Have I been living under a rock????

[Sniper]

Fired up the computer this evening and had a pop up show that said Windows XP is no longer supported. First time I'd heard of it. Stayed with XP because I liked it, bought a laptop with Vista on it at one time and had XP added instead and used it. I had the understanding there were a lot of XP hold outs so Microsoft has decided to starve XP out of existence. Well crap....now what?

 

[Neverdone]

The plant I work at runs XP on most stuff..... Its a shame.

I bought a new PC last year with 7 on it. Not so bad.

 

[Willowbilly3]

Me too but I liked my old XP just as well.

 

[skull]

money

all about money, they can't make all those Billions just pushing upgrades, this way you have to trash the old, still useful stuff and buy the new flavor of the week

Later

 

[Torch]

Windows 7 is working good
I prefer to use Debian http://www.debian.org/

Ultimate Edition based on Ubuntu is pretty tasty
Debian is strictly open source with employing zero proprietary software... you can open it up to use private license apps
But for functionality if youw ant to customize your OS Ultimate Edition is one of several nice options.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ultimate-Edition/301908523218353

Ubuntu is a good OS but they went with the tablet setup like windows 8 (new gnome desktop) which I absolutely freaking hate with a passion
I like having ez access to my administrator functions without going on a safari looking for the right buttons to click (XFE desktop).

we all know how much option Bill Gates gives us
check this out:
http://www.linuxscreenshots.org/

I havn't tried it yet but you can (unoficially) install and run Apple's OS X on a pc
http://www.hackintosh.com/


I havn't had a reason to install apple other than some secure websites mostly governmental only support Windows or Apple OS's
When windows 7 is no longer supported I am completely DONE with windows


Linux has a program called WINE that allows you to run MS windows code within a linux OS. You should be able to use it just liek windows but you sometimes have to install certain windows files like dll files manually

A little hotrodding of the computer goes a long way

 

[30sx]

anybody else not understand a word he just said?

 

[hankthebigdog]

I heard "wah, wah wa wah wah wahhhhhh.............hotrodding a computer..."
computers are like new model autos, I DO NOT mess with them. LOL.

 

[Dr Crankenstein]

anybody else not understand a word he just said?

I understood Sniper... Torch, not so much. [S

I liked XP as well, though it died last year along with the oldest computer we had in this house. (It was 10, maybe 12 years old.) Try as you might, you can't stop the clock.

.

 

[Neto]

The deal with XP is that Microslob will no longer be producing security updates. Eventually, of course, other software companies will no longer write their programs to be able to work on XP, probably already. (QuickBooks accounting, by Intuit is an example - they have already stated that the 2014 year issue is the last that will be written to work on XP. It MIGHT still work, but they won't help you with it if it doesn't.) If you have the programs you need, and are satisfied without all of the internet nonsense they build into programs now-a-days, you're covered on that issue.

The big thing is the security while on the internet. I haven't tested this with XP, but it does work with Windows 7: IF you create a log on account that is NOT a member of the Windows administrator group, and NEVER go on-line while logged on your computer as the Administrator, AND NEVER click yes to do any downloads or installations that you did not initiate or recognize, then you should be safe. You do not need to use any virus protection at all. (I have been doing this on Win 7 for a couple of years already.)

 

[Sniper]

Well Torch...believe it or not, I followed along with what you said. I just don't understand the in's and outs of it all to make it work. Suppose that's why I preferred XP.....it just worked and I used it. Kind of hard to revolt when there's not much left to use in the meantime. Looks like Windows 7 will have to be it. I really despise having to learn a new system/culture/language or what ever you call it just to keep on working a computer. I just don't have the time or patience for that. Me and computers just don't get along all that well in the first place.

BTW Torch.....I like the signature, that one made me laugh.

From the replies, it sounds like no one is surprised with the latest from the computer world. But, I can't help feeling like I'm/we are being steered, or herded in a given direction for someone else benefit. Paranoid.......maybe.

 

[Old Iron]

It'll continue to work, like Windows 98 and ME (ME yuk) still do, just won't have any updates to keep it secure.
If you have a good anti-virus program you will not have any problems either.
If you upgrade to Windows 7 be aware that some of the XP programs that you may be using, will no longer work.
I'm staying put with my XP Pro version.
By the way, I run a free anti-virus program called Avira and have zero problems with computer viruses. (Not affiliated with Avira or any other computer sources)
My laptop has Windows 7 and it's pretty close to XP.
As individuals we are relatively safe but, the businesses need to get new computers with the latest operating system for security and do not just run an upgrade from XP to the next OS.

 

[Old Iron]

While I was messing around typing and helping the wife get ready for work, Neto and Sniper posted. WOW was I slow on the trigger

 

[Dirtyrat]

Well you have had a long time to upgrade, you have 3 versions of windows after XP
Vista (Crap)
Windows 7 (Damn good)
Windows 8 (Was crappy at the start, they are making it better)

I personally have windows 7 64 bit at work, and I run Ubuntu (Linux) on my laptop at home.

