Intel, HP readying for the end of Windows XP

Microsoft may no longer be alone in wanting to see its 12-year-old computer operating system Windows XP go away.

At least two major tech companies—chipmaker Intel and device maker Hewlett Packard (HP)—are also preparing for the end of XP, tech site CNET reported.

CNET quoted HP CEO Meg Whitman as saying during the company’s earnings conference call last week that HP is leading the migration from XP.

“(W)e’re among the leaders in terms of spearheading that migration. We’ve been on this for well over a year, and it’s actually going pretty well,” CNET quoted her as saying.

For his part, Intel PC Client Group general manager Kirk Skaugen added support for XP will end in April 2014.

“(S)o we have confidence that the business refresh which typically comes with a hardware upgrade is heading our way…whether they move to Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 that’s a big change for business,” he said at an investor meeting.

However, moving on from XP may be quite a big task as XP still runs up to 31 percent of desktop computers, CNET cited data from Net Applications.

The data indicated Windows 7 has 46.64 percent of the OS market, followed by XP at 31.22 percent. Windows 8 has 6.66 percent while Vista has 3.57 percent, and Windows 8.1 has 2.64 percent.

Apple’s Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks has 2.42 percent while 10.8 or Mountain Lion has 1.85 percent. Other OSes command 4.98 percent of the OS pie. — TJD, GMA News