Completely off topic...but is Windows XP dead?

[AmigaClassicRule]

I mean I love Windows 7. Windows 7 is an awesome operating system and I hate Windows 8 with the greatest of passion, but Windows XP is a great Windows OS too and wondering if it is really dead now?

[AmigaClassicRule]

I do not get it. What happens if it indeed security patches are no longer supported? Does this make Windows XP unusable if you login to the internet and it is 100% guaranteed you will be under attack right away that forces you to upgrade OS?

[AmigaClassicRule]

I too like Windows XP but it is growing old with security issues that Windows 7 (for example) does not have.  When support for Windows XP end on 04/14, just watch the attacks fly!   The slime that write the virii and malware know how popular Windows XP is so they are going to prey on people who do not upgrade.  They know without MS supporting XP, it will be an easy target.

I read that Windows XP with just SP1 attached to the Internet can be remotely owned by someone in around 20 mins.


It was a great version of Windows that is sadly showing its age...

-P

Why I have this conspiracy feeling that Microsoft itself is hiring these people to attack people who still use Windows XP to force them to buy and upgrade to a newer version of Windows?

I do not know, it does not seem far fetched if you think about it.

[AmigaClassicRule]

I didnt think in my lifetime i would hear anyone state that they "love" (any version) windows with such passion! Ill reserve my own opinions on what comes out of Redmond for fear of starting a flame war - but I just thought most people used Windows did so because it was de-facto - not because it was particularly good.  All this coming from an Amiga fan ... sheesh - what is the world coming to !

No offense polyp2000, but Windows XP deserves a little loving and so does Windows 7. They are after all great OSes. In the world of PC and the huge market for software and games, we need good OS (unless going to an alternate OS which limits you in apps and games) and so far Windows XP and 7 have won the prize in the world of Windows and PC. Thus the least I could do is just love it.

I have had very little troubles with Windows XP either from crashing to whatever you name it. Doesn't that give me justifying to love it for this at least? Through Windows XP I am managing to import movies to run on A1200, doesn't it at least deserve this credit of love?

[AmigaClassicRule]

I just wish there was a way to reenable Aero

Personally, I love Windows 7 as much as I love Windows XP and I will migrate to Windows 7. I want to see if I can skip Windows 8. Hopefully Windows 9 will be better. I treat Windows 8 as I would Vista and Windows ME.

[AmigaClassicRule]

I will use my Windows XP Professional 32 bit for four more months before I upgrade to Windows 7. I am doing that because I am waiting to save up enough to upgrade my CPU, upgrade my RAM, get a good video card and an entirely new HD, and get Windows 7 Professional 64 bit. I need to save up and squeeze another 2 to 3 years of my already 5 year old hardware before buying an entire new system hardware. Yes my hardware is at least 5 years old...I tend to drain out my hardware and software until I have no choice.

The biggest reason why I am upgrading to Windows 7 is because I have no choice. Ones Microsoft kills Windows XP I do not want to be in a vunerable stage of attack and hack and viruses. I have to upgrade to Windows 7 to protect myself and that is the only reason I am upgrading. Otherwise I will stick with Windows XP for as long as I can. The reason for that is because I already have all my files I need, customized my desktop, worked hard to fill up my favorite in the browser, have downloaded all the programs I need to enjoy my computer, I have made it MINE. I have made my Windows XP and my computer really MINE and it is only THANKS to Microsoft I am forced to get kicked out of my home (metaphorically speaking) and out in the street and now I have to get a new home.

THIS IS NOT FUN!

Backing up, not fun!

Downloading programs again not FUN!

Recustomizing my computer not FUN!

This whole experience makes me feel like I cannot keep my computer for me. That I have to make sure that I should prepare for the next move and that is NOT FUN!!

One of the biggest reasons why I loved Mac and Ubuntu is that you ARE NOT FORCED TO MOVE...just update and update and even change the entire UI by updating but you KEEP YOUR STUFF WITHOUT MOVING. You keep your customization, your security, everything...NOT FORCED to move every four years, every three years every five years....the feeling you cannot really open all your boxes anymore. You have to keep boxes closed for the next house move and that annoys me

[AmigaClassicRule]

You know you can upgrade to Windows 7 and keep all your settings, files, favorites, program, background picture etc etc as it is right?
Pop in the Windows 7 DVD and pick upgrade instead of custom new installation, no files will dissapere and you will keep all but GUI as it was
 
Even if you need new hardware you can pop in the new hardware and keep your old harddrive with windows xp on, the upgrade will "repair" and add the new needed drivers and you will be safe.
 
