Whatever you like Microsoft, or hate Microsoft, it is a good company. It is very profitable in the last 30 years. Whatever you like Windows XP, or hate Windows Xp, it is a good operating system. It helps many people to use computer, to change their life in the past 13 years.
You may argue that, in the past 30 years, there were already a lot of great computer operating systems, such as Unix, Sun Os, and Minix. Microsoft Windows XP was just one of them. However, if you live in America or Europe, your argument is valid, but what happened in some people who stay in some weak states?
Mainland China was in super poverty in about 30 years ago. At that time, everybody had to work in farms, and nobody had opportunity to study computer. Therefore, people at that time just did not know anything about other computer operating systems. My father was extremely lucky. When he was 18, he got into one of the most famous university in China -- Sun Yat-Sen University. In my father's university, there was only one computer. That computer did not have any operating system, and it used punched card.
My father knows that computer would change my life, so he purchased a 486 computer for me when I was about 3 or 5 year-old. This computer included a Windows 95 operating system originally. After a few years, father upgraded this computer, and installed a Windows XP system. And it just simply worked in next 13 years. Year after year, this computer had been upgraded several times, but the Windows XP was still there.
I feel very sorry about a fact. Most people in that country download pirate copy of Windows XP. They had never paid anything to Microsoft, because they were very poor and had lack of money to buy software. Windows XP was just a "free" software in China, and helped a lot of people to study computer, and to change their life. It was shame that people use illegal way to study new technology. It was much more shame that people had no way to study new technology if they follow the copyright law. It was sad that a company which I don't like just saved the world's most populated country in unknowingly.
We had no money to pay Windows XP in 13 years ago. When we have enough money, we have no opportunity to pay it. For many other people, the way to be responsible to the proprietary and commercial software fields is to buy a legal copy of some new products. For me, I will never have any opportunity. The only way I can do is to show my respect to this commercial company. When I introduce free software to others, I have to warn myself that, I cannot just blame any commercial company but show my respect.
When I was in an English school, I met a gentleman. He introduced GNU/Linux to me. I finally entered another new computer world. It is a real free world. It is not a pirate called "free", but the real free in freedom. The world is changing, and it will keep changing, and will never stop. People will move on, and will keep move on, and will never stop. However, it is the time to say goodbye to the old guy. Goodbye Microsoft Windows XP, and Thank You.
(Warning: This essay includes some names from some proprietary software companies, such as Microsoft, IBM, at&t, and Sun, and they cannot be licensed under GFDL. Use this essay at your own risk.)