Microsoft should do some research before decreeing that the latest browsers and updates will only work with Windows XP and Windows 2003 server - a recent study by AssetMetrix Research Labs has shown that Windows 2000 currently holds a desktop share of 48 percent, and that the OS has only dropped in business use by 4 percent since the 1st quarter of 2003. Perhaps if Microsoft stopped and looked at the scale of the remaining Windows 2000 users, they might try harder to make innovations like IE 7 work on the now aging OS.

Windows 2000 is officially moving to extended - read subscription - support this month. This means that after June of this year, Windows 2000 users will no longer be eligible for hotfixes and security updates unless they join Microsoft's extended support plan.

"The sky won't fall when Extended Support goes into effect," managing director of AssetMetrix Research Labs Steve O'Halloran told Information Week, "but it should be a wake-up call to companies with continued investments in Windows 2000. You've got five years to figure out how to transition, and like everything, it's going to sneak up on you if you're not careful."