Microsoft is ending support Tuesday for Windows XP, which means the company won't be fixing any fresh problems that crop up with the 12-year-old operating system. "PCs running Windows XP after April 8, 2014, should not be considered to be truly protected," says a company statement.
An estimated quarter of PC users are still running XP, despite Microsoft's notices that this day would come. Part of the reason many users haven't migrated is Microsoft's uneven record of improving its operating systems as new ones roll out. Our Emily Siner explained in January:
"Vista was part of the problem. Microsoft's success with operating systems 'kind of goes up and then down historically,' says Stephen Baker, an analyst with NPD Group. While XP was undoubtedly a peak, Vista was widely regarded as a dud, so people who might have normally tried a new system held off. Windows 7 was more successful, but Windows 8, introduced in 2012, received a tepid reception amid a drop in PC sales.
"Microsoft now has a clear incentive to get its users to upgrade. It's expensive to update and support a decade-old operating system. By today's computing standards, XP is slow and outdated, and that makes Microsoft look bad."