Windows XP Turning into the Modern Day Ham Radio

With only two weeks to go before Windows XP support is dropped by Microsoft, there are many still clinging to the 13 year old operating system. There are various reasons why Windows XP is still in use today, some of them good, but most are not.

Windows XP is starting to remind me of those die-hard Ham Radio operators that mole away in dark, dingy basements, trying to feather-tune a recipient on the other side of the world while eating meat from a can. Over the years, entire community ecosystems have grown up around Ham Radio enthusiasts. They have their own events where they congregate in hundreds (once thousands) to talk shop, share tips, and offload spare parts to keep the community flame burning. RadioShack has become their crack-house, supplying the bits and pieces, soldered together to keep the hobby alive. And, truly RadioShack employees are about the only people left on the planet that can speak their language. The store has become a sort of coffee house for Hammies, where they can go to just mill about, loiter, and chat on any given day.

So, is this the future of Windows XP? How long do you think it will be before old computers running the aged operating system will be relegated to sitting right beside the Ham Radio station in the depths of the house – and just opposite to that old Amiga computer?

Unless you want to be one of those modern day Windows XP operators, searching for your own RadioShack and eating Spam from its original container, maybe it's time to focus on what you could gain that has been introduced since the advent of Windows XP, instead of concentrating on what you might be losing. There's a whole new world out there, supplying big dreams and big business through advanced technology that is more secure and more trustworthy.

10-4, good buddy?

Microsoft has put together the following Infographic to help remind us just how far we've come in a very short amount of time.

Compiled By: Microsoft