Xp Goes Unsupported On April 6th

[Gregb]

Anyone still on XP? I know most of the ATMs run on XP. I've heard from some friends that their businesses still run on XP. It won't cause problems imo for another couple years. As long as you keep software updated and don't engaged in risky behaviors you'll be fine for awhile.

[Buffy]

Even the stodgiest F500 clients I have have moved their desktops to Win7--although NO ONE is biting Win8 or even Win8.1, everyone is waiting for Win9 to fix it all. The exception to this has been healthcare where paranoia about the problems associated with moving to new platforms has kept more operational systems (think the pharmacy at the hospital) from being moved (for the libertarians out there, this has much less to do with government regulation than it has to do with insurance underwriting). The XPs that are in use are all automated systems, not just ATMs but robots on factory floors and other black boxes. Unless you're an Iranian running a nuclear centrifuge farm, the difficulty of getting to these systems is not worth it, so having no updates is not as big a risk as might be imagined.

 

A key issue is lack of support: there are no updates coming from Microsoft, so no need to "keep software updated" at all. They're stable systems: if it ain't broke, don't fix it. But realize that few vendors other than Microsoft have shipped XP updates in years. We all long ago said: sorry we don't support that any more (unless you want to pay us an ungodly amount of money to do so).

 

The stuff that NASA used on the Shuttle and Space Station are ancient, because "man-rating" those systems requires a silly amount of testing and "software proofs". 

 

And don't get me started about the National Air Traffic Control or the DoD nuclear launch control systems....

 

 

One only needs two tools in life: WD-40 to make things go, and duct tape to make them stop, :phones:

Buffy

[Buffy]

Oh my. Microsoft can come up with some crazy ideas:

 

Microsoft pulled the plug on Windows XP support on Tuesday and the IE team has put together a fun little game called ‘Escape from Windows XP’ which is a small browser based shooter that, as you would expect, you try to escape Windows XP.

Source: "Relive your XP nostalgia with Microsoft's ‘Escape from Windows XP' game" NeoWin.com, Brad Sims, 4/10/14

 

 

 

So apparently Microsoft thinks WinXP is used mostly by teenage gamers rather than the little old ladies with ancient Dells that really do...

 

 

The goal of all inanimate objects is to resist man and ultimately defeat him, :phones:

Buffy

[InfinityLoopz]

LOL amazing, although I'm hoping several people update or switch to a different OS. If it is unsupported I'll take it that new security issues and malware will be able to slip through the cracks (more than they already do on XP) and cause havoc for a lot of people (older computer users etc).

[Buffy]

One of the funny things for me is that the people I meet who say they don't like to buy stuff on the Internet are mostly still using XP and IE6....

 

 

Today you can go to a gas station and find the cash register open and the toilets locked. They must think toilet paper is worth more than money, :phones:

Buffy

[fahrquad]

There is no Windows 9.  As the folks at Microsoft are fond of saying "7 8 9" or "seven ate nine".  Yes, most businesses went from XP to Windows 7.  My personal laptop ran on Vista which I didn't think was so bad despite negative comments.  My company computer, which I am on now, ran on Windows 8.1 which I absolutely loathed.  I just did the free upgrade to Windows 10 and love it.  It looks and feels like Windows 7, but with more features.

[fahrquad]

One of the funny things for me is that the people I meet who say they don't like to buy stuff on the Internet are mostly still using XP and IE6....

 

 

Today you can go to a gas station and find the cash register open and the toilets locked. They must think toilet paper is worth more than money, :phones:

Buffy

What is IE6?  I have used Firefox as a browser for about 7 years now (v18 to 43) meaning I have used Google Search.  I think Windows 10 replaced that clunky old thing (IE) with Microsoft Edge, which I still have yet to try.  I still miss Alta-Vista.  It didn't come up with nearly as many search results, but they were far more relevant than Google.

[fahrquad]

What is IE6?  I have used Firefox as a browser for about 7 years now (v18 to 43) meaning I have used Google Search.  I think Windows 10 replaced that clunky old thing (IE) with Microsoft Edge, which I still have yet to try.  I still miss Alta-Vista.  It didn't come up with nearly as many search results, but they were far more relevant than Google.

