Unfortunately, this is not a cruel April Fool’s joke. Windows is really ending support for Windows XP on April 8, 2014 and there is nothing you can do about it. The world’s second most popular operating system will soon become extinct and it’s time to move on.
Windows XP was released 13 years ago to critical acclaim. The newly-designed GUI made it easier to use your computer while making it look a lot better than its predecessor, Windows 2000. The operating system was also more secure because it was built upon the Windows NT kernel and users were required to activate the OS with a product activation key. The end result was a Windows version that was more stable and efficient than ever before.
XP quickly became the OS of choice for companies all around the globe. At its peak in popularity, over 76.1% of consumers were running Windows XP on their computers. This trend has remained steady until today and according to NetMarketShare, 27.69% of computer users are still using Windows XP.
12 years later, XP is still very popular.
Windows support cycles typically last ten years. But because of the popularity of XP, Microsoft decided to offer extended support for two more years. These two years expire on April 8, 2014 and XP users will be left in the dark after that date. PC’s with Windows XP will be unprotected and users should upgrade before it’s too late.
To simplify your transition to a new operating system, Newegg is having a huge sale on software, desktops, monitors, and everything else you need to build a modern PC. So whether you want to take things slow and switch to Windows 7, or be bold and take a leap into Windows 8, Newegg has you covered!
Pay your respects to Windows XP one last time and use it to upgrade on Newegg.com.
