The window on Windows XP
It’s official. Microsoft is discontinuing support for Windows XP. After April 8, 2014, XP technically will no longer be supported. There will be no patches, updates or hot fixes for the long reliable operating system. (Read more, directly from Microsoft – http://bit.ly/1mtE0LE)
Windows XP is nearly a teenager. You’ve heard of dog years? In software years, yea you get it, Windows XP is pretty geriatric as far as technology is concerned. For a lot of us, it’s been a trusty work horse and it still works. You’ve loved XP for a really long time, and it’s been good to you. But, it may be time to let go.
What does the end of Windows XP support mean immediately? What are your options? Here are a few:
- Do nothing. You won’t immediately see smoke billowing from your computer on April 8th. If you are the type that believes, “if it ain’t broke. . . ” you can choose to plow on. You are opening your trusty PC up to potential security risks. Microsoft will no longer publish updates or patches for XP. Those updates and patches are one line of defense your computer has against viruses, spyware and other malware.
- Invest in 3rd party protection software. If you aren’t already running a 3rd party anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-ick package, you’ll want to. Since your XP machine will have no help from Microsoft in this area, your 3rd party protection is at least some defense. Since the developers of the anti-virus packages are in the same boat, with no updates to XP, they may not be fail safe.
- Upgrade. Your machine may meet the specs for Windows 8. Check carefully. You may have a great processor, but little things like screen resolution and your graphics card may trip you up. Check Microsoft for full details – http://bit.ly/1x30CJ4.) If you do upgrade, your older machine, don’t expect the performance to be up to par of new machines. It may be downright sluggish running Windows 8.
- Invest in new hardware and OS. This is the most painful to your checkbook, we know. Most of our trusted IT professionals recommend budgeting on replacing machines at least every 5 years. Many insist on it. Think about it, you’ve gotten 2.5 times the life expectancy! As my dad would say, “It doesn’t owe you a thing. Not one thing. You got the years and the miles out of it.”
We aren’t Microsoft certified professionals. We are Microsoft users, like you. We know from our user base that many of you are still clutching on to your Windows XP. Where we fit in is, upgrading Windows may affect your Act! software as well. So when looking to upgrade, audit the software you rely on. When you jot down Act! as one of them, call us. We’d be happy to go over specs, what to expect and your migration path for Act!. Change can be hard. It can also be really enlightening. Yes, the new Windows takes some getting used to, but there are some really great new features too. Look at your options, and be aware that the window is closing on Windows XP. It may be time to embrace the new.
