Chinese government sticks with Windows XP over ‘expensive’ Windows 8

The Chinese government has said Windows 8 is too expensive to be used as a replacement to Windows XP and is instead looking to patch millions of machines running the ancient operating system despite support ending earlier this month.
According to a report on Chinese state news agency Xinhua, National Copyright Administration deputy director Yan Xiaohong said the government was aware of the security issues posed by the use of Windows XP and was considering its next step.
"Security problems could arise because of a lack of technical support after Microsoft stopped providing services, making computers with XP vulnerable to hackers," he said.
"The government is conducting appraisal of related security products and will promote use of such products to safeguard users' information security.”
While Microsoft is hoping firms will use the end of XP to move to a new platform, such as Windows 7 or Windows 8, or the new 8.1 Update release, Yan said the costs involved for purchasing new hardware to run the Window 8 software made this unfeasible.
"Windows 8 is fairly expensive and will increase government procurement costs," he said. Windows 8 costs the equivalent in China of $142, Xinhua noted.
Several governments have had to pay a heavy price for not upgrading their systems from Windows XP before the end-of-support deadline. The UK government struck a £5.5m deal with Microsoft for an additional year of support, while the Dutch government was also forced to make a similar agreement.