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Readers have spoken: No IE9 on XP is a mistake Microsoft will regret

Yikes! I think my inbox nearly melted from all the comments you've been sending me regarding Microsoft's decision not to release IE9 for the XP platform.
Written by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, Contributing Writer

Yikes! I think my inbox nearly melted from all the comments you've been sending me regarding Microsoft's decision not to release IE9 for the XP platform.

One thing's for sure, you Hardware 2.0 readers are a passionate lot, and a lot of you still use XP, and you're very attached to the aging OS. Those attached to XP don't like Vista and don't seem all that excited by Windows 7 either. You don't want to have to spend the money, you don't want to have to learn how to use a new OS, and you don't want to have to spend money unnecessarily ...

... but you want IE9 ...

Note: Over the past month, the stats for Hardware 2.0 show that Windows XP and Windows 7 visitors are neck-and-neck at 40% each. Worldwide, XP usage seems to be at around 66%.

Hey, I feel your pain. It sucks to have the door to cool new stuff slammed in your face (my first-generation iPod touch is perfectly functional but won't run the new iOS4 ... it sucks ...).

But XP is old. It was first released in 2001, and the last service pack was released nearly two and a half years ago. That's eons in the tech world. As much as we'd like things to last forever, it doesn't happen. XP users have had a good run, but time is ticking. It's still supported, but the day will come when support is switched off ... April 2014 ... it's not that far away ...

Note: I'm curious and somewhat intrigued by those who are sticking with XP "for now" but who are "planning" to switch to Linux once Microsoft "pulls the plug on XP." Hmmmm, really ... ? I'm doubtful to say the least.

If Microsoft was just arbitrarily choosing to lock out XP users for no real reason, I'd be the first to object. But this isn't the case here. Microsoft wants to add hardware acceleration to the browser, and to do that it has chosen to use Direct2D APIs, something that isn't available on XP. Many of you have expressed that this is a mistake that Microsoft will regret.

But like I said in my original post (and many of you ignored), just because you're using XP, and can't use IE9, that doesn't mean that you can't make use of a modern browser - Firefox, Chrome and Opera all continue to support XP ... for now ... that too will eventually change.

XP is waning, and those sticking with it will find themselves increasingly marginalized over the coming months.

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