Is windows xp now outdated ?

[anthonygubbin]

Originally Posted by rastus2571

XP. So easy and functional. 7 and 8 are a PITA. Vista clones.

Sent from my HTC Explorer A310e using Tapatalk 2

I went from XP to 7 and picked it up within 30mins. IMO I don't see what there is hard about it. and I am no comp guru.

Regards A

[Tom&Phet]

Originally Posted by anthonygubbin

Think I paid under 500 bux and for my laptop. I3 processor 8g ram windows 7
works great. In a few years I will bin it and get another. Price of lappys is so cheap now IMO kinda hard justifying a desk top unless your gaming or programing.

Regards A

I second that. Why pay more if you can pick up new laptop every 2 years from Aldi for under $500. If it fails bring it back and exchange it for a new one no questions ask.
As to Win XP operating system...it is getting a bit old and a lot of new components in a PC are not supported anymore. I'm running windows 7 for a while now and don't seem to have any problems. It is a lot faster than vista and it is easy to pick up.
Btw the money you save you can spend on your Jeep

[Ando_13]

Originally Posted by kj69

It was purchased in Jan 2009 so solid 5 years old ,e8500 intelcore2duo 8 gig ddr2 ram, basically using for , videos ,surfing the net , wireless use tried some gaming with it but it kept freezing so gave up on that (only 2 gig ram then) has a 512mg video card .

Just upgrade OS if hardware still working. Win8 runs on old hardware well, particularly if you have more than 4gb ram.

Amazon

 

Amazon

[NTRubicon]

Windows XP for its longevity is the king of the consumer operating systems because of stability over time and the sheer volume it sold. It was based on the commercial NT4 product that is still used today in some (low tech) places, even though NT pre-dates WinXP by nearly 8 years ..

Microsoft surely had no idea that windows XP was going to be the flagship for its biggest sales period in history - with computers having such a large uptake in the early 2000's into households and the excitement of accessing this new Inter-web-net-surfing thing that we'd all heard about, the PC flourished and spread like the iPhone did (and still kind of does).

Windows Vista came in a time where the world had options. Good options. The iPhone was just getting started. Windows XP was still strong and stable. People had gotten used to it and didn't want to change. Kind of like that period of time when the Liberal Party seemed like the best people to have around for 12 years, just so we could stay away from those Labor blokes who just wanted to give us a GST. Then we got smart and picked Kevin07- monkey:

Vista was fraught with trouble due to poor sales, 'too different' desktop functions, though I agree with JimmyB, I had Vista and no problems for nearly 5 years.

With the coming of Windows 7 I saw more of the same of Vista with a few perks, but none of the reliable WinXP, so I virtually jumped ship around this stage. I got rid of 5 computers (yeah I had the whole house wired) and went 'low tech' for a few years while my children were infants so that I was present when my wife needed me most.

Now I'm typing on an iMac, with an iPad sitting next to me. I don't have an iPhone (Nokia 6150 - with a keypad! - represent low tech folks!) I have a PC laptop that I've only recently blown the dust off for the first time in two years since owning an iPad (I upgraded it to windows 7 from Vista only because it was cheap), and the media centre PC (Vista) just had a major heart attack and I think its dead.

Windows 8 is surely something to behold, but I've not ventured into PC based touch screen stuff yet. 8.1 will surely fix a lot of the issues people have found with 8 - like finding their way around the desktop with that stupid touch interface Metro that was strapped to the back of Windows 7.

I'll stick with the iStuff for now, as it fits my limited needs for the moment.

Incidentally, I found out recently that the kids that are pressing the 'Save' icon on Microsoft Word have NO IDEA what they are clicking on.. They have never seen a 3.5" floppy disk, let alone use one!

Also, the save icon floppy disc has the little silver sliding flap thingy on backwards.


NB: My entire workplace is still operating on WinXP so I hope it doesn't shut down too quickly, or I'm stuffed.

[snowing]

Well being in the IT industry for long time.. I would suggest if currently using XP. It would be better to skip Windows Vista (one of the worst "OS" from MS), Windows 7 and Windows 8. Go straight to Windows 8.1. There will be learning curve to upgrade to Windows 7 anyway and the curve will be similar to Windows 8.1. From MS history, they will dump Windows 7 soon.
Both Windows 7 and 8.1 are stable and easy to use. It will take a bit of time to adjust from XP. Windows 8 just not worth the hassle.

[Banshee]

I tend to disagree slightly.

