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Ends of Windows XP support means decline of U.S. technology?

By Han Shasha (People's Daily Online)    19:35, April 10, 2014
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It’s the second day that Microsoft discontinued its support service for the almost 13-year-old Window XP operating system; however, no news about data leaks has been read while experts predict that black hats will breach the “nude” computers at the first minute when the company stops its service.

Because of its wide-range influence, the action has grabbed world’s attention, of course, including China. And the author has noticed one interesting comment, that is, Windows stopping its XP support service signifies the decline of the superpower which tried to lead the world in all aspects.

Is it true?

The reason for the company to its XP support service is popularly recognized that the operating system is so old that it needs upgrade. "It's an old operating system," said Tom Murphy, director of communications for Windows.

Launched in 2001, Windows XP was an important release which has been run on 30 percent of the personal computers in the world, excluding ATMs and other embedded systems. And more than 70 percent, or over 200 million Chinese users run the system. The iconic wallpaper “Bliss” may be the most recognizable picture in the world.

"Think of the cellphone you were using in the late '90s compared to what you see today. XP doesn't do the things we expect from our PCs or devices today," said Tom Murphy in an interview. Market is ruthless. Like an old man needs medical maintenance, the company has to spend large sum of money to fix all the patch holes.

Although it’s hard to find what the annual “surgery fee” for the XP is, it can be calculated with the “Custom Support” expense paid by the Netherlands and United Kingdom governments. The UK government was reported to pay 9.2 million US dollars for the one-year extension support service.

With the rise of Android and mobile Internet, XP is losing its technology landscape. But that’s not the sign of decline. It’s just innovation and upgrade. The death of one product, and even the death of one big company cannot not be considered as decline. As a superpower in the technology sector, the United States always refreshes itself with some old technology giants tumbling and new ones standing out. Its status is strengthened not by the monopoly control of long-lasting big companies but by continuous upgrade and innovation.

Recently, Bill Gates was quoted in Rolling Stone as saying “Innovation in California is at its absolute peak right now. Sure, half of the companies are silly, and you know two-thirds of them are going to go bankrupt, but the dozen or so ideas that emerge out of that are going to be really important…innovation is the real driver of progress.”

As many business starters say, the key lesson from Silicon Valley’s continued prominence as a global epicenter of creative output is that old products and companies are phased out and recycled into the framework for successful new products or companies.

(Editor:GaoYinan、Yao Chun)

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