RIP Windows XP: Why now is the time to say goodbye

OPINION: After years of grave warnings from Microsoft about the dangers of using out of support Windows XP, I've decided to throw caution to the wind and keep using it.

The 12-year-old OS may have entered end of life on Tuesday 8 April, but I'm happy to report my machine hasn't exploded, burst into flames or stopped working since then. So, I've no reason to stop.

Granted, my personal device of choice a decrepit Fujitsu Lifebook with an impressive 40 minutes of battery life now takes around three days to boot up, but it still does what I need it to.

And, by that, I mean play classic games such as Theme Hospital and Sim City 4 without repeatedly crashing to the desktop. The same cannot be said for Windows 7 or, dare I say it, Vista.

Business time

For similar (but one assumes, more sensible) reasons, companies around the world have had to stick with Windows XP longer than they'd like, because the software they need to do business isn't compatible with newer operating systems.

Then there's the expense involved with carrying out a company-wide migration from Windows XP to a newer OS, which may include new systems, training costs and third-party application refreshes.

As long as the system continues to do what's needed, albeit probably not quite as fast as they'd like, where's the incentive to upgrade?

Well, how about the gaping security holes the cessation of extended support and patches are likely to bring?