Thats real world for you. MS is well aware of that. XP, extended support arrangements end in April 2014 (http://windows.microsoft.com/e... ). But not everyone can afford it. Though ATM its quite risky running it without support, but reality paints a different picture.
I would happily use XP pre-Service Pack 3 if there were no security risks attached to it. I still hate the ribbon interface too, but not much one can do. I wouldnt miss it.