About the backup part, I recommend everyone to make backup since you never know when your hard drive will bite the dust.
I myself have set up a server with 10x 2TB hard drives in mirror raid that backsup selected hard drives over the network once a month for me, it's set to backup my important drives from computers in the network, I highly recommend people to have some kind of backup system, all from CD/DVD's to flash storage or USB HDDS etc
 
If you got loads you want to keep backed up, an easier route then doing it like me with a server is using a NAS.
 
So don't worry you wont loose any files or programs and your settings will be saved

Really? You mean it? Hmm...maybe I should follow your advice and do a complete back up first before attempting the upgrade method. IT WOULD BE SUPER sweet if that is all I need to do without full blown format!! Oh the joy behind that!!

[AmigaClassicRule]

Mostly Morrowind, really. There's a lot I like about Oblivion - much better combat mechanics, f'rinstance, and technically gorgeous visuals - but it just really hasn't aged well. Too many elements dumbed-down, and some changes that were intended to make things better just made them worse. (Particularly the way the magic system replaces gradually lessened spell-failure chances with arbitrary "milestone" skill levels where you're allowed to cast better stuff, making all the skill levels in between feel pointless, and the leveled-difficulty system, which is clearly intended to keep you challenged but ends up making you feel increasingly frustrated as the difficulty rapidly outpaces your character development to the point where you have to pour like two dozen arrows into a single random bandit!) Plus, it just doesn't feel like as much of a world so much as just a generic fantasy playset, as compared to Morrowind's frankly alien landscape - partly because, like a lot of fantasy works, it looks pretty much like France, and partly because having fully-voiced dialogue means there's a lot less of it to flesh things out, because every line costs money :/

I'm told Skyrim is an improvement on most of those fronts, at least, but I never got out of the tutorial dungeon on account of my system's inability to handle it. Hopefully it'll have more of what I liked in Morrowind than Oblivion did...


Yeah...I don't mind AGP, really, but it's much harder to track down a Socket 775 board with AGP than it is to just go PCIe, and anyway I got the card on the cheap at the recycle center so it's no big deal. Just gotta get around to getting a board + CPU combo and then I can cannibalize the RAM and extra disk storage from my current Core 2 box (non-gaming, as it only has the one PCI slot! Stupid little micro-ATX boards...at least it was cheap.)

Funny you should mention socket 775 I use socket 775 too!

Let us be honest, my hardware is of REALLY high end quality and the socket CPU 775 is NOT BAD CPU at all! It is these OSs that forces to get new hardware otherwise I am really comfortable with what I have if it wasn't for the lack of support that forces me to move really.  Maybe I am getting old, I don't know...but it is really tiring.

[AmigaClassicRule]

@AmigaClassicRule

when M$ stops supporting winXP, it wont become automatically open to all viruses. some people probably still use win2000, win95 and even older systems, those are probably as secure as win7. you will still be able to run thirdparty firewall and updated antivirus and other apps.

My biggest fear is that people will start taking control of my computer while I am deep at asleep at night. Right there I feel violated just thinking about. It is no different than someone breaking in to your home while you are sleeping, this is not a good feeling to have. That is why I am considering upgrading to Windows 7 to have an ease of mind when the time M$ pulls the plug on Windows XP.

Otherwise if it wasn't for this factor and if there where constant security updates for Windows XP I would have not even considered upgrading. I never loved Windows 8, never will, never will be and no amount of brain washing and shoving it down my mouth till I agree will happen....I love Windows XP for it's user interface (from many other reasons) and it is like Windows 98 and up and I am used to this interface for so long now...and I am so comfortable...I love having multiple Windows, I love shrinking maximizing windows, closing windows, opening more than one window and inside each window is an application, movie, etc...I like that a lot.....A LOT A LOT A LOT!! That is why Windows 7 is like Windows XP in steroid and I am happy to go for Windows 7 easy.

