Save Windows XP?

Save Windows XP | InfoWorld

http://weblog.infoworld.com/save-xp/

There are many reasons businesses and individuals want to stick with XP, rather than replace it with Vista. Check out some of the reasons from InfoWorld's analyses and other sources.

This is something that is rather interesting. InfoWorld, one of the larger computer professional online (and formerly print) publications has launched SaveXP.com, a site that wants Microsoft to keep selling Windows XP. Currently, it is slated to go off sale on June 30, 2008. Their main mechanism is a petition.

Quite frankly, I question the efficacy of online petitions. But given the source (a major media outlet), and the fact that its successor, Vista, is so universally rejected, I have to wonder if this might not have legs. Clearly, Vista is the Windows ME of the NT line. To be honest, XP definitely is my favorite version since NT 4.0, and really the first to be both a high-end business solution and a gamer's system.

The question is, what can Microsoft do? I have seen three options, none of which sound that good:

1. Cut off XP sales on June 30, and force Vista. This is risky. I think consumers are more willing try try options (Linux, OS X (if buying a new system). Do they want to risk losing customers?
2. Release something new on June 30--either a service pack to Vista that addresses most of the concerns, or a new OS all together. I don't think they have anything in the pipe that could fill the vacuum, so a service pack would probably be the best they could do. But would it be too little too late?
3. Kill Vista, and continue to support XP. Then, a year or so from now, release something that does everything they wanted Vista to do, but fixing the deficiencies. But it would definitely be admitting defeat.