Do we need a campaign to save XP?

I see that Infoworld has started a campaign to save XP. I'm sure the Linux world will feel a little wry about that one.
The XP-to-Vista transition is a pretty clear example of the way proprietary operatings fail users. Everyone is happy with XP, says Infoworld , and it's got plenty of life in it.
So, Infoworld asks, please can we keep it? The site is running a rather jolly Doomsday clock, a petition, and a blog at SaveXP.com.

Microsoft is pulling the plug (stopping selling XP) at the end of June, and resellers can only go on selling it till the end of 2008. But why is this, if demand is high? And what are the chances of "saving" XP?
Moving people on, is obviously in Microsoft's interest, as more new PCs, mean more profits (though we've seen elsewhere that in many circumstances, the familiar and trusted XP commands a higher price than most versions of Vista). Infoworld makes the parallel with windows Millennium edition (though the number of users and the amount of development cost was far smaller, in that case.
Unlike previous Windows versions, Microsoft could build a business model around keeping XP going more or less forever. It's got better copyright protection than previous versions, so XP users would be likely to have paid money that will reach Microsoft.
But fundamentally, Microsoft upgrade cycles don't fit well with what people want in PCs. In the early days of IT, new versions were necessary, because the technology changed rapidly and radically. If I remember rightly, I upgraded to Windows 95 so I could use a CD drive, moved on to Windows 2000 so I could use USB, and to XP for stability, roll-back and automatic online upgrades.
Now, new features can be added easily. A PC is like a VCR or a maybe a fridge, and I'd rather it stayed as stable as possible. I don't want to have to get a new VCR every year (though with writeable DVDs, Blu-Ray, and hard disks, htere's pressure to do so. We certainly don't want to replace our fridges.
It's extremely Ironic that, while killing it off for business users with one hand, Microsoft is thinking of allowing XP to live on the OLPC XO - a laptop which originally chose Linux to bail out of Microsoft's expensive upgrade cycles.
The challenge now is for Microsoft to create a model that actually delivers what users want, at a level of cost and disruption they are prepared to accept.
Linux - and the basic maturing of technology - has set this challenge, because finally, there are alternatives.

 

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