TO: Karl (PG13guy)


The Naked PC - http://www.TheNakedPC.com
What You Need to Know about All Things PC
Publisher:           Lee Hudspeth and T.J. Lee
Editor in Chief:     Dan Butler
Contributing Editor: Al Gordon
This issue is for Thursday, November 1, 2001 - Vol. 4 No. 22
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** 04. Anybody But Microsoft? (by T.J. Lee)


Microsoft is dropping technical support for older versions of
Windows on a strict timetable. Windows 95, Windows NT 3.5, and
Windows 3.x versions are "unsupported" as of December 31, 2001.
Windows 98/98SE and Windows NT 4.x are dropped as of June 30,
2003, or a scant 18 months later. Microsoft can talk about saving
on support costs but the bottom line is the bottom line. They
want to force people to upgrade to the current version of Windows
thereby pocketing the upgrade fees. And they can be sure there's
a new current version of Windows whenever the cash flow
projection demands feeding.


What's pushing Microsoft to come up with all this is that there
is a growing trend for companies to dig in with a version of
Windows that meets their needs and not upgrade every time Redmond
trots out a new version. By dropping support, Microsoft creates
forced obsolescence, which is Microsoft's answer to those who
don't upgrade. In effect they're saying that a company had better
get with the program or be stuck with unsupported software. Look
for this trend to bleed over into end user software products like
Office too at some point.

What's does unsupported mean? Clearly you won't be able to call
Microsoft and get tech support in real time. But what about the
thousands of documents in the Microsoft online Knowledge Base?
I've not seen any official Microsoft announcements but I know I'm
going to start saving all my old TechNet CDs because I won't be
surprised if on December 31st the Knowledge Base is purged of all
articles on unsupported versions of Windows.



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Copyright (c) 2001, PRIME Consulting Group, Inc. and Dan Butler.
All Rights Reserved. The Naked PC is a trademark of PRIME
Consulting Group, Inc.
ISSN: 1522-4422