Hello,

This is official, the end of windows 2000 is coming. The SP4 will be the last SP for windows 2000, and a latest hotfix (all fix which has come since the SP4) will come on march 2005.

The free support will be abandonned on June 2005, and you'll have to pay for support from now on.

It makes me sad, since I trully like this O.S, and I've never be able to appreciate win XP. IMHO, win 2k is trully a stable and reliable O.S.

Even if longhorn is far (seems to come in 2007), MS have choosen to make win 2k an 'old O.S' from now on...

Things like this have to come, but I'll continue to use win2k until i can switch to stable 64 bits O.S.

Well, this post isn't very important and is not a big deal, but that's just a point of vue from a user which has discovered windows internals, sys coding and many features with this O.S...

Regards, Neitsa.

Then upgrade to Windows 2003

Server! it should be added, as there is no 2003 Professional.

Seriously, I think XP is better than 2000 Professional. But then, that's just me.

Have Phun.

It'll be extended, I bet, just like NT4 was. For anyone that's interested:

http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifewin

/shrug

XP is basically just 2000 with a face-lift. The core OS isn't really all that different, SP2 modifications not withstanding. With minimal effort, you can configure it to look and behave just like 2000 did. So I consider it largely moot for the desktop market.

On the business end, however, this seems incredibly assinine. I've got to agree with Silver on this one - they'll extend support. Since Microsoft can't meet their own deadlines with Longhorn, Windows 2000 server is only one version behind. Discontinuing support for it under the auspices of it being "too old" only underscores their own failure to release a newer version in a timely fashion.

The fact is that tons of businesses are still running primarily on Windows 2000 server. 2003 just wasn't a big enough of a difference to justify the cost of upgrading for most people. If they yank support in June, people will cry bloody murder. Plus, wasn't XP released in 2001? How would people react if MS announced they were discontinuing support for XP next year?

"BWHA_HA"!?

now is GOOD time for remember many_ones said phraze:

"W9x is dead OS, move to w2k"..
so wich will die first, that is yet question

See this for what it is, a marketing ploy by MS to see how the public will react.

Yes, I think 98 should be finished but, to even consider the other OS's to be on the verge of relegation is foolish.
ME and 2000 will probably be done by the end of 2005 when they finally release the next OS that is somewhat stable. Server 03 should be pretty much secure until they release something better. I also agree that 03 is no big deal. I had it and I dumped it to go back to plain 'ole 2000.

Now I have XP and I hate to say it but, bundled with this very commercial computer, I have no complaints.
And that is scary

Woodmann

There are tons of business still running NT4, and Microsoft know it. The upgrade path and timescale for the server market is moving too fast. Businesses won't take risks with untested and unproven technology, which means waiting for it to mature. By the time a sizeable amount of businesses have decided that the "latest" tech is now suitable and stable, half its lifecycle has passed.

Eventually Microsoft are going to hit massive resistance with their forced-upgrades policy.