[AmigaClassicRule]

More simply, you can just disconnect from Windows (assuming you don't just go the even simpler route and shut the computer down when you're not using it. Suspend would work, too, assuming you don't have wake-on-LAN enabled, which you really shouldn't.) No cable-monkeying required.

I will go with the route of turning off my computer when I go to bed. * sigh * I love Windows XP and 7, those two are really my favorite Windows OS ever existence in the history of Microsoft company. Even if I was tied to the chair and Windows 8 was forcefully shoved down my throat I will not like or loved it as I would for XP/7. This is something the Microsoft company can never have control over me with, they may control what software I use and force me to get new hardware, but they cannot control my love to a particular software or OS.

[AmigaClassicRule]

dead ..well i went from 98 to xp  ..have it on both machines  ..old pent400
an my i3  machine..i  will have to upgrade  ..my xp discs wont install any more  ..microsoft thinks ive used it enuff ...yes i did buy it ...when i went to activate it got a message that the software has been used to much  basically ..an i cant activate it again ..prob stick with xp..just use a cracked copy ..
in my opinion its wrong to disable software that u have paid for an  use ..then  again its microsoft ..what choice do i have..

Good point there I never thought of it before. Microsoft goes at everyone's head and attacking people about pirating their OS all the time. Well, isn't Microsoft stealing from people too? I mean when you buy a product what gives the company right to come to your home, disable your product so that you are forced to buy the newer model? This is after all YOUR PRODUCT!! THIS IS AFTER ALL YOUR ITEM!! Well, isn't Microsoft doing that? Isn't Microsoft stealing from millions and millions of people every time by no longer supporting their products and forcing people to get rid of their Windows and must buy the newer model? Shouldn't people have choices and not be dragged like sheep with chains around theirs necks to buy the new product?

What happened to our freedom of choice? Sure technically speaking you can just stay with what you have but if you think about it...you are eventually GOING TO BE FORCED to buy whatever Microsoft send your way and like it. As you can see some people LOVE Windows 8...so in the end you are "slave" of Microsoft. You have no choice. You are stuck with what ever Microsoft send you, you are going to upgrade it, you are going to like it, you are going to love it, only because I tell you too. When you buy my Windows it is not yours, it is mine, I can do what the heck with it, your money belongs to me now. That is pretty much what is happening with Microsoft and Windows.

If Windows is really, really, really yours it will not expire like food at a certain amount of years. I mean look at Windows 7, it is only 3.5 years old it is just a baby before Windows 8 came out and now you will eventually MUST upgrade to Windows 8 making Windows 7 leading redundancy.

[AmigaClassicRule]

Xp can be very secure. Computer security is as much a question of user behavior as patching the security flaws of the OS. Don't go to pirate or porn sites, don't open email attachements from strangers and even friends sometimes, be careful about the software you put on your computer and you have won more than half the security battle. Put in a good firewall and antivirus on top of this and run your computer in user mode and you're pretty safe from most threats. If you really know your ntfs file permissions, you can improve on the pretty lame default settings that come with the OS and set it up so where files are written, they can't be executed and where they are executed, they can't be written to in user mode and you have a pretty tight system. I do all of this and image my system partitions on 5 laptops running Xp Pro. I've had no malware in over 10 years and the few times I've had to restore the system from an image, it was due to a hardware change or upgrade or software install messing things up.
 
Xp will live on for years to come. Operating systems don't die, they just slowly--so very slowly--fade away. In the pretty much faded out catagory I would put Windows 95, Windows NT4, OS2, Mac OS 9 and earlier and OSX through Jaguar. Windows 98 and Tiger still linger. Windows 2000 is pretty faded because it was delivered late and quickly replaced by Xp which is essentially an improved version of Win2k. MSDOS survives in a hardware niche for those of us that use it for such things as ROM burners.
 
I never upgrade the OS on an old machine. I get a new machine designed for the new OS. I can't give up Xp because I need it to run my very expensive printer and scanner combo that isn't supported beyond Xp. This qualifies as a business use. I will be running print jobs with Xp long after 2014 barring natural disasters destroying everything I've got.

 
Hey, can you give me the steps and software I need (if possible) in case for some reason I am unable to upgrade OS by the end of 2014 and I am still stuck using Windows XP for another year or so, to protect my computer from hackers, viruses, etc? (I like the NTFS, thingy) As long as I am not forced to reformat my HD or install Windows again.