Windows XP, support for the last version still alive is finished
On April 9, 2019 support for the latest official version of Windows XP that received security updates ended.
During the past week, Microsoft has ceased support for the latest version of Windows XP still alive, marking the end of the platform and a computer age. With its 17 years, 7 months and 16 days of activity, Windows XP was the longest running consumer operating system ever in terms of official support.
On April 9, 2019, Microsoft completed extended support on Windows Embedded POSReady 2009, an operating system based on Windows XP SP3. As you can easily deduce from the name, this is a release of the OS based on embedded Point of Service systems, not designed for traditional computers. The continuous support of the platform has allowed to receive security updates also on Windows XP SP3 Home and Professional through the use of a hack on the registry.
These last two versions of the operating system have reached the so-called EOL (End-of-Life) on April 8, 2014, while for the Windows Embedded versions of Point of Service SP3 and XP Embedded SP3 the end of the support has been two years later.
Microsoft has completed support for Windows Embedded Standard 2009 in January 2019, and on April 9th the time has come for the Embedded POSReady 2009 release, released in the last months of 2008, two years after Windows Vista.
Although Microsoft has definitively ended support for the platform, it is very likely that companies and end users will continue to use it in order to maintain compatibility with the software they have adopted to date.
After more than 17 and a half years, Windows XP is still used today by users, companies and organizations, albeit on a fairly limited number of systems. For those who need it, the advice is to use that system only offline and without connecting potentially dangerous peripherals.
Windows XP has contributed to giving the PC market the shape it has today and is attributable as a legend among operating systems also and above all because of its longevity. Even the legends have an end, and April 9, 2019. We can say that officially that is the date of death of the last official release of Windows XP.
