It certainly looks like that is going to happen. There have been plenty of warnings that XP is soon to be abandoned, so if some people decide they are not going to avoid that problem then what can be done about it?.
It is probably in the same category as cigarette smoking, which has been recognised for years, but people still smoke regardless of the risk.

Not only have there been plenty of warnings, there has even been a reprieve. M$ should not be expected to support a product forever. After all, they are in the business to make money, not be a charity.

MS could potentially make a stack of money providing paid updates to subscribers.

If only 100M out of the 488M PCs are owned by businesses and they were willing to pay $10/month/PC, that would generate $1B/month.

I doubt it would cost MS anything like that to provide patches (i.e. 100,000 programmers @ $10K/month).

lehnerus2000 said:

MS could potentially make a stack of money providing paid updates to subscribers.

If only 100M out of the 488M PCs are owned by businesses and they were willing to pay $10/month/PC, that would generate $1B/month.

I doubt it would cost MS anything like that to provide patches (i.e. 100,000 programmers @ $10K/month).

And how many people do you think would actually pay that?

bberkey1 said:

...My main concern are those small businesses that still use XP. It will be unsettling knowing that if they have any sensitive information stored that they do so with an outdated program or places such as restaurants that you want to pay with credit card, but you do not realize they are using XP...

That's why I'm seriously considering starting to carry the debit card I use for internet only. I keep only the balance I expect to spend in it and it has no overdraft provision; if there is insufficient cash in the account, the transaction will be rejected. I always have a pretty fair idea how much I'm going to spend on that card before I use it and adding to the balance is easy online or I can always call it in if necessary as long as it's during business hours.

bberkey1 said:

My main concern are those small businesses that still use XP. It will be unsettling knowing that if they have any sensitive information stored that they do so with an outdated program or places such as restaurants that you want to pay with credit card, but you do not realize they are using XP.

Not only businesses but other places that have confidential data about you. I was at the hospital last week & I noticed they are still running XP on their PC's. Same thing at a doctors office I visited that same week. This makes for a scary situation.

But as stated, people have been warned that XP support will end. What they do is their choice...

lehnerus2000 said:

MS could potentially make a stack of money providing paid updates to subscribers.

If only 100M out of the 488M PCs are owned by businesses and they were willing to pay $10/month/PC, that would generate $1B/month.

I doubt it would cost MS anything like that to provide patches (i.e. 100,000 programmers @ $10K/month).

UK's CASH POINTS to MISS Windows XP withdrawal date ? The Register

Microsoft is charging users who want extended support for custom agreements $200 per PC in the first year of a contract, $400 in year two and $800 for year three.

Jim

Borg 386 said:

bberkey1 said:

My main concern are those small businesses that still use XP. It will be unsettling knowing that if they have any sensitive information stored that they do so with an outdated program or places such as restaurants that you want to pay with credit card, but you do not realize they are using XP.

Not only businesses but other places that have confidential data about you. I was at the hospital last week & I noticed they are still running XP on their PC's. Same thing at a doctors office I visited that same week. This makes for a scary situation.

But as stated, people have been warned that XP support will end. What they do is their choice...

Not when they have a responsibility to protect people's data.