 

[Sniper]

Hey Neto, I hear what your saying. What got me, was the fact I haven't heard boo about XP getting axed. A lot of people did, but a lot more didn't and are in the same boat as me. Not knowing the internal workings puts you at a real disadvantage of what or where to go next. Windows 7 looks like the next move, but if it's based on the same premise as XP it will get dropped in the near future as well. Windows 8 and 8.1 sound like they won't work on the computer I have (although it's not all that old and works fine) it's going to be the only game in town in the near future. Still can't help feeling like I/we are being forced into a direction I/we wouldn't have taken otherwise. My spidie senses are a tinglin.

 

[Sniper]

Well you have had a long time to upgrade, you have 3 versions of windows after XP
Vista (Crap)
Windows 7 (Damn good)
Windows 8 (Was crappy at the start, they are making it better)

Yep, very true, but upgrade to what? Vista? Did that with a new laptop and ended up installing XP to make it usable.

Windows 7? At the time I had two computers running XP and were/are working just great. Besides I was still smarting from the Vista debacle and had no reason to change. The rumors at the time of Windows 7 release was, it was just Vista in a new wrapper. So I stayed away, I had XP and was happy.

Windows 8? Same reason, everything is working great, no need to change. I have my XP and I'm happy.

Yesterday I get a pop-up that said XP is no longer supported. That was a surprise to me, I hadn't heard of it being replaced. Never came up in conversations, can't say that I ever heard about it on TV or in newspapers or even on any forums like this one. But it affects millions of people. For those of us that aren't tech savvy, this kind of thing catches you off guard when everything else is running along tickity-boo. Oh well, I'll just throw another log on the fire, hitch up the mules and head for the outhouse. Oh crap...I haven't got any of those things anymore either.

 

[Neto]

Hey Neto, I hear what your saying. What got me, was the fact I haven't heard boo about XP getting axed. A lot of people did, but a lot more didn't and are in the same boat as me. Not knowing the internal workings puts you at a real disadvantage of what or where to go next. Windows 7 looks like the next move, but if it's based on the same premise as XP it will get dropped in the near future as well. Windows 8 and 8.1 sound like they won't work on the computer I have (although it's not all that old and works fine) it's going to be the only game in town in the near future. Still can't help feeling like I/we are being forced into a direction I/we wouldn't have taken otherwise. My spidie senses are a tinglin.

You are most certianly right - they ARE trying to stear us all in a dircetion they have chosen. It is 'Cloud Computing", where the computer you work on is just a "dumb terminal", and all of the programs, etc, are away on the internet someplace. And as opposed to what we are used to, where you buy a license to a program and then you can use it as long as you please, they want to charge you an annual fee to use the program. For example, I bought a license for Word 97 in, well, about 97 or 98. I still use it, because I like the way it works, and between it and also having the free program OpenOffice or LibreOffice, it does everything I need to do. I think that they have been watching what the government does, and they want to "tax" us all to keep using the programs.

I'll admit that I hated XP when I got my first computer that came with it. In fact, after a bit of that, I wiped it and installed Windows 98 SE. I only went back to XP when my kids gave me a flash drive, and I couldn't find any Win 98 drivers for it. With every version there are some good things, and some bad things. Windows 8 just has a LOT of bad things, and actually, I can't think of ANY good things. Others will have different opinions, and if I were working on a laptop or tablet with touch screen, and if all I wanted to do with it was to surf the web and do email, then I'd probably be OK with it. Like what one guy said: "I don't mind if my phone works like my computer, but I don't want my computer to work like my phone."

So sorry for never saying anything here about them giving XP the ax - it's just that I came here to this forum to learn more about fabrication (especially chassis fab), and didn't want to corrupt the site with lots of OT stuff. (I think they set that date about 4 years ago, if not before.) Oh, and yeah, Win 7 will eventually get the ax, too. But I suspect that it will outlast Win 8 & 8.1. XP came out in 2002 or so, so it had a pretty long life. I'll be happy if Win 7 hangs on that long.

 

[maverickmk]

XP has been planned to have support discontinued since last summer. That's the only thing that is happening, no more updates. It's cream right off the top having a team dedicated to an OS that is no longer bringing in any money. I used to have Red Hat & XP with VMware on a laptop about 2 years ago. Worked great, but I got tired of having to start 2 OS' to get some tasks done so I finally ported everything to 7 and have been rocking it ever since. May swap back to Red Hat exclusively but so far 7 has been rock solid.

 

[BlueNorther]

I love my win7 64bit system, it is absolutely stable.

win7 is based on windows NT, and is rock solid, been running 2 years and counting.

if you need a certain winXP program, get win7 ultimate, it has a great XP mode built in.

if Gates makes the right fixes for win9, I'll stick with it, but if they f---- that up, I'll switch to Ubuntu Linux as I have a secondary comp running Ubuntu 12.04 now and like it a lot.

if you have no windows required programs, look for Ubuntu 14.04 due out this April 2014, this will be a long term release.

 

[EnglishBob]

Don't get any of it so my question is" was it a 2 bed roomed rock that we shared'?

 

[Neto]

if you need a certain winXP program, get win7 ultimate, it has a great XP mode built in.

With Win 7 Professional, you can download & install the XP Mode.

If you have old programs, find out if they are 16 or 32 bit. 32-bit programs will run in 64-bit Windows, but not 16-bit programs. (The only way I know to find out for sure is to try to install the program in a 64-bit system.)