All You Win XP Stragglers

[burlmart]

Well, there are still about 30% of ALL PCs on the planet still running XP despite constant warnings from MS to dump it by this April 8, after which there will no longer be OS patches or other update support.


Two days back, all the reporters said that MS would also quit providing free antivirus protection for XP thru its Microsoft Security Essentials software. Today, we read they will provide it until July, 2015.

Just wondering how many fellow XP hanger-oners like me w/ plan to keep using XP? What special extra things will you be doing after April 8. I will run a complete Malwarebytes scan every week, or so.

I tried several free AV programs like AVG, Avast, and Comodo, but just find them too intrusive compared to MSE.

[1775]

burlmart wrote:
Two of the latest comments from MS's Paulus article I kinked to earlier.

****
It's always the money!

"When we talk to customers we get a few different reasons why they don't migrate — a lot of it has to do with money. People don't want to move if they don't have to," he said.

Of course, it's only good business to avoid expense where it's not required. If XP is doing the job, let it continue to do the job. Heck, if you're still running Wordstar and Lotus 123 and it's working for you, stick with it.

However, the disingenuous nature of this is that big corps can still buy support and update. For Microsoft to offer these means that the crews who find and stomp out bugs, etc., are still around and doing their thing. If they are, and they're creating fixes for these bugs, then Microsoft should share them with the entire user base. I would think they open themselves up to huge liability if there's a bug fix available but they refuse to distribute it.


****
XP's x-it

This is not just about better OSs, but more about MS wanting to make more money, having squeezed every cent from its then-current system.
If something works well, leave it alone (something that often drives companies to look "retro" lately); the no-change option is now becoming more acceptable, thankfully. It's not always clever to change, especially if it's just for the sake of kudos/image/whatever!
Instead of waving XP goodbye, MS should revert to its active support immediately. It's about maintaining OSs with compatible hardware.
So, Jay Paulus, I'm not getting rid of my little Toshiba NB-100 just because of your flawed management technique.
Ever heard of preservation and conservation? It's an environment thing...

X2!

I have a pc, a laptop, and a netbook that all work well with XP but don't have the capacity to upgrade. I am not going to throw away those functioning computers because MS decided to write memory and drive hog OS replacements.

[burlmart]

Not a lot of luv from IT techs, I guess, for sticking w/ a strong and durable XP asset.

But, when it is time to swap out W7 for something else in 6+(??) years...will OS/IT specialists even be relevan?

[burlmart]

Two of the latest comments from MS's Paulus article I kinked to earlier.

****
It's always the money!

"When we talk to customers we get a few different reasons why they don't migrate — a lot of it has to do with money. People don't want to move if they don't have to," he said.

Of course, it's only good business to avoid expense where it's not required. If XP is doing the job, let it continue to do the job. Heck, if you're still running Wordstar and Lotus 123 and it's working for you, stick with it.

However, the disingenuous nature of this is that big corps can still buy support and update. For Microsoft to offer these means that the crews who find and stomp out bugs, etc., are still around and doing their thing. If they are, and they're creating fixes for these bugs, then Microsoft should share them with the entire user base. I would think they open themselves up to huge liability if there's a bug fix available but they refuse to distribute it.


****
XP's x-it

This is not just about better OSs, but more about MS wanting to make more money, having squeezed every cent from its then-current system.
If something works well, leave it alone (something that often drives companies to look "retro" lately); the no-change option is now becoming more acceptable, thankfully. It's not always clever to change, especially if it's just for the sake of kudos/image/whatever!
Instead of waving XP goodbye, MS should revert to its active support immediately. It's about maintaining OSs with compatible hardware.
So, Jay Paulus, I'm not getting rid of my little Toshiba NB-100 just because of your flawed management technique.
Ever heard of preservation and conservation? It's an environment thing...

[burlmart]

Chris, that is an eye-opener. 85% still XP on the ATM.



Look at this, guys.

