Let's get one thing straight, folks. XP isn't dead yet, but it IS on the most basic of life support, that being security updates to existing features and add-ons. Yet, MS' own moves of late seem to discredit this commitment; the fact that IE9 was released only for the Win 6.x code branch (that's Vista and 7) was a slap in the face to some who, like Garry here, have chosen to stick to their guns and keep XP. The same can be said of Win Live '11 as well as a handful of other current apps. They also took steps to withdraw development software and back-end IT tools for XP. Even as a scant few still run IE 6 ⚠, MS is trying desperately to kill that, too. Everything is proceeding as planned.
I completely understand why some refuse upgrades. It can be expensive and flat-out scary for the lot of them. When you've been attached to something for a decade that works for you, you get a little apprehensive, for there's always something else to scare you even if it's not the thing you're most afraid of. You wanna be in that comfort zone for as long as possible.
But that comfort bears not the reward it used to, as fear of the unknown has set in. You risk nothing, thus you gain nothing in return.
Looking at this issue from a more tangible standpoint, Microsoft has been more generous than perhaps it should be. XP will be taken off life support 3 years from now. Vista will live in full for just one more year, to be supported a further 5 years after that. Compare this to Apple, whose policies are actually far more strict in that every software release is supported only until followed by two successive upgrades to it. The actual period varies. That's why you won't find a first-run iPhone on iOS 4, for instance. Hardware-wise, it's 7 years except for iGadgets which cycle as fast as software, but after that, you're on your own. Your security and stability will not be guaranteed in either Apple's or MS' view when each company declares EOL on a product.
Which leads to a strange brew of support cycle for Boot Camp. MS wan't selling Vista much after '09; it was THAT dismal. XP was cut to critical support in '10. Apple had to run with all this and say "we're not going to bother with either limited-support OS on our new stuff, as to support 4 OSes is more than we can/want to handle." It also ends up being easier on users for the longer term as well.
You might not even use or like all the whiz-bangs that 7 has, but you can rest easy in the knowledge that it will be more secure and will be supported in future.
Nate
