Microsoft wants to drop support for Windows XP. They have agreed to continue to allow downgrades from W7 (primarily for enterprise customers and netbook buyers) but they have discontinued support for XP SP2. Support for XP SP3 will continue into 2014. In an eWeek.com article, Don Reisinger offers ten reasons why Microsoft must offer long-term support for XP. (I had to read the story on my desktop, of course.)
According to a study Reisinger cites, of 278,498 corporate and public sector PCs analyzed, “almost half are still running Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2.” Analysis and marketing firm Net Applications reports that as of June 2010, XP is running on 62% of the world’s PCs.