Personally, I am not too concerned about either form of Windows XP falling short on support. Whether policy allows for it or not, most people are going to be very slow to move from XP to Vista. Why? Because there is no real clear call to action to do so for Joe Average!

Microsoft set out to adopt a formal and rigid support lifecycle in 2002, back at a time when most analysts were expecting to see Windows Vista (then, “Longhorn”) within a couple of years. My own point of view was that this lifecycle business had a lot to do with Microsoft’s then-new volume licensing scheme, which among other things is oriented towards selling software subscriptions. If you’re buying a subscription for software, you can see how lifecycle plans become important. However, delays in Windows Vista coupled with a questionable approach to “consumer” products means that 2007 will carry a few surprises unless policy changes are made at Redmond. [Read the rest]