One freelance client insisted their studio automation unit doubled as their internet machine. With my fulltime gig supporting computers in 19 campus buildings among a variety of users it’s no wonder boxes get infected. It would have benefited M$ if they did the homework they did for Win 7 beforehand instead of giving people a bad experience with Vista. Windows XP has matured quite a bit in its lifetime and it’s no wonder many people stuck with it over Vista, especially given the mess it became. I echo the sentiments of Chuck, as long as the automation system is not connected to the outside world the end of support for XP is not as dire as some might suggest. I, for one, do not want my phone to start ringing on April 9th with a bunch of panicky managers talking about how unacceptable the situation is. If an automation system were to hacked and ruined completely, I do not think there are enough people left on most station’s payrolls to run an operation manually, even for a short period of time. Without a functioning automation system, most stations would be dead in the water. In radio station infrastructure, very few systems are as vital as the audio storage and automation system.
This situation has been described in several trade magazines as “A ticking time bomb,” or equally dire: “Microsoft urges customers up upgrade or face ruin.” Microsoft may be overstating the risks of remaining on XP, then again, they may not be. I know several radio clients have automation systems and office networks that run primarily Windows XP. Microsoft has already warned users that potential hackers could use security patches and updates for Windows 7/8 systems to scout for vulnerabilities in XP.
Many in the IT industry believe that after that date, hackers will attempt to break the popular operating system which has been in use for twelve years.Īpproximately one third of all Windows operating systems in use today are XP.
After April 8, 2014, Microsoft will no longer be updating the software and/or patching security holes.
It is time to plan and upgrade those machines running Windows XP.