 7! ARG!!!Reply
I wouldn't upgrade to Windows 7 either.... Windows 8 is coming out next year. You would be better off holding off until then.