Microsoft Offers $100 Discount To Customers Upgrading From Windows XP

Microsoft is offering major discounts on new computers as part of an attempt to persuade any of its customers still using Windows XP to upgrade to a newer system.

The company is offering customers $100 off the purchase of any new PC costing over $599 from the Microsoft Store from now until June 15, with the caveat that the new machine will have to be one running Windows 8. Surface tablets will also be available through this offer, however the latest Surface 2 tablets will not.

New buyers will also receive 90 days of free support and free data transfer from their old XP-powered PC. Customers also trade in an XP computer at any Microsoft retail store, where an employee will help them transfer their data on-site.

End of an era

Microsoft is ending support for Windows XP, which was originally announced in 2003, on 8 April. Following this date, any new security flaws which are discovered will not be patched, leaving users open to attack.

However, following a backlash from users, Microsoft has promised to provide a basic level of cyber security protection until July 2015, while a number of major Chinese IT firms have also said that they will provide some security support to their custoemrs  beyond 8 April.

Microsoft is also preparing to launcg Windows 8.1 next month, which will apparently include features designed to appease keyboard and mouse traditionalists, many of whom opposed the tile-based interface of Windows 8, which was designed with tablet and mobile devices also in mind.

In order to facilitate a smooth transition between the two operating systems, the company announced it was partnering with Laplink to offer a free data transfer tool for Windows XP users, which will allow them to copy files such as music, video, email and user profiles from an old machine to a new one.

It is estimated that a third of the world’s desktop PCs currently run Windows XP, meaning that the estimated cost for businesses upgrading to Windows 7 or 8 will be fairly sizeable, with the likelihood that many machines may not be updated at all.

How well do you know the history of Windows? Take our quiz!