It’s the end of an era: as of October 22, Microsoft is no longer allowing PC makers to legally pre-install its venerable WIndows XP operating system on new computers. Although most major computer makers topped shipping PCs with Windows XP pre-installed some time ago—Dell was one of the last hold-outs, cutting off XP installations back in September—the change is a significant one for change-averse companies and organizations who need to upgrade or replace hardware, but either can’t or won’t move on from Windows XP, perhaps because of software or hardware they can’t get to run on more-recent operating systems.
Microsoft terminated mainstream support for WIndows XP back in early 2009; however, the company will be offering “extended” support for the operating system all the way to 2014. That means Microsoft will continue to offer free security fixes, and customers will be able to pay Microsoft for support.
However, for folks who are stuck using Windows XP, all hope is not yet lost: PC buyers can purchase “downgrade rights” if they get a PC with Windows 7 Professional, and OEMs can pre-install the downgraded operating system. Those systems then come with licenses for both Windows XP and Windows 7 Professional—and customers pay for both. However, according to Microsoft, “downgrade facilitation”—where computer makers install Windows XP for customers as part of the downgrade process—will only be available until Microsoft delivers Windows 7 Service Pack 1, currently scheduled for the first half of 2011.
Some people have to stick with Windows XP due to limiting factors of programs not being compatible with Windows 7. We support 22K+ machines running on Windows XP in the healthcare field and are not able to just jump to a new operating system. We attempted to run the programs on Windows 7 with no avail. Maybe, you guys won't be so quick to judge an "outdated" operating system with such severity next time you or your children have to go to the hospital and have to wait 4-8 hours to be seen because all the work has to be done with pen and paper.
I understand where you are coming from on this, as I am supporting 600 XP-based PCs – less, of course, but still the same in many ways due to the fact that we have software that cannot run on 7.
As long as you don't lose sight of the fact that you have 4 years to get past that before XP loses all support and starts becoming a security hellhole, all is well.
I'm willing to bet that many of the companies running software that is locking them in to using XP will fail to deal with the issue before the cutoff. I'll lay odds that they scream and cry for more time "to give us time to deal with upgrading the software that won't run on 7". As much as I disagree with MS on many points, I sincerely hope that they don't give in on their 2014 cutoff date.
The sad thing is that this seems to happen every time a new OS comes out – businesses refuse to upgrade because everything works fine on what they have and even with clear and repeated warnings they still fail to upgrade by the time they need to.
None of you (least of all Debian) seem to understand that for a vast majority of people, there is no need to upgrade.
Not everyone is a gamer or video editor. And if people are fortunate enough that their PC lasts for years and years, and it works just fine, then they will see no need to shell out several hundred dollars for a new OS.
Much like someone who does not require a 2012 car because their 1995 Chevy runs fine, and they prefer to keep driving it because they like the thing.
Microshaft is perfectly right to want to progress with it's OS. But not one person on this Earth is being forced at gunpoint to buy every litte piece of software they sell.
They have enough cash. And anyone who is such a zombie they think they MUST upgrade at all times should just stand on a streetcorner and give their money away to anyone who walks by. Constantly upgrading just because Microshaft says you must is no different than you giving me three hundred bucks just because I say you must.
This is not about forcing Microshaft to continue producing XP or even supporting it. This is about the freedom the end user has to decide what is best for them.
Wellb stated!
Wait! You all MUST give Me $300.00
I definitely think you missed the point. The point of this article is that some manufacturers are still selling XP pre-installed. Whether or not somebody has an XP computer in their home is irrelevant. If you're going to buy a NEW computer, the industry should be pushing the NEW software, so that the market can move forward as well. On top of all that, it's time for businesses to get with the times and start using new protocols and software.
It's sickening to think that Internet Explorer 6 and XP are still mainstream in this day and age.
Because Windows 7 is a buggy piece of garbage. I had to wait 5 minutes to install a telnet client on it while it scanned it's database or whatever it was doing. The file was like 40kb. Good job Microsoft. They also just randomly moved all the features all over the place for no apparent reason, obviously no communication between their programming departments. Give me Windows XP over Windows 7 any day.
I thought there are no more "service packs" aka "fixes" from Microsoft…. I hate those service packs
for 2 years I fought Vista on my Dell. Blue screens, Check disks, Scan disks, And whatever? has stopped working and will shut down.
Switched to XP and all that stopped.
Compared to a car Vista would come under the Lemon Law.
I am neither a computer or an auto technician I want my machines to be reliable without constant shop time.
This is what drives the economy. Newer, faster, more efficient software.
The jump from 32 to 64 bit, mult-gig ram systems, multi-core processors…..
Just for grins and giggles, it would be funny to see how fast Windows98 boots up on one of today's PC's.
Granted, a lot of companies stick with legacy operating systems because of the cost and time involved to upgrade.
Not to mention the time spent beta testing your software to be sure it works with your new OS.
