No More Microsoft Love for Windows XP, Official or Pirated
Windows XP may be an outdated operating standard by Microsoft standards, but the simple truth of the matter is that a large following of users decided to stick to it rather than move on to Vista – some deciding that waiting for Windows 7 would be worth it, especially since recent reports state the Windows 7 OS would be ready for deployment even without SP1 (Service Pack 1) – details here. Users running Windows XP on their machines, legal or pirated versions, now have two big reasons to switch: Microsoft will next month pull official free support for the operating system, and has started deployment of the latest version of WGA (Windows Genuine Advantage) Notifications.
As of April 14th, users running Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Professional will no longer be able to get official, free support from Microsoft as the Redmond software developer will discontinue the service. The same goes for users running Microsoft Office 2003 on their machines. The help center will keep working, just that you will not get any free answers from Microsoft.
If you decide to stick with Windows XP regardless of this situation, then you should be made aware of the fact that you can purchase extended support. The catch is that it is available for XP Professional users that already have Software Assurance licensing contracts – extended support will last until the 8th of April, 2014. You can also purchase extended support for Office 2003, which will last you until the 4th of August, 2012.
Regarding pirated or counterfeit versions of XP, Microsoft never liked that people were using their OS illegally. As of this week the Redmond software giant is distributing its non-genuine bloodhound, Windows Genuine Advantage, as part of an OS update.
“After installing this version of WGA Notifications on a copy of Windows XP that fails the validation a users experience of Windows would include (same as with the last release) first a message at their next logon indicating that they might be a victim of software counterfeiting. They would see that their desktop has changed to a plain black background and they will see a persistent desktop notification above the system tray as well as messages from the system tray offering additional information and ways that the customer can report the piracy or obtain a genuine copy of Windows” explained Director Genuine Windows, Alex Kochis.
As of April 14th, users running Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Professional will no longer be able to get official, free support from Microsoft as the Redmond software developer will discontinue the service. The same goes for users running Microsoft Office 2003 on their machines. The help center will keep working, just that you will not get any free answers from Microsoft.
If you decide to stick with Windows XP regardless of this situation, then you should be made aware of the fact that you can purchase extended support. The catch is that it is available for XP Professional users that already have Software Assurance licensing contracts – extended support will last until the 8th of April, 2014. You can also purchase extended support for Office 2003, which will last you until the 4th of August, 2012.
Regarding pirated or counterfeit versions of XP, Microsoft never liked that people were using their OS illegally. As of this week the Redmond software giant is distributing its non-genuine bloodhound, Windows Genuine Advantage, as part of an OS update.
“After installing this version of WGA Notifications on a copy of Windows XP that fails the validation a users experience of Windows would include (same as with the last release) first a message at their next logon indicating that they might be a victim of software counterfeiting. They would see that their desktop has changed to a plain black background and they will see a persistent desktop notification above the system tray as well as messages from the system tray offering additional information and ways that the customer can report the piracy or obtain a genuine copy of Windows” explained Director Genuine Windows, Alex Kochis.
