The maker of jolly expensive printer ink, HP thinks that the coming demise of Windows XP may do what Windows 8 could not, and save the PC industry. Analysts told Computerworld that Windows 8 had hurt PC sales after users failed to embrace its interface redesign. IDC, in its most recent quarterly report, said PC shipments fell 14 per cent over the last year.

While a shift to mobile and increasing reliance on tablets may have played a role, Windows 8 was blamed for the historic decline. But HP officials seem to think that the upcoming update of Windows 8 was not as important as Redmond’s planned end of support next year for Windows XP.

At a press conference, HP officials flashed a slide that said, simply, "Goodbye XP, Hello HP." It saw that providing XP replacement systems could help sales more than Windows 8, particularly on the commercial side where 40 per cent to half of business users remain on XP systems.