Windows XP is rapidly approaching the end of its life span as indicated by the following notices/events:
- Microsoft® will no longer offer updates to Windows XP as of April 2014 (source).
- The Microsoft® .NET Framework 4.5 is not compatible with Windows® XP (source). Some of our software component suppliers are moving to the .NET 4.5 framework and, as a result, we will not be able to install the applications we have developed using their components on a Windows XP system.
- Most new Intel® chipsets/motherboards either don’t support Windows XP or they are sold “as-is.” For as-is products, Windows XP may work depending on the availability of compatible device drivers. Intel will not provide support for systems if problems arise during installation/operation of Windows XP on an as-is system (source).
In response to the information outlined above, we will discontinue support for Windows XP with our software version 4.09.000, which is projected for release in August 2014. At that time, customers still using Windows XP will be able to purchase older versions of our controller software.
Many of you may already be aware of the diminishing hardware and software support for Windows XP and have a plan for moving forward. For others, we are issuing this advance notice in order to provide sufficient time to upgrade any affected Aerotech control systems or PC hardware and/or software.
For more information about the platforms supported by Aerotech’s controllers, please see our Operating System compatibility chart.
