My six-year-old Windows Dell desktop, Windows XP, SP3 runs just as well now as
when it was new. Do you think there will be a software company or anyone who
will provide security updates for all of the many Windows XP users after Microsoft
stops supporting in April 2014?
In this excerpt from
Answercast #7, I discuss the ramifications of Windows XP security and the
various programs that run within it. You can certainly keep using it as long as
it functions and you feel comfortable.
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My old XP is doing just fine and I thank you for suggesting to continue as long as I’m confortable–I just dread upgrading to windows 7 as it’s like going back to school at my age of 82……..jt
Changing from XP to W 8 will be expensive just for the software, but even more so if your existing hardware lacks the grunt for W 8, which is likely to be the case with older computers.
Think outside the box; change to Linux, the up-to-date versions of which can, unlike Windows, run quite happily on older, less powerful, hardware. And it’s a lot cheaper than Windows. Free, in fact!
“Patch Tuesday”, 10 April 2012, demonstrates once again how ALL current Windows operating systems (including the forth-coming Windows 8) require regular security patching.
This does not mean that XP is inherently less safe than 7.
It would be wise to say the least for Microsoft to show a degree of intelligence by increasing the extended support phase of XP beyond April 2014, instead of senior Microsoft personel blurting out smarmy ignorant speeches, telling business (and presumably Joe Public) to just get on with it and upgrade.
Spending cash is easier said than done in tough economic times.
In order to answer this question we can look back at Windows 2000. I still have Win2k on an old notebook that maxes out at 256mb of ram and really isn’t a good candidate for anything newer.
The lack of updates isn’t a problem. What you will notice as time goes on is that less and less software works with the operating system.
With Windows XP I expect that .net updates will probably not work with XP after support stops. As time goes on more and more programs will not include support for XP.
The biggest problem with Win2k is trying to find a browser that will work with today’s web sites. Even Firefox recently versions don’t work with Win2k.
Same thing will eventually happen with XP.
If the computer is not used for much or any web browsing you can probably use XP indefinitely. I find that the old 486-50 notebook that I just setup with Win95 is quite usable, just not on the web.
However, running programs from that era, it works great. Fun toy to play with.
My plan is to run XP at home until there is a compelling reason not to. I suspect that I have at least another few years. Of course, Microsoft is likely to do what it can to hasten the need to upgrade.
As for security, as long as I can continue to run Norton, which is provided by my ISP, I think I’ll be ok.
We shall see.
Is there any way to regain the Toolbar funtion in Windows 7 with an add-on program? Used to be able to create toolbars, pin them to the desktop, add ANYTHING you wanted into them, and have them displayed and handy all the time. My efficiency has dropped DRAMATICALLY without them. Will Microsoft ever bring them back? or will someone crate a good add-on?
27-Aug-2012