Compu Mech's Corner: Microsoft Scheduled to Expire Windows XP

There are many jokes going around about the impending death of Windows XP, but this is not an issue your business should take lightly.

If your company still relies on Windows XP as the Operating System of choice, you may be sitting on a ticking time bomb. Starting June 30, Microsoft will officially pull XP off the shelves and out of the hands of OEM distributors, meaning that any new PC's you purchase will have neither the option of coming with XP nor the downgrade rights should you purchase one with Windows Vista.

It is only a matter of time until XP reaches end-of-life and updates no longer become available via automatic updates. This will leave you with a functioning computer that will eventually be as vulnerable to attack as Windows 98. Where does this leave you? Pondering what to do next?
Vista has received a great deal of slack over the last year and rightfully so. Our senior engineers tested and followed the development of Windows Vista (formerly known as “Longhorn”) since November of 2004. They experienced firsthand the triumphs, failures, fixes and breaks as they happened in real time. When Vista was released to manufacturing last year, they knew it wasn’t ready.

I personally use and have used Vista at home for nearly two years now exclusively. As a home user, I experienced a few negative effects, such as games that refuse to function, some hardware/software combinations that wouldn’t work, along with a great deal of unnecessary research and time needed to make things work the way they should.

This year, Microsoft finally worked out many of the kinks that were holding the system back. With the release of Service Pack 1, Vista is now not only more compatible with a myriad of hardware and software, but it is also far more stable than it has ever been.

It is time for businesses to begin the long and painful process of finally letting go of XP. What’s the best way to do it? There are many different methods, but we prefer the beta test method. Isolate individual users in different departments who use different software/hardware configurations that are as a whole representative of your entire company. Then follow their progress over 30 days. If, during the span of 30 days, no issues are encountered, or if issues are minimal and can easily be mitigated, then contemplate a full rollout.

Don’t forget during your beta period to have a PC running XP available for the individual to use, just in case. Hopefully, you’ll find rolling out Vista to be a painless and rewarding process.
Always ensure that you are using the latest version of any software required for your business, and that your hardware is up to snuff. In some cases, you may need to purchase new hardware to ensure compatibility, but this is becoming quite rare.

Good luck. Please feel free to contact us should you need any assistance with your project- we would be glad to assist you in any way we can.

Thank you!