Windows XP set for early retirement
Microsoft will phase out Windows XP as an option for brand-name computer makers faster than it has any other operating system, but an analyst said it probably wasn't a decision made to pump up Vista revenues at XP's expense. According to Microsoft's posted timetable, the company will stop licensing Windows XP to OEMs and terminate retail sales of the operating system 31 January, 2008. The time between the general availability of XP's successor, Windows Vista, and that drop-dead date is just 12 months.
By comparison, Windows 95 was terminated 30 months after Windows 98's debut, which in turn had an 18-month run after the release of its heir, Windows Millennium. On the business side, Windows NT Workstation 4.0 was available to OEMs for 26 months after Windows 2000 Professional appeared; that OS lived 27 months on the OEM list after Windows XP Professional made it to market.
