Ken Fisher reports that XP Home Edition will no longer offer security dates after Dec 31, 2006.
Frankly, this is outrageous (especially because I bought Home Edition license 2 weeks ago). I don’t dispute Windows right to set term limits on their security updates. I object to their failure to disclose this fact to consumers. (Couldn’t they have put this on the outside of the box?)
The fact that MS chose not to disclose to consumers that you wouldn’t be entitled to Security Updates after one year is an example of a deceptive trade practice.
Also, if MS doesn’t extend their support, then I fault Dell/HP/Walmart and CompUSA for selling something which is an intrinsically defective product.
Update: Don’t miss the guidelines about how to make your hardware Vista-friendly.
Update #2: Apparently there’s a Service Pack 3 to XP Home for middle of 2007. That suggests that Home Edition security updates will last for quite a while. That site says:
“When a service pack is released, Microsoft will provide 12 months of support for the previous service pack.”
It’s now beginning to appear more like a problem clarifying dates and commitments than denying support. The lesson to be learned is that consumer editions of MS Windows may not be all they’re cracked up to be.
Maybe this won’t be much of a problem after all.