Brief: Microsoft clarifies Windows XP support plans
It will offer support for the OS for two years after the release of Windows Vista
Computerworld - Microsoft Corp. yesterday confirmed that it will continue to provide mainstream support for all flavors of Windows XP, including Home and Professional editions, for two years after the release of Windows Vista.
Vista, the successor to XP, is expected to be released late this year.
The company quietly changed the update policies listed on its Web site on Tuesday after questions arose about whether it would continue to support Windows XP Home beyond the end of 2006.
"We have corrected the error, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused our customers," a Microsoft spokesperson said.
Extended Support for XP, which customers must pay for, will also be provided by Microsoft for five years after mainstream support for Windows XP ends. That means the end of support for those customers is likely to occur at the end of 2013.
Alternately, Microsoft will provide Extended Support for XP for two more years after the release of the next operating system after Vista.
Read more about Operating Systems in Computerworld's Operating Systems Topic Center.



- Excel 2010 Cheat Sheet
- Register for this Computerworld Insider Cheat Sheet and gain access to hundreds of premium content articles, guides, product reviews and more.
- VMware View Optimization Guide for Windows 7
- This document provides guidelines for configuring a standard Windows 7 image to be used within a VMware View™ environment, providing administrators with the...
- Watson - A System Designed for Answers. The future of workload optimized systems design
- Watson is a workload optimized system designed for complex analytics, made possible by integrating massively parallel POWER7 processors and DeepQA technology. Read the...
- Overcome Top 7 Admin Challenges of Active Directory
- As Active Directory's role in the enterprise has drastically increased, so has the need to secure the data. Gain insight on creating repeatable,...
- Insiders Can Ruin Your Company. Take Action.
- Did you know that 80 percent of threats to an organization come from the inside? The threat from insiders is often overlooked in...
- Top Solutions and Tools to Prevent Devastating Malware
- Custom malware frequently goes undetected. According to Forrester Research, the best way to reduce risk of breach is to deploy file integrity monitoring... All Operating Systems White Papers
- Optimizing Networks for the Cloud
- Join guest speaker, Rohit Mehra, IDC Director of Enterprise Communications Infrastructure, to explore current trends, discuss best practices for optimizing Data Center and...
- Apps QuickStart Series Part 2: Designing and Deploying SQL Server on VMware vSphere
- Download this webcast to learn about the design considerations for virtualizing SQL workloads, performance and scalability information and high-availability options, as well as...
- Apps QuickStart Series Part 1: Designing and Deploying Exchange 2010 on VMware vSphere
- Download this webcast to learn the virtual hardware design considerations for Exchange 2010, deployment using the building block approach, options for high-availability and...
- Customer Spotlight: How IPC The Hospitalist Company Implemented Oracle on VMware
- Have you been looking to hear about customer's experiences with the new VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager product? View this webcast to learn...
- Virtualize Business-Critical Applications with Confidence
- Virtualizing business-critical applications has become a key focus for organizations as they move along their virtualization journey. With the launch of VMware vSphere®... All Operating Systems Webcasts