JUst need to do some brain picking - survey about XP

Hi all! Yes, I know I've been away for a long while, but once in a while I do show my face here just to let you know I haven't gone through the smokestack of a locomotive yet - yes (just to put you into the picture and explain what I'm getting at - when I go, I have stipulated that I'm to be cremated and my ashes scattered in the firebox of one of few remain steam locomotives still operating in our country - fire is clean - no feeding the worms for me, thanks;;;

Anyway, I'm doing a bit of a survey. I'm on Win 7 (which I'm STILL trying to navigate my way through in many ways - in fact, I HATE it, and my son is threatening to upgrade me to 8 or 10 (I threatened to kill him if he does that - 7 is bad enough as it is - remember, I'm nearly 82 and trying to teach this dog old new tricks is an exercise in futility)

Now, I've read mails from some people that to date there was nothing to beat XP - which I loved and knew like the back of my hand. Why did M/Soft even scratch where there was no itch - and others agree with me. One guy argued that if you know where to look, you can still get upgrades for XP - son argues it was unstable but I - and my fellow-XP lovers agree it was THE most stable and reliable Win program ever designed.
Look, you'll all computer boffins on these forums, so if anyone can enlighten me a bit more regarding the pros and cons of Win XP I would love to rub this under Son's nose and maybe - just MAYBE let him know that I - and others of the same opinion - are right in this respect.

Thanks a stack!

 

Laura, can't remember at the moment where I recently read an article by an XP-fan, but he says upgrades ARE still available as long as you know WHERE to look. In fact, it was during this past week or so I read the article, but clean forgot to bookmark it. Yes, so typical of some firms/people - they literally FORCE you to buy their products, never realising that not all of us like the new stuff.... If I come across the article again, I'll let you know.... and thanks for the support!

 

Hi ®KIM,

Yes, you can still get updates for Windows XP until... April 2019.
Here you go.
http://********.com/2014/05/26/how-...e-security-updates-for-windows-xp-until-2019/
The name of the site is beta news - one word.

And now you can rub it under your son's nose!

NB If you ever go online with Windows XP, ensure your antivirus is always up to date, and install a third-party firewall.

The attached images shows what my Windows XP looks like, but my primary OS is Windows 7.

 

Oops! :-o
Tim, is the site or the info bad? :confused
Either way, I will delete the link.
FYI That hack has been available for about 1½ years.

Laura, thanks for the link.
I'm not condoning the continued use of Windows XP as a primary OS.

BTW1 I re-installed Windows 7 and have not re-installed my Antivirus program... And I'm not going to as an experiment to see how bad the internet is. And again, I'm not suggesting anyone else try this.

BTW2 I have everything backed up to a DVD and memory stick. If the :crap hits the fan... I'm OK.

 

@ OP Yep, lots of ppl resent being forced to upgrade when they are perfectly happy with what they have now. OTOH, if everything stayed the same - no innovation or development - more than half the world would soon be unemployed. Feel good about helping to keep the economic wheel spinning

@ eldon the link works for me when you edit it as you posted.

 

Bold1 Never a good thing forcing people...

Bold2 "...keep the economic wheel spinning" or continue to fill up the Micro$oft coffers?

IMNSHO... Windows 8/8.1 is not innovative. And neither is Windows 10.

If Microsoft wanted to develope the ultimate OS, it should have not looked further than Windows XP & 7... which is what I have - the speed of Windows XP and the UI/look of Windows 7. :celebrate

 

We should really be arguing about this over a couple of pints somewhere Eldon, but this is a whole lot bigger than just Microsoft. It's the worldwide manufacture, retail and support infrastructure that depends on Windows development.

 

Though XP was stable and a good OS, it has inherent limitations. Unless you have the late model pro version which was 64-bit, you are limited to your choice of hardware. Normally it does not support SATA, and if you have an older disc the OS can't be installed to an AHCI SATA drive without slipstreaming a disc or modifying BIOS settings and then windows after the fact. 32 bit versions support a max of 3.25GB RAM, which is a huge limitation to the majority of modern machines. And, don't get me started on Internet Explorer. Also the kernel has been out there for years and hackers totally have XP's number.

