As I had previously reported, Microsoft wasn’t going to let the MID market go to Linux. In a recent AP article it was confirmed that a version of Windows XP would be available until at least 2010. But it gets better. XP could be a around a year after Windows 7 is released. 2011, 2012?

It was funny that this morning I had just read an article from a very well known and respected publication that said this would not and could not happen. They cited that Microsoft would not support Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 all at once. They said it was to much code to juggle. Well poop on you big time publisher. Microsoft isn’t stupid. They’ll keep XP around until the next century if there is a buck to be made off of it.

According to AP it states:

The low-cost machines have smaller hard drives, less memory and slower processors than most Windows computers sold today, and most would have a hard time running the bulkier Windows Vista.

The Classmate PC is currently marketed with Windows XP Professional, and the newest editions sell for between $300 and $500. The Eee PC, which costs around $400, comes with a Linux operating system.

A full version of XP Home will be able to run on most computers in this category, but Microsoft said hardware still varies widely. The $188 XO laptop from the One Laptop per Child organization, for example, is too weak to run a standard version of XP. Microsoft is customizing a version of XP for that machine.

Microsoft had planned to stop selling most versions of XP at the end of June 2008, with exceptions for small computer-building shops and PCs sold in developing countries.

But I think it will get better for those who are sticking with XP for whatever reason one chooses to do so. I’d venture a guess that support [fixes, patches, whatever] could go on a few years after the OS really ceases to be used on low end systems. It could be 2013 or 2014, maybe even longer. This could mean another service pack. Maybe SP4 or Sp5.

Windows XP will be the first Windows operating system that could be going for 10,11, 12 years or longer. That in itself is truly amazing.

Comments welcome.

Full Ap article is here.