In light of all that is going on, what is being said by pundits and serious users, and especially in light of all the hot and cold signals MS itself is leaking about XP, W7, W8.1, and W9...I am a long-time loyal MS customer whose patience is being tried to the limit. (Tremble Redmond!).

Knowing what the author of this propoganda knows... could you go home, field a phone call from your son or daughter or relative who uses XP for light duty use, and urge them, as Paulus does, to dump the useful and safe XP OS??

I do not suffer fools well, and I loathe hypoctracy, especially when it is just to keep oneself safe in an over-paid job - or an ignorant administrator securing their position within the in-crowd (the "inner Ring" of C. S. Lewis)...

Anyone following the blather coming from Redmond these days has got to be nauseated.

[Chris_Bryant]

Another point about XP- 95% of the automated teller machines run XP.
If that doesn't give you the warm and fuzzies, I don't know what will 😛

[burlmart]

This and similar articles are going around about the staying power of XP - maybe its detractors could term it XP's roachlike nature.

Of course, there are also a lot of leaked stories about MS dropping the Metro-as-default as soon as next month. I guess it is actually the case of the roachlike Windows desktop.


The best stuff is often read in the comments boxes of such articles. A few interesting points I found:

* Percentages of various OSs in use cited are for all OSs observed on the internet, but how many more XPs have been given other jobs, like dental video monitors, etc. over the last 13 years,

* and, by comparison, how many such offline workhorse functions has industry ever bothered to replace (or will ever) w/ the newer W7/W8 machines

* While XP is 29% of all computers on world wide web, that actually makes it 1 in 3 (33%) of Windows OSs

* One commenter says he cannot get his hands on XP equipment for his clients' operations. He says as soon as he finds one, someone has already beat him to it. Anyone else hear of XP hoarding?

[drsteve]

mlts22 wrote:
I saw this post as a workaround. Kludgy, but the utility mentioned that does this functionality doesn't seem too bad. I wish Classic Shell would bundle this item in it for the long term though.

Yes, I read that thread previously. I managed to finally delete my home network from the machine so I could correct the password error that prevented me from connecting. In previous Windows versions, making this change is trivial. No longer. And, Microsoft has seen fit to bury these functions even more deeply in 8.1. Managing wireless network settings is no longer the realm of IT pros and computer nerds. Average users need to be able to do this stuff without dropping to a command prompt, or searching the internet for third party utilities and workarounds. MS dropped the ball big time. I only hope they remedy this in Win 9, which will be out by the end of the year.

[burlmart]

This article is about a 3 y/o ipad and how its owner is being forced to look at spending $600+ to keep using the latest apps. Very many interesting themes related to this XP 'obsolence' thread.

I felt the same way he did when our 9 y/o DOS Kaypro and its peripherals had to go, and again when our 7 y/o Win 95 Gateway and its stuff had to be replaced w/ our (now my) 9+ y/o XP Hewlett P and all new peripherals (incl. what is now its 3rd monitor). In each case roughly $1200 was initial cost (maybe more for Kaypro) - all were mid-level equip.

I was reluctant to upgrade, but saw no choice in the 1st 2 cases. The software improvements required hardware improvements in prior cases, but very little for the current HP (an extra gig of RAM, a camera, a wifi adapter, etc).

Apple w/ its ipad seems better able to force an upgrade than MS w/r an XP PC. I could get a new Dell desktop w/ W8 for $300 and be good for a decade, but if Apple is able to keep its pricing and 3 year obsolescence going, the apple user would be spending over 5 times as much in a decade.

Not sure what to make of all this.

[mlts22]

drsteve wrote:
One glaring issue with Win 8 is the removal of the ability to easily adjust/change/delete wi-fi networks. If you aren't in range or connected to a particular network, you can't do anything through the GUI, period. MS support has you go to the command line(!), and that doesn't always work either. Had I known about this pathetic, and apparently deliberate, omission, I'd never have purchased a Win 8 machine. Microsoft hates their customers.

