By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews

The iPod had its 5th birthday earlier this week, but there’s another 5th birthday as well. This week, Windows XP turns five. And despite its maligned image, especially security-wise. there’s no denying it was a major step up from Windows NT, 2000 and 98 / Me.

For a child, one’s fifth birthday is an exciting time, full of precious moments and limitless promise. For an operating system, coming up to one’s fifth birthday is a different matter entirely. By the time they reach this milestone, most operating systems have long since been retired or replaced by the Next Big Thing, often an updated version of themselves. For Windows XP, which is celebrating its fifth birthday this week, the big question is this: why has it taken so long for Microsoft to come up with a successor? Source: Ars Technica

We Say: Yes, the big question is certainly what’s taken Vista so long. But the fact that we are still using XP and still using it well shows it had some good technology underneath the covers. Will Vista prove a compelling upgrade, or will people continue to use XP as long as possible? Time will tell.