Quietly yesterday, but right on schedule, Microsoft started the process of winding down Windows XP.

The announcement read ” On April 14, Windows XP will transition from the mainstream support phase to the extended support phase, as planned and previously announced”. Microsoft have said however that they will be patching security issues right up to 2014 so with any luck Windows 7 will have either stabilized or perhaps even been superseded by then. In the meantime, you can rest assured that the continually growing netbook market and widespread loathing of Vista will keep XP alive and kicking for a good many users.

BTW, I was surprised to find out that XP has actually been with us since October 2001 so given that an OS has a typical supported life of about 5 years you have to say that its done pretty well.

What d’ya think – will you be rushing to Vista or Windows 7 ?