People and institutions are evolving technologically but the U.S navy has decided to stick to old school ways. Microsoft launched Windows 10 and later released the improvements in Windows 10 mobile which marks a great milestone in technology. The US navy for 14 years has been using Windows XP. The US Navy spends $9 million every year to make sure that the Windows are given proper support by Microsoft.
Windows XP is no longer used by many people since Microsoft pulled their support and does not issue security updates to fix the software which entails that Companies and agencies that are still running XP have the option of paying Microsoft for continued Windows XP updates and an essential line of defense against hackers. In a statement, the Navy said it has a plan in place to upgrade its systems to a newer version of Windows. It expects to complete its upgrades by July 12, 2016.
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“The Navy relies on a number of legacy applications and programs that are reliant on legacy Windows products,” said Steven Davis, spokesman for Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command. “Until those applications and programs are modernized or phased out, this continuity of services is required to maintain operational effectiveness.”
Though Microsoft’s support for Windows XP ended in April 2014, the Navy didn’t issue its decision to upgrade its computers until Vice Admiral Ted Branch, deputy chief information officer for the Navy a memo on July 2014. In the memo, Branch required all of its PCs to be upgraded to Windows XP by April 30, 2015 — or apply for a waiver for computers and systems that couldn’t be updated by then.
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Davis said that all of the computers ashore have since been upgraded to a newer version of Windows. But the significant number of systems afloat, including ships, submarines and other vessels, have not yet been upgraded.
CNN reports that there’s a chance that it could take even longer for the U.S Navy to upgrade their Windows. That’s why the Navy’s contract with Microsoft contains options to extend the deal through June 8, 2017. That would raise the amount the Navy will pay for Windows XP support to nearly $31 million.
The total number of computers using Windows XP in the Navy is unknown but the $9 million given to Microsoft yearly clearly shows that most of the Navy’s computers run on Windows XP.
You will be surprised to find out that besides the U.S navy using Windows XP, major corporations and banks still have the software installed in some of their computers. NetMarketShare provides that44% of corporations still have Windows XP installed on at least one PC and nearly 15% of PCs are still running XP worldwide.
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