Microsoft was pinning its hopes on home PC users who were considering upgrading from Windows 98 or 95 but owned outdated PCs that were unable to house Windows XP, the company's local product manager for Windows XP, Paul Roweth, told ZDNet Australia.
The software giant hoped the recent release of several inexpensive Pentium 4 desktop modules would lure users of old machines into buying PCs that carried Windows XP, he said.
Windows XP's October 25 launch date almost coincides with the termination of Windows 95 product support, scheduled for December this year. Users who seek product support for Windows 95 after December will need to set up individual arrangements within Microsoft's OEM (original equipment manufacturer) distribution channels.
The termination of Windows 95 support could encourage a significant proportion of users into upgrading their operating systems, Roweth said.
Roweth defended Microsoft's decision to release the corporate edition of Windows XP, Windows XP Professional, when only an estimated 50 percent of Australian businesses had upgraded to its 18-month-old predecessor, Windows2000.
He believes many Australian businesses were uncertain about purchasing new software when Windows2000 was released, in February last year, due to concerns associated with Y2K.
-A lot of companies were looking at re-evaluating their desktops in the next year," he said.
He admitted that businesses already running Windows2000 would not benefit from upgrading to XP unless they sought certain functions exclusive to Windows XP, he said.
-They will be a smaller percentage," he said.
Better to postpone upgrades to Windows XP if at all.