New idea envisions a modern version of Windows XP

May 14, 2018 07:44 GMT  ·  By

Windows XP was retired in April 2014, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that all users abandoned it the moment Microsoft released the last security updates.

In fact, XP continues to be one shockingly-popular Windows version these days, despite the risks of running a desktop platform that no longer receives patches from the parent company.

With that in mind, it’s no secret that many begged Microsoft to release a modern version of Windows XP and keep this OS alive, at the same time blasting the company for the modern approach that it embraced with the release of Windows 8.

It’s these people the ones that might enjoy this new concept published on YouTube recently, as it envisions an overhauled flavor of Windows XP that’s brought in line with the 2018 expectations.

Does a modern version of Windows XP make any sense?

The concept creator has envisioned on all kinds of modern implementations, starting with the overhauled Start menu, which is inspired from the one in Windows 10 and also uses live tiles, and ending with Timeline and a redesigned Mail app that pushes the Fluent Design language one step further.

There still are things to improve (or to give up on entirely), such as the implementation of Rover, the little animated dog that shows up in the Start menu when performing a search.

Windows XP is currently the fifth most popular desktop platform after Windows 7, 10, 8.1, and macOS 10.13. XP was running on 4.36% of the systems across the world last month, according to NetMarketShare data, while newer platforms like Windows 8 was far behind with just 1.12% share. Windows 8.1 wasn’t doing much better either with a share of 5.25%.

Windows XP received just a single update after EOL in April 2014. Microsoft rolled out an emergency security update last year in order to correct a flaw exploited by WannaCry ransomware, but all the other vulnerabilities that might exist in this OS version have remained unpatched.