Windows XP is the most widely used operating system in the world. It seems a bit strange that Microsoft is ending general support of its most widely used product.
Microsoft is ending support for Windows XP on 14 April 2009, more than seven years after the operating system originally shipped. While the company says it will continue to provide free security fixes for XP until 2014, any future bugs found in the platform will not be fixed unless customers pay.
After April 14, customers will need an extended support contract with Microsoft or one of its channel partners to address any issues not related to security. With a platform as mature as XP, this is unlikely to be an issue for very many people. Most of the bugs in Windows XP have already been identified and either fixed or workarounds provided.
If you use Windows XP, there is no need to move off that system immediately.
