Windows XP may be over four years old, but Microsoft isn't ready to ditch users of the operating system in an effort to promote Windows Vista quite yet. According to Yahoo News, the software giant has extended support for Windows XP Home and Windows XP Media Center Edition until April 2009. The extension should give home users a good two years to upgrade to Windows Vista—or even ditch Windows altogether and go with Linux or a Mac—before Microsoft stops supporting XP Home or XP MCE.
This isn't the first time Microsoft has extended support for a consumer OS. Three years ago, the company extended the support period for its Windows 9x operating systems, including Windows 98 and Windows ME, until June 30, 2006. According to this page, Microsoft's latest policy is to support mainstream products either five years after their release or two years after the release of their successor, whichever comes first.
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