The learning curve from XP to Vista/7 is minor for most users. 8/8.1 on the gripping hand, are completely different in behaviour until you add 3rd party tools like ClassocShell to get back normal start menu functionality. Do not be fooled the "Start button" in 8.1 does not give back the button and functions you are used to having.

I also disagree with many on how bad Vista was. It was a big change in the core coding of the O/S that meant that:

1. it needed new drivers for all the 3rd party hardware, (priinters, scanners etc) AND

2. it was where MS switched from what was originally designed as a consumer stand alone PC model, to an always online connected model.

What this meant was that for point 1, all the 3rd party hardware manufacturers had to produce new drivers for their equipment, but despite having access to the data they needed, at release they had only made them for their newest products. Leaving many with older gear out in the cold & having to buy new equipment if they wanted to use the new O/S. The drivers for the older gear eventually trickled out, but it took some years before most stuff was supported. This led to Vista having a poor reputation for supporting older hardware despite it being the 3rd party OEMs who were at fault.

Point 2 was in response to all the criticism that MS received over the 'permit by default' security model that had come from the operating systems DOS heritage. Other O/Ss (Linux and MacOS), were derived from UNIX which was always a network operating system, so it, and they, were always 'deny by default' except for specific user folders that you are granted access to. Switching to this type of security model meant many legacy programs would have issues, so MS made security workarounds for them, thus the grey desktop with the access request prompt that so annoyed many people. They were used to everything just doing what it needed to without intervention, but that is what gave the malware creators such free reign. This was lose-lose for MS. Either they could take the hit with upset users who were interrupted by security prompts, or they could take the hit for continuing to fail to address the industry security issues. No choice there, but still no win for them.

Windows 7 tweaked the security prompts a little so they are less obtrusive & made it prettier, but is essentially Vista service pack 2 with a different name to get away from the bad publicity surrounding the Vista name. In fact, if you notice all the XP updates are numbered KB5.nnnnnn (KB is for Knowledge Base) and the ones for Vista are KB6.0nnnnn. But Windows 7 is KB6.1nnnnn so Windows 7 is actually 6.1, (Windows 8 I have not got installed here, but I believe they may actually be KB7.nnn)
8 was designed by people who wanted a single user interface across all platforms, desktop, laptop, tablet and phone. But an interface for tablets & phones with touchscreens does not work for desktops with keyboard & mouse. So they gave it the ability to switch to the standard Windows desktop, but without all the features you are used to & many things are hidden in different places and can be very difficult to locate until you have learnt the 'secrets' to get to them. The Metro screen is ok if you have a touchscreen, but quite difficult for KB/mouse until you have sufficient practice.

There are rumours that Windows 9 (due in 2015?) will be a further step back towards 7 in user interface. MS are even now, apparently, looking at giving 8.1 away to vendors free to try & increase the uptake since it is so disliked as a desktop user interface by so many. Even if it is just due to the change. It is not a 'bad' O/S, as such, just a very big change in the way things are done and not entirely suitable for many of the PCs it has been installed on.

TL/DR

For now, I'd probably just go with a relatively cheap laptop or desktop with a Win 7 install. Unless you want to play games with high end graphics requirements or need it for significant data processing, CAD or the like. Any low to mid range PC will be plenty for email, browsing & watching movies.

[snowing]

You are right that Windows 8 is KB7nn

Between, can you still get Windows 7 install on new PCs?
I'm in Hong Kong now, and it is hard to get Windows 7 on OEM installation unless for corporate users. All notebooks are installed with Windows 8.1 unless they are leftover stocks or older models.
I have all versions of Windows and tested them. Windows 8.. forget it. It is hard for experienced and new users. Windows 8.1 is good and stable but needs a few tweaks if you are used to working with Windows 7. The metro UI.. forget it. I just put programs I use on desktop and the shortcut bar.
I would say, it the notebook/PC has 4GB ram or more ram, go with Windows 8.1, at least you don't have to worry about having to change OS again for quite some time.
If anything less than 4GB, go with Windows 7. It is definitely smoother with less RAM.

Don't worry.. I don't think Windows 9 will be on the board yet. So far I still don't see anything to test or mentioned. Otherwise would have got notice on that already.

As a matter of fact.. corporate loves XP so much that many of them just want XP back. It cost them too much to move up to other versions.. winodws 7/8/8.1 as they don't want to train people again. This is what is happening in Hong Kong. I can still see Windows NT workstation in my previous company. I really miss that.