Windows XP Turns 20 Today And 0.59% Users Are Still Running It

It was on October 25, 2001, when Microsoft’s adored OS named Windows XP officially landed at the retail stores. This was the year that Windows was released on round discs with shiny edges which are very rare nowadays. XP is one of the most well-loved and famous versions of the Microsoft operating system.

The OS was codenamed Whistler, Windows XP came out with a completely redesigned UI with drop shadows, as well as new visual styles that surpassed the Windows 2000 and Windows Me operating systems. The OS was part of the Windows NT family and the “XP” stood for “eXperience. Additionally, the famous Bliss wallpaper that was actually a photo that was taken by Charles O’Rear, was another highlight that was added to Windows XP.

Before the official launch, Microsoft also released an unofficial version of XP that came with a Watercooler shell, to conceal the actual cake it was to provide. The actual XP was available as Home as well as Pro editions, as well as Starter as well as Media Center editions for specific applications.

However, 20 years later, the latest data from Statcounter indicate that 0.59 percent of all Windows PCs are operating under the old Windows XP. While reminiscing about the past is an option, we should not forget that OS ended its service in 2009 and was given extended support for a fee until 2014.

That’s right that any computer with Windows XP is prone to unwelcome attacks. Not just ordinary users, but it could be an old ATM machine that is still running XP. We won’t ruin the spectacle here. Talking about XP it continues to receive updates to its software in the form of service packs. Windows XP SP3 came out in May 2008 to general users.

Service Packs were a type of cumulative update, which contained various updates and patches for security specifically for OS. It was required to be downloaded in a sequential way since it wasn’t an entire OS configuration, so it was impossible to download the most recent service pack and start the ball going.

Microsoft’s Windows XP successor Vista was released in 2006 and was followed with Windows 7 a year later. Windows Vista was one of the most devastating failures Microsoft had ever witnessed. However, XP remains a favorite of many and will live on in our memory as well as our computers.