I read an article this week in which the author suggested people avoid Vista until the new versions comes out this summer. This writer went on to suggest that Microsoft might discontinue support to the XP program. Have you heard about this?

Answer

It is true that Microsoft will drop mainstream support on April 14, 2009, but they will continue providing software updatesuntil April 8, 2014. This extended support recently ended for Windows 98 – that is when it became much less desireable to use Windows 98. But there are still several years left to go for Windows XP. Here is are the official scoop from Microsoft for Windows XP Pro. The dates are identical for Windows XP Home.

Products Released: Windows XP Professional
General Availability Date: 12/31/2001
Mainstream Support Retired: 4/14/2009
Extended Support Retired: 4/8/2014

This information is found at this Microsoft page.