BEIJING, Jan. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- Microsoft announced
an addition of extended 5-year customer support phase for its two versions of
Windows XP operating system, media reports Thursday quoted the company as
saying.
Previously, all support for Windows XP Home Edition
and Windows XP Media Center Edition operating systems was slated to end two
years after the release of Vista, in other words, at the end of January 2009.
The company will launch Windows Vista and Office 2007 for consumers on Jan. 29,
2007 into market.
"Microsoft has listened to customer feedback and
realized that providing security patches for Windows XP Professional, and not
extending that support to the XP Home and XP Media Center Editions, was not a
consistent approach," a company representative said. "Microsoft is currently
making the change for Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Media Center
Edition only, and it is taking additional time to evaluate a permanent policy
change that would apply to all consumer operating system versions."
The extended support, which kicks in after April
2009, will bring the two products on par with Microsoft's Windows XP
Professional for businesses. Microsoft previously reserved its 5-year extended
support feature to only enterprise-grade products.
For the software giant, extending its customer
support phase is nothing new. Microsoft extended support for Windows 98, Windows
98 SE and Windows ME by two years, with assistance ending in 2006, media
reported.
(Agencies)
