<p>After all these years, Windows XP is finally starting to fade away. The popular OS held strong against its first successor, the lackluster Windows Vista, and even proved remarkably resilient against the well-received Windows 7. But with 7 taking the lead on OS market share, and Windows 8 releasing in a little over a month, it seems like XP's time is drawing to a close at last.</p><p>Earlier this week Google Apps announced that they'll soon drop support for Internet Explorer 8, the most up-to-date version of Microsoft's web browser available on XP. After November 15, anyone trying to access Gmail, Google Calendar, or Google Docs/Drive from IE8 will see a message recommending that they upgrade their browser.</p><p>Since Internet Explorer 9 is only available on Windows 7, "upgrade" in this case really means "switch" to the latest versions of Google's Chrome browser, Firefox, or Safari. The only way to continue using those Google services with Internet Explorer will be to install an entirely new operating system.</p><p>Google Apps is leaving IE8 behind because of the rolling support policy they instituted last year. For each of the major browsers, Google Apps supports only the most current release and the one before it. When Internet Explorer 10 comes out alongside Windows 8 next month, IE9 will become the old release and IE8 will be pushed out the door.</p><p><a href="http://www.geek.com/articles/news/gmail-google-docs-and-more-dropping-support-for-ie8-this-year-20120918/">Keep reading...</a></p><p>Read also:</p><p><a href="http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/384786/20120916/google-internet-explorer8-apps-drive-gmail-support.htm">Google to Discontinue Google Apps Support on Internet Explorer 8</a> (IBTimes.co.uk)</p><p><a href="http://www.androidauthority.com/google-preparing-drop-google-apps-support-internet-explorer-8-115313/">Google preparing to drop Google Apps support for Internet Explorer 8</a> (Android Authority)</p><p><a href="http://www.zdnet.com/google-apps-pulls-plug-on-ie-8-windows-xp-left-out-in-the-cold-7000004305/">Google Apps pulls plug on IE 8: Windows XP left out in the cold</a> (ZDNet)</p><p>Explore: <a href="http://news.google.com/news/more?pz=1&ned=us&ncl=d6aAvBWorX7jztMn_7FQtuSUy7SgM">562 additional articles.</a></p>