Microsoft isn't the only one who wants to tuck Windows XP under the rug, it seems. Support issues are among the biggest concerns for any major software vendor, and Mozilla is no exception to that. The Firefox developer has been looking at what it takes to support their popular browser on older operating systems, focusing in particular on Windows 2000 and Windows XP prior to Service Pack 3, and it looks like they may be ready to impose some minimum system requirements.
It isn't all cohesive at Mozilla as there are some dissenters. One of those is the Firefox director, who says that the majority of their users are running Windows XP, and there's no easy way to determine how many of them would be left behind if such a move was made. He did, however, admit that following the release of Windows 7, if enough XP users migrate they would consider dropping support for the aging XP operating system.
There's no immediate action coming from Mozilla, but it is an important topic nevertheless. As one of the most well known and popular products out there, Firefox plays a big part in many people's computing. Having only extended support from the OS vendor is one thing, but having none from your browser developer, when it is the most common entryway for any malicious activity, is another. If you are resistant to upgrading beyond Windows XP, would losing access to newer versions of programs be enough for you to reconsider?