but ms CANT do that, they would and will be sued if they fail to support xp, they can EOL sales, but buisness relys on extended support(support after sales end) check how long 2k or nt4 where supported after they where outmoded.
fact is ms HAS to support their older os's, if they dont large businesses that rely on that support will sue, then they will leave ms for unix/linux or mac, thats basic business, if you piss off your customer base, you dont have a customer base.
ms has more then enought $ to support xp+vista+develop windows 7, yes in the short term it will cost them $ but in the long run it makes them $, and i dont see ms as being quite so short sited as to shoot themselved in the nuts with a shotgun by dumping xp support.
there are alot of businesses that CANT move to vista, they use apps that WILL NOT WORK ON VISTA or hardware that WILL NOT WORK ON VISTA, many of those apps are custom apps that do not have upgraded versions OR if they have upgraded versions they arent compatable with backups/saves from older versions(more common then you would think, mostly done when a company also wants to sell their services converting a database for those who upgrade)
if they dumped xp support, those clients would use xp till they couldnt use it anymore, as they looked for alternitives.
for example a local money management company around here recently started the move to linux, they are using WINE to run their old account management software, vista WOULDNT run it, and the company that made the softwares been out of buisness for years, it would cost alot to replace a system thats still plenty powerfull for what they do, so insted they asked some experts what they could do, a few options like keep xp and buy more licences and install it on the new systems you buy then pay for extended support after the support period from ms has officialy ended came up, BUT one of them said, why not try running your program in wine, it worked, a little tweaking and it worked flawless, now they have a custom build that they are slowly replacing windows with, its based on slackware's latist build, has all the apps they need built into the disk, oh yeah, and it will run smooth as silk on their current systems, so no need to upgrade old boxes.
oh and yes vmware/virtual pc was considered, but the cost of vmware was restrictive and virtual pc wasnt reliable with it, cant remmber then name of the program they use, but it was made for them spicificly by a software firm that nolonger excists( they closed down and where bought up by another company like 4-5 years ago)
ms lost their buisness because they wouldnt sell them a large number of xp VLK's, the ms rep kept pushing them to move to vista because it was better, he didnt listen when they flat out told him and showed him that the app they use WILL NOT RUN ON VISTA, he insisted they needed to use vista.....
as in any buisness, if you dont listen to your customers, you loose them.......well other then the oil industry and tabaco, those 2 industrys can do whatever they want and people will keep buying.......