Dropbox, at the end of Windows XP support

Dropbox has announced that he planned end of support on Windows XP in the next summer. An operation will be gradual and not sudden: from June 26 the desktop application for Windows XP will no longer be available for download on the official website, and from that date it will be possible to register a new account by systems running Windows XP. If the user has already logged-in on the service, the access will be maintained until 29 August.

The action of Dropbox is certainly not coercive, and does not force users of older operating system to leave the service without good justification. Windows XP was released in 2001, and after nearly 15 years is still used on a considerable number of personal computers, both for private individuals and companies. This does not mean that it is a secure operating system, as Microsoft itself has now ceased all support for two years.

Dropbox is forced to abandon XP for reasons of versatility. The company is preparing additional features to improve the performance and safety of the service, but to take advantage of these added users must use a newer operating system Windows XP. In short, the old operating system is becoming a kind of ballast for developers, and continue to have to consider is not always easy.

If you do not consider the Dropbox alerts course you do not lose the files stored on the service: in fact these are no longer accessible on machines running Windows XP or an earlier operating system. Access to non-Dropbox (and web site dedicated application) will still be possible, although not linked to the use of the application features will be available (such as automatic file backup).

In the first quarter of 2016. Windows XP is still installed on 11% of personal computers in circulation, but that does not mean that it's time to upgrade.