Bing Desktop 1.1 now features support for Windows XP

Dec 15, 2012 11:25 GMT  ·  By

We’ve already told you a few days ago that Microsoft has released a new version of Bing Desktop, but it’s not the update that makes us raise an eyebrow when looking at the app.

Among several other improvements, Bing Desktop 1.1 now comes with support for Windows XP, the 11-year old operating system that Microsoft wants to get rid of.

And the decision to roll out Windows XP support is even more awkward when taking into account that support for this particular OS contraption will end in less than 500 days, hence Microsoft’s desperate attempts to convince users to move to a newer Windows. Bing Desktop comes with a search bar and features to automatically replace your desktop wallpaper with the Bing home page background, but it also features support for most Windows versions, including Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8. And from now on, Windows XP.

Microsoft’s latest mission is to move all Windows XP users to Windows 8, although most of them will very likely choose Windows 7 thanks to a more familiar GUI.

“There are 100 million-plus Windows XP installations in the U.S. Time to refresh them to Windows 8,” Peter Han, vice president, Microsoft U.S. OEM Division, said at the Tech Data Channel Link in Orlando, Fla.

What’s more, Microsoft reminds users to dump Windows XP with every single occasion, emphasizing that an 11-year old operating system that doesn’t receive patches and updates isn’t a secure working environment anymore, despite its remarkable market share.

“We recommend that customers running computers with Windows XP take action and update or upgrade their PCs before the end-of-support date. If Windows XP is still being run in your environment and you feel that migration will not be complete by April 8, 2014, or you haven't begun migration yet, Microsoft is eager to help,” Microsoft said in a statement in October.