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‘Opening’ a Window: Microsoft has launched a small business assurance site that offers free handholding for Vista users. The service is being tried out in the US before global roll-out.

Anand Parthasarathy

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Bangalore, July 10 It’s like one of those ‘last reel’ reprieves where a rider arrives galloping, on a sweaty horse, and flourishes a pardon, even as the noose is being placed on an innocent victim’s neck.

Microsoft, which signed the death warrant for its popular PC operating system Windows XP, told a Worldwide Partner Conference on Wednesday that it had decided to bow to popular demand and would continue to offer technical support for XP, including updates and patches, right up to 2014. However, it has stopped selling XP proactively after July 1.

To persuade corporate users to switch to its new operating system, Vista, Microsoft has created what it calls the “Windows Vista Small Business Assurance” site ( http://www.microsoft.com/windows/assurance/default.mspx), replete with case studies of small enterprises which made the switch. It promises free support till end October, for new machines bought with Vista, but the service is being initially tested in the US only.

In what must be the ultimate irony — and a small triumph for customers and corporates who have been saying that XP still works for them — the FAQ (frequently asked questions) section of the site also promises help with ‘downgrading’ the Vista that comes with a new PC purchase, if the customer wants to revert to XP.

Vista was introduced in February 2007, but many buyers were challenged by the better hardware specification it demanded — and the need to search for new drivers that would make existing peripherals, such as printers and DVD drives, work with the new operating system.

The small business site is linked to a new ‘Windows Vista Compatibility Centre’, where one can test if one’s PC will work with Vista; but till late on Thursday, this was not yet ready.

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