The bottom line is that the OS though great has become antiquated and outmoded.

Vista and W7 are an incredibly similar shell layout to XP to be wholly honest. They really "look and smell " like XP...

 

We're not arguing... we're discussing.
I like the idea about a couple of pints :drool :yum, and I'll pay.

The US Navy (probably the best in the world) continues to use Windows XP.

FYI The Ford Mustang was a hit from day one... and then it went from excellent > great > good > bad. Ford revisited the original design and today it's again great.

I love technology, but, this is what Microsoft professes, http://www.majorgeeks.com/news/stor...ee_for_all_if_forced_to_hand_over_emails.html
and you know what Microsoft has done with Windows 10.

Hypocrisy at it's best... :***

 

the mekanic, I agree with you.
But, why did Microsoft not provide support for SATA on Windows XP? And why not provide better support for 64-bit? Also, Internet Explorer should have been re-written years ago.

Microsoft messed up. Windows XP was a great OS. And Microsoft just left it...
Then MS decide it's time for a replacement... Hasta la Vista. And here we are.

 

yeah, right

Good or bad Eldon, it creates jobs around the world. Progress has always been three forward, two back, but bit by bit we get to being able to contemplate visiting Mars, hopefully from a more peaceable world than today's.

Better shut up before I get banned again.

 

I'll unban you...
Only so that you can buy the pints... roflmao

 

To be honest, Vista was a good and honorable OS. I was running it on one of my machines up until the Spring. Heck, my mom was still running Vista Ultimate and my old Biostar rig up until last month when I upgraded her to W7. The main problem with Vista is that a boat load of companies laid off their dev teams in the years preceding it's release. That was a big problem.

When the OS was released, there was literally next to no one to write drivers for a lot of the legacy hardware people were still using. BUT, Microsoft got the black eye for it anyway despite the fact that vendors were to blame. Vista is more stable than XP, with some possible exception in some cases of extreme gaming. Bottom line is that Vista was a leap forward as far as security, memory usage, an improved I/O versus XP, and Seven was an improvement on top of it.

WindowsMe? Now THAT was a horrible OS...

 

XP was officially released on August 24, 2001. It's lifecycle ended on April 18th 2014 with plenty of advance warning. There has never been an OS (to my knowledge) supported for such an incredible duration of time. No one will ever get their money's worth out of a license key like that unless they extend the life cycle of W7 a bit more. Those of us who know Windows "under the hood" (pun intended :-D) know that W7 is simply beyond XP in stability, security, and design. I am reminded of James T. Kirk's words at Khitomer:

"People can be very frightened of change."

 

Hello gents...

Great post, so thanks to the OP. I just happened to catch this tonight, and it's a really interesting topic.

I'd like to second Eldon's sentiments about XP. I feel like MS should have brought the OS as far forward as possible before ending support honestly. They would have learned so much in the process I feel. IMO, they should have added support for .NET 4.5, updated directx all the way to 11, added native DVD burning capabilities, native support for AHCI SATA, and for sure provided for the latest MS browser to be there. This would have been the most amazing PR and good will gesture on the part of MS ever. XP loyalists deserved it after 15 years of being the centerpiece of MS' best years. I actually think this would have boosted the sales of 7 for sure.

I also agree with the mekanic on Vista. Unfortunately, it is suffering from the same attention deficit that MS has handed XP loyalists.

Also, I agree with Earthling that it is wise to move forward and accept what's next. Well, MS says 10 is their bottle of "new" Coke. It's the final recipe, and they're sticking with it. Really curious to know how you guys feel about 10 thinking about it that way. Is this a bottle of Coke you would care to drink if you had an option that offered the chance to use the same programs (OK Pepsi if it's your thing or tea, etc. )?

Thanks again for an amazing topic. Really appreciate this kind of discussion here at MGs...:-D