I saw this post as a workaround. Kludgy, but the utility mentioned that does this functionality doesn't seem too bad. I wish Classic Shell would bundle this item in it for the long term though.

[drsteve]

One glaring issue with Win 8 is the removal of the ability to easily adjust/change/delete wi-fi networks. If you aren't in range or connected to a particular network, you can't do anything through the GUI, period. MS support has you go to the command line(!), and that doesn't always work either. Had I known about this pathetic, and apparently deliberate, omission, I'd never have purchased a Win 8 machine. Microsoft hates their customers.

[mlts22]

I've booted Windows Server 2012 R2 (functionally identical to Windows 8.1) on a laptop with SSD in less than three seconds from the maker logo to the login screen.

If you don't have Hyper-V, Oracle has VirtualBox as a no-charge download that does similar functionality.

[strollin]

1775 wrote:
... I also like that the Pro and Ultimate versions of 7 come with XP built in on a virtual machine allowing the installation and correct operation of just about every software package out there. Win 8 eliminated this. ...

Win 8 Pro does include Hyper-V which is a virtual machine server but unfortunately does not include the licensed copy of XP as Win 7 did. If you have your own copy of XP, you could use it to setup a VM running XP on Win 8 and have similar capabilities of XP mode from Win 7.

[camperforlife]

burlmart wrote:
Not meant to challenge anyone, but aside from having a slightly different set of menus to learn and a few minor novelties to experience -- if your XP hardware is/was doing well -- what does W7 and W8 (if you stay focused on desktop) offer as bonus.

I can see if you were into the Vista flashy aero and widget thing that that was a lure, or if you are into the metro tile apps in the MS store for W8.x

But otherwise, the XP, 7, and 8 desktops are pretty much the same, right?

What I like about Win 8.1 is that I often have multiple windows open and I can go between each faster and multiple ways. I often work standing up between two workstations and I can tilt the screen and use the touch screen rather than sit down and use the mouse. I also need to work off schematics and again the ability to use the touch feature and easily zoom on a schematic is wonderful.

As I stated before we have not had any issues in the office adjusting and a couple others have upgraded their home systems after using the 8 machines at work. When upgrading we did have 1 Konica/Minolta color laser printer that wasn't compatible but everything else was seamless.

If I had a home unit that wasn't connected to the internet or didn't use it for banking etc I probably wouldn't spend the money to upgrade. For us, we needed to upgrade so I spent and hour and a half at the Microsoft store being educated on Win 8. It was time well spent and took the fear factor away. Those of us who use a smart phone daily, the new system is a pretty natural step.

[burlmart]

Good thoughts and from what I am learning, you have an accurate assessment of MS.

With passive consumption vs active production/creation increasingly the way the avg consumer uses a device w/ a cpu, the desktop 'netaphor' has decreasing relevance outside corpoeate cubicles.

[1775]

burlmart wrote:
Not meant to challenge anyone, but aside from having a slightly different set of menus to learn and a few minor novelties to experience -- if your XP hardware is/was doing well -- what does W7 and W8 (if you stay focused on desktop) offer as bonus.

I can see if you were into the Vista flashy aero and widget thing that that was a lure, or if you are into the metro tile apps in the MS store for W8.x

But otherwise, the XP, 7, and 8 desktops are pretty much the same, right?

There are differences but that does not matter if one of these suits your purposes. Win 7 boots faster than Win XP. Win 8 is supposed to boot faster than Win 7. I like XP and I like 7. I also like that the Pro and Ultimate versions of 7 come with XP built in on a virtual machine allowing the installation and correct operation of just about every software package out there. Win 8 eliminated this. Win 7 does support some advances in hardware that may or may not be necessary depending upon what you use your computer for.

If it works and one likes it, don't change it. Microsoft is recognizing this now too - and too late since PC sales are plummeting and not because of Tablets - because of Win 8 and the decline coincides with the release of Win 8. They will be increasing their support of XP and they will hold on to Win 7 for a good long time - since many businesses will not move to 8.