What good are 3 million results in .003 seconds when you spend the next hour trying to find which one is relevant?

[fahrquad]

Don't get me started on what a resource hogging, highly intrusive piece of crap Chrome is.  Anybody have a Chromebook?  You poor bastards.  Just put it on the shelf next to your Kindle Fire (or six pack if you got sucked into that).

[fahrquad]

.

 

Don't get me started on what a resource hogging, highly intrusive piece of crap Chrome is.  Anybody have a Chromebook?  You poor bastards.  Just put it on the shelf next to your Kindle Fire (or six pack if you got sucked into that).

DON'T re-gift those POS's.  Just take them to your nearest recycling center so they can be disposed of properly (Chromebook or Kindle Fire).

[Moontanman]

I tried to update my Windows XP computer to SP3 but it didn't work for some reason, my computer says it is still running XP2, I use Chrome as my browser and lately Chrome has been having some problems, freezing up mostly. Would it help me to go with another browser? Which one? 

[fahrquad]

Give Firefox a try.  I have been using it since v15, and they are now on v43.  A simple no frills browser that doesn't track you.

 

https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/?scene=2

[fahrquad]

My old Compaq CQ-60 craptop died back around May when I spilled a diet Choke (plus some amendments) onto the keyboard and the motherboard fried.  Given the age, the computer shop didn't feel like it was worth fixing, so I took out the hard drive and smashed the RAM.  I bought a Lenovo craptop (not sure about model) that came loaded with Windows 10.  I bought an Orico USB 2.5 inch SATA External Hard Drive Enclosure on-line (I think from Amazon) for a few bucks and popped the old hard drive in, then plugged it into a USB port (no AC adapter involved) and I was able to access my old program files that were on the hard drive.  I have been saving all of my other files (doc, pdf, etc...) on an external hard drive to save space on the internal drive for about the last 7 years (and keep from bogging down the computer, while having an easily transportable memory device with 1 TB of capacity)(forget 8 GB flash drives).  I hear 2 TB external drives are available, but I have only used a small fraction of the available memory so far.  I am not sure I will ever fill this thing up, but then again I don't download and save movies that I will never get around to watching like my brother (or recording programs on VHS like my dad that he will never get around to watching)(he still hasn't watched the entire Carl Sagan version of Cosmos if that gives you any idea).   

Edited December 23, 2016 by fahrquad

[fahrquad]

Just for the heck of it, I checked the storage on the 1 TB external drive (G drive), and I have 857 GB of 931 GB available after about 7 years (1000GB =1 TB, so the other 69 GB is operating software for the drive).  By comparison, I have 366 GB left of 419 GB left on the internal hard drive(C drive).   BTW, it looks like I have been talking to myself on the thread for almost a year.

[fahrquad]

I tried to update my Windows XP computer to SP3 but it didn't work for some reason, my computer says it is still running XP2, I use Chrome as my browser and lately Chrome has been having some problems, freezing up mostly. Would it help me to go with another browser? Which one? 

 

I am pretty sure you can upgrade from XP to Win7, and possibly from there to Win10.  Or maybe it was from Vista to Win8 to Win 10???  I don't recall at this point.  Check with CNet or Microsloth for a definitive "maybe" answer.

[fahrquad]

I equate Win 8 and Win 8.1 with Windows Millennium.  What POS those were. :hammer:  Anyone remember Win 1 or even Basic T?  About as slow, but much more reliable.

Edited December 23, 2016 by fahrquad

[fahrquad]

I equate Win 8 and Win 8.1 with Windows Millennium.  What POS those were. :hammer:  Anyone remember Win 1 or even Basic T?  About as slow, but much more reliable.

 

IMHO, XP was the best system MS has come up with so far.  Win10 ain't so bad,other than undoing the automatic downloads from various programs.Gotta spend  some home working with this one.

Edited December 23, 2016 by fahrquad