Not for the person who has a million dollar instrument that is being controlled by specialty software that ONLY RUNS on a specific version of the Windows OS. This problem is currently only solvable by buying a new PC specifically built to run the older OS.
It has zip to do with "XP" or any other version. This would offer those customers a different way forward, and allow them use any modern hardware and still control their very expensive equipment.
And it would give them a major "leg up" over Apple, whose attitude toward backward compatibility has always been "tuff titty".
No actually there’s MANY way to solve the problem. First and foremost make the company that makes the software fix their damn software, there is simply no valid excuse for software to not be able to run on more current OSes than XP, Vista has been out 7 years they have more than enough time to behave like professionals. Another is VMs, Windows 7 Ultimate comes with XP VM free in the OS just turn it on no new licenses needed, plus there’s tons of other ways to run VMs of old OSes (really if you’ve got the disk and a license you can just go), if this specialty software won’t work in VM then again that company needs to act like professionals the VM revolution is older than Vista.
The customers already have a way forward. They’ve known this day is coming for the better part of a decade. George Bush was in the White House XP’s replacement was announced and the first EOL schedule came with it, a schedule that’s been pushed back. Anybody finding themselves between a rock and hardplace now PUT themselves there with years of not bothering to plan for their own future.