I currently have 3 Win 7 machines, a Vista machine and an XP machine. I'm thinking of changing the Vista to 7,
but the XP machine IMHO is too old . Wait till everything is 64 bit, then the jump to 128 bit will start. :)
I have to agree with some posters though, if it works, why change it? I do agree that MS shouldn't continue to
support an OS that's as old as XP is. As the world moves towards a 64 bit multi-core processor / multi-gig RAM
environment, software that is not written to take advantage of these features will fall into disuse.
Does Microsoft drive the economy? Not by itself, but look also at the push being made in the 3D television market.
If a machine is working and there's no reason to change it, then keep it working rather than letting it become
a statistic in the amount of electronic waste the USA generates each year. Me, I still play around sometimes
with a Commodore 64, and an Apple //e both running at a blisteringly fast speed of 1 MHZ.
What I'm not seeing in these days of multiple cores is raw processor speed upgrades. We're still running
around 3 ghz in the mainstream market. If we all stopped upgrading things like hardware, software, automobiles,
etc. the economy would be in trouble, jobs would be lost, and there would be no money to do any upgrades later.
Oh wait, the economy IS in trouble……
Systems like voicemail, phone systems and unified communications reqiure " real XP" not smoke and mirrors XP to be tricked into working. Also some devices need actual serial ports to communicate. Some will not work on the usb to serial cables or drivers but nor all. A lot of client software is only certified for XP service pack 2. I even have a laptop with Windows98 for some of the really old stuff I have to support. If you got a PBX that is over 6 ot 7 years old, you still need XP.
You may all be missing the point. It's costs vs benefits. Going to 7 requires new machines, new software, network changes, updating in-house software, training, downtime, etc. It can easily cost $5K or more. What's the actual benefit in $$$ in all that? Usually much less than $5K per seat.
Background: I am a computer technician and long time geek (I'm in my mid 20's, and I've used every Microsoft operating system from DOS to 7, as well as several Linux variants and Mac OS from 7 to 10).
For those saying Vista sucked: Did you actually USE Vista? Or do you just spout whatever garbage you heard in the media? I liked Vista – not only was its interface a welcome update from "Gray", it was revolutionary (for Windows) in terms of wireless support and… wait for it… RELIABILITY! That's right, it's often easier to fix a Vista/7 machine (thank you startup repair and more reliable repair installs/in-place upgrades). Anything you do to screw up Vista or 7 past the point of repair likely would have rendered XP impotent.
For those saying that Windows 7 is slow and buggy? Poppycock! I find that Windows 7, Vista, and XP have very close performance. Yes, Vista and 7 use as much RAM as possible, but better to have wasted RAM going towards OS performance than just… sitting there. As far as crashing and lockups, unless you're infected or you've done some "tweaks" to make it run faster, or you have a problem that would have affected XP too (such as a hardware issue), I have noticed fewer lockups in Vista and 7. And if a program does lockup (such as Firefox the other day when I had 300 tabs open), you can open Task Manager (ctrl+shift+esc) and it can often unfreeze the software. Using this I was able to close and bookmark enough tabs to get firefox running stable again.
And finally, for the people that have software that's incompatible with Windows 7, I some advice:
(1) Compatibility mode. Should be the first thing you try. Google it if you don't know what it is. And remember – if it doesn't work, TURN IT BACK OFF! Otherwise, something else you do might make it work in regular Windows 7 mode, but not in compatibility mode.
(2) XP Mode. It's a virtual machine that integrates with the Windows 7 start menu. I heard it can now be used with any version of 7 besides Basic. A bit tricky to set up the first time, but once you work out the kinks (I had an issue where program shortcuts from the All Users start menu would show up fine, but shortcuts from the user account wouldn't show up in the 7 start menu – or the other way around) it works like a charm. Remember, if you need hardware access to a device from an XP mode program, you will need to install the drivers inside XP mode.
(3) Convert a machine to XP mode. Google "convert xp vm" and you'll find directions on how to convert Windows XP from a running machine into a virtual machine. You can load that with Virtual PC XP Mode by editing some configuration files (since that isn't XP Mode's designed purpose) and have access to all programs and documents from that machine.
(4) Fork over some cash! That's right, a lot of companies don't want to upgrade because they're cheap! Either they don't want to buy updates to their software, or they don't want to upgrade their hardware. No sympathy for them. And I can practically guarantee that practically none of them test their hardware on a regular basis for failure, so it might need to be replaced anyways (for example, my company does work for a TV station in town which has five different channels. They have 5 Mac Pro desktops and a bunch of Mac laptops, and about 30 windows machines. They had two drives in two Mac Pro's go bad within a month of each other, causing unrecoverable data loss and $600 in on-site service fees, including reinstalling Final Cut Studio Pro – a several hour process. We offered them a deal on testing the hardware in all of their machines – would normally be ~$1,400 for all the machines they have but we offered something like ~$900, and they still wouldn't go for it. That's right. Forget crippling downtime when each machine is necessary because they don't have spares, forget the data loss, they were too cheap)
For those of you bringing up your need to run Windows XP for legacy apps, this does not need to be so. Go download the Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) from Microsoft, install it, and test your apps. Remidiate as necessary, and POOF!, they run on Windows 7. Don't let outdated apps hold you back; find a good reason if you really want to stay on XP.
