Windows XP - Best Before 2014

Stephen L. Rose, a Microsoft representative in a blog post announced the end of Windows XP, the most best-selling operating system of their brand (so far).

Yes, that's right. Everything has an end and this end is scheduled for Windows XP on April 8, 2014 (I, as well, am impressed by Microsoft's accuracy in the date). At that day Microsoft will officially stop releasing updates and support for Windows XP and XP users are advised to upgrade to Windows 7 (or Windows 8 possibly).

Rose's exact words were the following: 'Wouldn’t it be great if the glory days lasted forever? But reality is trophies get dusty, records are broken, and what it took to be the best ten years ago, just isn’t enough for today’s standards. Things get better, faster. And eventually, it’s time to move from good enough to something much better' (source here)

Feelings? Well, on the one hand, lets think about it. After XP there was the release of Vista, Windows 7 and the upcoming Windows 8, while Microsoft's attention also falls on the area of tablets and smartphones with Windows 7 phone 'Mango project'. It is logical for them to stop the update and support of Windows XP at some time. On the other hand, Windows XP has been a great success. It it the operating system that I know best, I have installed on my Laptop, I use in the most comfortable for me way, and generally makes my life easier. As a result, it is a Technological update vs emotion fight. Which factor wins? In my opinion it depends on how good Windows 8 wil be.

Windows 7 Phone 'Mango' : Android and iOS killer??

Microsoft's updated Windows 7 Phone with the code name 'Mango' have been announced last May. Since then, beta users were able to test the operating system and express their opinion. This is what they have come up with:

Mango is not a new operating system for smartphones, it is an upgrade to the former Microsoft's system. It will be released officialy in Autumn 2011 and it will be free of charge for Windows 7 Phone users.

The main feature that has been greatly improved on Mango is multitasking. A user will be able to switch through different applications really quickly just by pressing a single button. The processing of the applicatios has been a lot faster in a more stable environment.

Also, another main feature for Windows Mango is the new Internet Explorer 9 for smartphones. Well, we all feel that IE has been a little old fashioned and overpassed but truth is that according to tests, Internet explorer 9 on smartphones looks quite fast and reliable.

source: pcworld.com

Another aspect in which Microsoft plans on making a difference compared to iOS and Android is the applications functionality and the way they operate in your phone. According to Microsoft, applications on your phone have been very static. They operate on their own and have no interaction with other phone systems in order to be more user-friendly. Think for example an application that deals with music, an Mp3 player. On the upgraded version of Windows (Mango) when typing the name of a song, this name will also be searched on the Internet through Bing's search Engine. As a result, the user will be able to collect information regarding the song, the band, the year of release, reviews etc.

Other 'superior' Apps are also included. Such applications help the user create e-mail contact groups, pin specific mail folders on the main screen so that the user is always connected to their e-mail account, GPS and navigation applications, smart browsing and link RSS feeds to their main screen.

In the end, according to the tests, Windows 7 phone 'Mango' has really been a quite nice ugrade to Microsoft's phone software. Microsoft engineers have surely pinpointed some of the problems of the older version (such as multitasking) and have made quite good work dealing with them. Cleraly Microsoft has taken a promising step to catch up with the popularity that Android and iOS have received.

Of course, the main test for Windows Mango will be in Autumn when it is planned to be released for all Microsoft 7 Phone users. Will Mango be a challenging rival for its competitors? Rumors tend to give a positive answer to this question...