Since most of the writers and editors at The Stranger appear to use Mac, you may not have noticed that Microsoft abandoned millions of Windows XP users yesterday and left them a link to an extortion letter on their desktop.

Microsoft gave its victims three options.

1. Pay for a new version of Windows 8.1 and Office 2013 and try to upgrade your existing machine. Of course, since neither piece of software was designed to run on Windows XP machines, you shouldn't expect good performance or anything resembling a responsive operating system.

2. Buy a new computer with Windows 8.1 and Office 2013 already installed. Don't you have $500-$2,000 burning a hole in your pocket?

3. Keep using Windows XP until it gets hacked to bits or simply fails. Good luck, suckers!

If GM or Toyota had offered this type of response instead of a recall of their flawed vehicles, they would be facing a lawsuit and a government investigation. Imagine being told by the dealership with a grin on their face that you simply have to buy a new car, buy a new engine that may not fit or work in your car or keep driving the recalled car that you bought from them until it gives out or blows up on you.

Microsoft could have offered an annual license for a reasonable amount (say $20) to continue supporting Windows XP. With millions and millions of Windows XP users they would be making a profit even at that price.

It did not.

Microsoft could have released its abandoned operating system to an open source foundation to be maintained for the millions of Windows XP users.

It did not.

Apple's latest upgrade to Mac OS X was free, and the previous upgrade to Mac OS X was only $20. Apple continues to provide support for all Mac OS X users. If you have an older version of Apple's office suite called iWork, they still support it. If you want to upgrade your office applications to the newest version, it will cost you $20 for each app.

If Apple can do it, Microsoft can too.

Next week, Ubuntu, one of the most popular versions of the Linux OS, will release their newest version of the operating system. It comes bundled with LibreOffice, which unlike Microsoft Office 2013, is actually fully compatible with ALL versions of Office from 2003 forward. Microsoft has abandoned all Office 2003 users. Ubuntu also comes bundled with Mozilla's Firefox (internet browser) and Thunderbird (email client), and it offers thousands of other apps to install and use with a simple point and click.

Ubuntu is free, always has been and always will be. LibreOffice is free. Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird - both free. All of these open source apps that you can install on Ubuntu are available in free versions.

And, unlike Windows 8.1, Ubuntu will actually install and run on your old Windows XP machine; there's even a "light" version of Ubuntu that will run on really old Windows XP machines. Microsoft's solutions for those customers - NOTHING.

Microsoft could have, should have released the Windows XP operating system to the open source community. It is abandoning it and has no intention of using it as part of Windows 8.1 or newer versions of Windows...ever.

So, if you're feeling abandoned, dumped and extorted, there's an easy solution - Stop Using Microsoft.

If you can afford to purchase a new computer, take a look at Apple Mac or Google Chromebook.

If you can't afford to buy a new computer, upgrade to Ubuntu. The new version will be released next week - that's right next week. It's fast, easy, stable and secure. It's free as always, and no one gets abandoned by Ubuntu's community.

Microsoft said its goodbye; so, let it go. You're going to be so much happier without them.

@3

HA!

Tell that to all of the IT guys and network specialists who've been working overtime for the last several days fixing this mess.

Sure, the solution is simple, but when you multiply it over millions and millions and millions of servers, clients and applications, it's one helluva slog.

What, exactly, would constitute a "big deal" in your view? Just curious.

@18

Apparently, you're a well-kept cat with deep pockets, but the reality remains that millions and millions of people with perfectly good hardware that they purchased with arguably what remains an acceptable operating system simply do not have the financial resources to pay for the two upgrade paths that Microsoft has now forced upon them.

By the way, Microsoft didn't extend the end of support for Windows XP out of the kindness of its heart. It did so because it was forced by its hardware partners to keep selling it when Vista turned out to be a complete failure. In other words Microsoft sold Windows XP longer than any version; so, it has had to support it longer.

Reality, puss. You can run, but you can't hide from it.

We're not talking about a fraction of a percentage point of the marketplace like older Macs or Linux machines. Windows XP still - right now, today - has more users than Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Mac OS X combined...COMBINED.

We're talking about 27% of ALL Windows computers. We're talking about 44% of ALL desktop computers. We're talking about millions and millions of computers and users.

Abandoned.

And, many of them have no real options because they don't fit in that middle-class sweet spot of Microsoft's demographic business model.

That's reality, Schmucky, even if it's not your reality.

Microsoft could have continued support for Windows XP with a special, annual license for these customers.

Even though it could have made them hundreds of millions of dollars, Microsoft decided not to do it.

Why?

Microsoft could have placed Windows XP into the hands of an open source foundation that would have continued support for this product until it aged naturally out of use.

Microsoft has not done so. Why?

The movement to encourage Microsoft to make Windows XP open source in the same manner as they have done with .Net is still being promoted to them, without much progress.

Microsoft's resisting making its second most-popular operating system open source, but it has no problem just killing it off.

Why?

Why wouldn't Microsoft make Windows XP open source?

What do they have to gain by keeping it under lock and key when they've abandoned Windows XP?

Since Windows XP is no longer part of Microsoft's future development plans for Windows 8.1 and beyond, one has to wonder why they would rather keep it under lock and key while leaving millions upon millions of users with an unsupported operating system unless, of course, they have an ulterior motive.

Hmm, I wonder what the motive is?

Windows XP has not died a natural death; it did not slowly go extinct as users moved away from it. It's still very much alive and surprisingly well.

Microsoft forced Windows XP into obsolescence because it has the power as a monopoly to do so.

Computers are no longer simply a luxury or toy in our society. Just like the phone became essential to life and work in America, the computer has become a necessity. If you don't have one of some kind or, at least, have access to one, life and work become very challenging.

With so many people being negatively impacted by this decision, it may be time for the government to step into the situation and "help" Microsoft to do the right thing - make Windows XP open source or continue support for it, even at a fair price, until Windows XP shrinks considerably in market share...hell, at least until it is smaller in market share than Windows 8/8.1.

If you want to purr your ass up against the billionaire and millionaire bottoms of Seattle, Bellevue and Redmond as their personal apologists, feel free, Schmucky. You'll please forgive me, though, if I don't want to wallow in that overflowing littebox with you.