Because XP works great and Windows 7 is buggy and slow?
Those of you condemning the general public for still wanting XP, keep in mind that many are hesitant to upgrade due to the disappointment that was Vista. For many, XP has worked better than any other Windows OS and for a very long time. Vista was pushed onto the public and greatly failed to live up to expectations. For most it caused many problems and fixed few. That experience has made the public very cautious about upgrading.
Microsoft has only itself to blame on that front. They forgot who actually owns the PCs. Instead of building their OS to serve the End User, they built it to serve themselves and their partners.
The fact that users don't want to give up XP is a testament to how good it was…and is.
Also, for many businesses to upgrade to Windows 7 would require the replacement of thousands of computers and servers — all at the same time. Most PCs built for XP are not capable of supporting the resource hog that is Windows 7. That is a huge expense during a time when money is tight. That's not even counting the value of lost production time while equipment is upgraded and users are trained on the new systems.
wtf most software developers design there software to work well on all windows operating platforms as for the death of xp towards win8 and old systems well unless you are a gamer or heavy music production or video and graphics editing…
These older systems are more then likely more economical and productive then systems now a days designed with so much more ram or even hard drive space needed by a regular average user…
This sounds more like well we don't want to support are past product releases unless we can make money off them again and get consumers purchasing new computers that are not a necessity for most. And telling manufacturers that they can not sell systems with the XP may make them see the light and just go Linux on systems and let people choose if they really need windows.. and the more resource hog version of WINDOWS.. As for DELL holding out as long as they can they would be wise to saturate the market with systems pre packed with UBUNTU… in the near future…
Lol, well thanks guys, I'm going to use your logic of, you can't suppo making it because I like it to force general motors to start making the '68 firebird again, since it wasn't broken GM should still make and fully support it for free, at least that's the way it would be if any if your logic was sound…at its prime xp was sufficient, now it gets too retire and its offspring take over, as a manufacturer its perfectly reasonable for microsoft to decide they no longer want to allow new installs of a 10 year old product, will you all complain when sony does the same to the playstation 2, cuz that's coming soon also, or should they be required to continue to manufacture antique electronics just because you have an 8 year old game that you like to play, anyway enough of my random 3am gripes about half-•••Ed logic
Oops, 3am plus posting from cell phone = typos, supposed to say " you can't stop making"
its about time they kill XP! but I still think XP beats Vista :)
XP had its run and I think its about time they retire the OS ..
Watch PACQUIAO vs. MARGARITO vs. http://goo.gl/2hEt
Who are these dinosaur-lithic people who bemoan any change away from XP? XP is blocky, clunky, poor driver support, crashes, and has poorly written networking code. Windows-7 is infinitely better than XP – anyone who intentionally uses XP instead of Win-7 is patently ignorant or just unable to adapt to change even when change is better. XP users are usually 40+ and don't understand computers, or recently released from prison and are learning computers for the first time on a tower they got from the pawn shop that is full of viruses/spyware etc. Want to know why your computer is so slow? It isn't your ISP's fault, it's because your computer has a CPU that is 6 generations old and 256MB of RAM.
Is that why you call yourself "Debian"?
Thats why companies in the corporate world still use xp as their systems then? I don't know many companies that use 7 as a corporate program as xp and server 2000 is still Broadly used. Get your head outta the sand.
Some people prefer to stay on Windows XP because they're sick of having to buy new software. I bought Norton Ghost 12 when I was running Windows XP, I bought Norton Ghost 14 when I upgraded to Windows Vista and I bought Norton Ghost 15 when I upgraded to Windows 7. I agree that Windows 7 is vastly superior to Windows XP, but I'm sick and tired of having to buy new software just to protect the latest version of Windows. By the way, I'm one of your 40+ people. I'm 60 years old.
Simple answer to that…stop buying freaking Norton. You know its the the easiest anti virus software to crack yes? You can get free antivirus that is infinitely better than Nortons and doesn't chew half your system once you install it.
The company I work at needs to stick with XP because our legacy server software makes depreciated rpc calls, and therefor will not work in 7 (or Vista) without significant time and money invested into re-writing the software. Moreover, in a business environment, running 'new' software is not necessarily good. And running old software/hardware is not bad. Many companies use tape backup and decade-old mainframes, because they work, have worked, are working, and will work, and we know them inside-and-out. While your logic might fit for home users, it is completely off-base in real-world business situations.
You obviously have not had to support Windows 7 yet. XP may be old, but since the time it has come out it's become rock-solid. If you know what you're doing you can secure XP down very nicely. You also speak of Windows 7 networking as though you have used it. Windows 7 networking is simply a mess. I'm no fan of Windows or Microsoft, but the lesser of the evils is XP, hands down.
My university wants us to buy Dell, Dell doesn't offer down grade 'rights' on their order pages. But I don't care, I use a Mac myself… it is just the whinning of my classmates that bothers me.
So now you are whining
So, I assume you use Mac OS version 8 or earlier as well?