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4/13/2008

Windows XP fans don't want it to XPire

Petition drive aims to keep XP as option on new PCs past June 30

A petition to “Save Windows XP” has drawn more than 111,000 supporters — and continued shots across the Microsoft XP vs. Vista bow, a battle that began with Vista’s release last year.

The operating system succeeded XP, which came on the market in October 2001. Despite Vista’s much-improved security measures, it has met with criticism and some reluctance by consumers and businesses that don’t want to make the switch. (Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)

Among the concerns about Vista are the amount of computer memory and space it requires, its seemingly slower speed and frustration over the fact that third-party drivers for some printers and other devices are still not available from the companies that make those devices.

InfoWorld, a publication that covers the information technology industry, launched a “Save Windows XP” petition drive in January. Microsoft originally planned to stop selling XP to retailers and computer manufacturers at the end of 2007, but extended that deadline to this June 30.