Reminder: Two weeks left until the end of support for Windows XP and Office 2003

Few readers of this website will remain unaware that Next Tuesday, April 8th, the life cycle of Windows XP ends From After that date Microsoft will stop supporting the operating system and whoever stays on it will have to deal alone with any problems that arise and with the potential risks of maintaining a system without new updates.

On that date, we will also see the end of support for Office 2003, the last version of Microsoft's office suite before the switch to the 'Ribbon' interface.The importance of this version of Office is attested to by the four years it took Redmond to develop a replacement and the ten years that its life cycle has lasted. It's time to renew and Microsoft have published infographics (Windows XP, Office 2003) giving plenty of reasons for it.

Windows XP and the Consequences of End of Support

Every system reaches its retirement and Windows XP was not going to be less. Despite its enormous success, it still holds almost 30% of the PC market, the old XP is already too many years old and Microsoft cannot continue devoting resources to maintaining its support indefinitely. On April 8 they will stop doing so and with it Redmond's will close the life cycle of the system

End of support means that Microsoft will stop updating Windows XPThere will be no more patches that cover any new vulnerability that is discovered, nor will more hotfixes arrive through Windows Update, nor will we have new service packs for the system. From Redmond they will not provide more official support for any problem or failure that we find when using Windows XP.

The direct consequence of this is that anyone running Windows XP on their computers can be exposed to security risks and the threat of malware and new forms of attacks that try to exploit any vulnerabilities that be discovered. In addition, any failure or error that appears in the system will not be solved by Microsoft and will force users to deal with them, with the consequent expense of time and resources involved.

Microsoft has also taken the opportunity to remember that using an old operating system, such as Windows XP, leads to a worse use of our equipment's resources.The system may also not be adapted to new hardware and may not be compatible with newer software. That's why Redmond recommends that users and companies upgrade to Windows 7 or Windows 8 as soon as possible and have launched a campaign to help them in the process.

Office 2003 and how we've changed

Less traumatic will be the end of support for Office 2003 The version of Microsoft's office suite has been with us for more than 10 years and on April 8, its useful life will also end. As with Windows XP, those who decide to continue with this version will have to fend for themselves.

Much things have changed in these 10 years. With the release of Office 2003, Microsoft launched a new logo and introduced InfoPath and OneNote for the first time among the office suite tools.2003 was also the last version of Office with 'Clippy' as an assistant and with the interface prior to 'Ribbon'.

Like Windows XP, Office 2003 has been and is one of the most successful software products for Microsoft. Although it is much more difficult to assess its current use it is probably still working on many millions of computers out there But its end is near and at Microsoft they try to convince us to that it is better to switch, to Office 365 if possible, and adapt to a world very different from that of just 10 years ago.

More information | Get2Modern.com