Windows XP: Game Over? - Comments Page 1

Greetings. My information suggests that the concerns about XP past April 8 of greatly over hyped and generating unnecessary anxiety.

Certainly there is a need to be informed. To mention one source for informed opinion, I offer Steve Gibson - (software engineer who found the first spyware, coining the name "Spyware") - who can be heard on www.twit.tv segment of Security Now.

Unfortunately I'm on the road and it's awkward for me to expand references at the moment. However, if there is interest I will attempt to do so.

EDITOR'S NOTE: I think the link below is what you are after. Note that Gibson says this about his lack of concern for ditching XP: "maybe it only applies to somebody who really understands the dangers. It's time to move to Windows 7. I will migrate myself." Gibson is about as techie as they come, so he may not appreciate that the other 99.99% of the computer using population really doesn't understand the dangers.

I have some expensive programs on my XP machines. I can work quickly and efficiently with this software and am unable to find the older versions for sale anywhere. I also question how seamlessly they would work with a different operating system. I recently purchased a new laptop that I use mainly for everything on line and eMail... sounds really awkward now that I see it in print, but it's working very well for me (for now).

Maybe I missed the announcement, but isn't Microsoft also ending support for Office 2003 in April 2014 too?

EDITOR'S NOTE: That's correct. It's a good time to check out free alternatives like Google Docs or Office Online.

The link to the Windows 7 Compatibility Center (under More to Explore) takes me to a Windows 8.1 compatibility page. But the article says if you have XP use the Windows 7 upgrade, not Windows 8. Then I ran the Windows 8 Compatibility program, and at the end, after all the results, it said Windows 8 was not available in my country. Gee, where is New Jersey in their opinion?
As I have said before, it seems impractical to convert. A PC designed for the OS, for me, is the only way to go. So it's still XP for me.

We heard some time back about great numbers of ATMs running Windows XP; any news on those ?

If moving off of XP is such an imperative, how come 2/3 of all ATM's run XP and most of the banks have no solid plans to move off of it and those that do are years away from moving to Windows 7? By the way, none I have heard of are moving to Windows 8.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The "embedded" version of XP that ATMs use will be supported until 2016.

I have not tried it yet, but I have read that running XP as a virtual Machine inside of Linux should be pretty safe.

We had an XP computer which kept going and going, which was not good enough for an upgrade to Windows 7 and which we called Old Faithful. It died recently. We haven't yet replaced it. But we probably would have stopped using after April 8.
On another note, I have used Laplink's PC Mover and found it works very well and is very easy to use.
Thanks as always for your interesting and informative articles

Unless you really need Windows (or just really like it) now is a good time to think about switching to Linux - especially if money is the main reason you've kept XP so long. For the average home user Linux can do most anything Windows can do, and it does it for free. Even some businesses may want to consider switching. Red Hat Enterprise Linux and CentOS are high quality operating systems geared toward business use. In fact, Red Hat offers some of the best support a business could hope to find.

Thank you, Bob, for an excellent resource to help tolerate this little "nightmare". Michael

I have a 2nd computer with Windows 7. Would it be possible (and safe) to call someone like Geek Squad and have all my files ghosted from the computer I use daily which runs XP to the other computer that has Win 7? Or if Win 7 is likely to be phased out to Win 8, perhaps I should but a new touch screen laptop with Win 8 and have my programs ghosted to that. Is ghosting still possible? I used it years and years ago.

EDITOR'S NOTE: I'd recommend the Laplink PCmover app to move your files. Windows 7 will be around until 2020.

Hi, I'm using XP as my main pc .. have win7 on a laptop and finally working the way i want it to.
Also have a new win 8 pc upgraded to 8.1 .. BUT this is the poorest performer of all!!!
I'll continue with XP for my main functions, considering turning the 8.1 into linux!!

So how long do Windows 7 Professional version users have before we have to go through the same thing? I bought a new PC a year ago. It came with 7Pro and I even paid the small fee to upgrade to Win8 as soon as it was released. It did, I did, total disaster! It took my PC support team a week to get me back up and running on Win7Pro. They could not migrate back to Win7 from Win8; 8 refused to release it's hold on the HD. They would up send a new HD with Win7 installed! I cannot state how much I hate Win8. But my home PC is still XP. If I buy a new PC and have Win7Pro installed from factory (if it is even still available), how long before we are facing the same mess again? BTW, I tried to switch tracks to Mac, but that, too, was a disaster. I'm an old dog who's been jumping through Windows hoops since their first release. I was SO lost with that Mac that I sat and looked at the blank screen for two days before sending it back and getting something I was totally familiar with. Sorry I got off the subject. So what's the abandon date for Windows 7 all versions?

I have used Win XP for six years, and I have never downloaded any security updates since I installed it in 2008. So far I haven’t had any real security issues as the Anti-Virus software that is protecting my system seems to be doing a good job. If my Anti-Virus can protect me for six years without any XP security updates, why should I change over to Win 7 that still suffers from a Vista hangover?

What I like about XP is being able to still access my DOS programs. Another thing I like is being able to use Outlook Express to view my email. I have found that Firefox email software is similar to OE. It is called Thunderbird. It takes a little while to get use to it.

I would like to know if Windows 8 or 8.1 comes with Windows Explorer or do you have to keep all your files on a cloud?

I switched to Ubuntu about 4 years ago. Never looked back. For the occasional "have to have Windows", you can always use Wine which allows many windows based software run in Linux. I still like utilities like Editpad and Iview, both run just fine using Wine. Alternatively, you run a virtual machine inside of Linux.

About 4 days ago, the news came out that "Microsoft now offers $100 off new PCs for trading in a Windows XP machine". I think there are some limitations to this offer but some of your readers (with the older WinXP systems) maybe enticed to upgrade.
Additionally, they can donate their older WinXP system to their local church, or senior center and maybe able to use it as a deduction in their tax returns which is 7 days after April 8th deadline for WinXP support.

I'm a writer. Windows XP was in my mini-laptop and I never liked the laptop very much--key board too small, but I wanted to use the 111 Gigabytes of hard drive. With help from articles online, I removed the hard drive from the laptop, turned it into an external memory for my Windows 7 computer. Love it! It's the storage place for all my writing.
It didn't cost much at all to do this.

I have my late husbands EEE computer with XP. the only time I use it is when Windows 8.1 is fouled up on my new laptop and I need to print something. So far I have had to re-install Windows 8 four times and Office 2013 three times because Word wont open anymore. Dell tells me I need to re-install Windows 8 and not upgrade it to 8.1 if I want my Office to keep working. Microsoft released both before they were ready, and they want me to pay for support. As soon as Apple comes out with a touch screen, I am switching with money no object.

in answer to your invite, Bob, to post here, I have my 2 xp laptops in a box en route to the Philippines to be donated to a remote medical missionary outpost in the northern part of the country, to be used at faith-based health presentations. thanks for the warnings!