By Simon Quicke
25 June 2008
Microsoft has reverted to traditional means of communication after sending out letters to all of its XP customers to inform them of the plans to wind down support for the operating system.
The letters lay out the timetable for the demise of the platform, which has remained popular despite the launch last year of Vista.
Many distributors reported ongoing demand throughout the period since Vista was launched for downgrade options to continue using XP.
Lawrence Painell, Windows OEM & WGA Product Manager at Microsoft UK, said that it didn’t really matter it had used letters rather than the web but it had to be clear with customers and put all of its information in one easy to digest format.
“The idea behind it was to get all the information that might be in different places and on different web sites into one single message,” he said.
The letter states that Windows XP will no longer be available for purchase from Microsoft for general retail and OEM partners as of next Monday but the cut off date for system builders is 31 January 31, 2009.
Those that have been using downgrade rights to Windows XP Professional have the option to offer them to enterprise customers and purchasers of Windows Vista Ultimate or Windows Vista Business editions.
There is also no change to the dates for Windows XP support with customers getting assistance until April next year and extended support until 2014.
Mike Lawrence, managing director at Bent Penny, said that from a reseller point of view the fear was the revenue that was coming in from XP could be damaged by the letter.
