Windows Xp nears End Of Life (THANK GOD!) Zero Day Forever April 8 2014

[getemngo]

If Microsoft is serious about ending XP's use, perhaps they should actively campaign for it, like with the IE 6 Countdown site.

I really liked Office 2003. Call me weird. (Though I can't stand Office 2004 for Mac.)

[CNGL-Leudimin]

So today is the day. The end of support for Windows XP, but it will continue to work. However, about Office 2003 this doesn't affect me since I updated to Office 2007 a couple years ago.

[vtk]

My Windows XP computer is just as awesome today as it was when I acquired it nearly 6 years ago.  It hasn't become less awesome with age.  I have no desire to upgrade to an awesomer computer, because mine is awesome enough already.  This end-of-support thing is the only reason I have to even consider a replacement, and I don't think it's that big a deal.   At least, it doesn't seem like it's enough of a problem to warrant the financial expense of buying awesomer hardware just to run the more-bloated OS plus the OS itself, nor the time expense of migrating files, installing software, learning the new UI, and configuring things to my preferences.

[txstateends]

Anybody know where I can get Win7 cheap?  The lowest I've heard so far (on another board) is $99.  I don't even have that right now.

[agentsteel53]

If Microsoft is serious about ending XP's use, perhaps they should actively campaign for it, like with the IE 6 Countdown site.

I really liked Office 2003. Call me weird. (Though I can't stand Office 2004 for Mac.)

I also like 03 compared to 07.  Office 07 looks like nothing else out there, just itself.  as far as I know, no other programs have adopted the "ribbon" interface.  I hate the ribbon because it's constantly changing, and sometimes you just wonder "where the fuck did that button go"?  also, they ruined "save as".  how the fuck did they manage to do that!?  it's like ruining the enter key; I didn't think it was possible.

(Office 16 will probably ruin the enter key.  watch for it.)

[formulanone]

I really liked Office 2003. Call me weird. (Though I can't stand Office 2004 for Mac.)

I still have Office 97 on my netbook; mainly just for a quick Word/Excel edit...they still work well for the limited and basic features I ask of them. Office 2003 was the last great iteration before it became even more bloated.

Office 2003 on my home PC, and 2010 on my work PC. Other than Outlook, I've yet to see/use/experience any astounding differences from 97 to 2003. I save most of my 2010 files to .doc/.xls format so OpenOffice can read them on my phone.

[sammi]

as far as I know, no other programs have adopted the "ribbon" interface.

Nope. There's Microsoft's software, which you would kinda expect to be using the Ribbon, and then there are third-party programs using the .NET Framework that have implemented Ribbon interfaces. A lot of programs you've never even heard of before have Ribbons.

Even AutoCAD uses it.

[agentsteel53]

A lot of programs you've never even heard of before have Ribbons.

I suppose that's what I get for using primarily Photoshop CS2 and Inkscape.  I wonder if newer Photoshops have a ribbon.

[Mr_Northside]

If Microsoft is serious about ending XP's use, perhaps they should actively campaign for it, like with the IE 6 Countdown site.

They apparently are doing this promotion:
Microsoft will give you $100 to buy a new PC

If you're still using Windows XP, you just won $100 from Microsoft.

The only catch is that you have to upgrade to a new Windows 8 computer.

[getemngo]

A lot of programs you've never even heard of before have Ribbons.

I suppose that's what I get for using primarily Photoshop CS2 and Inkscape.  I wonder if newer Photoshops have a ribbon.

Nope! At least, they didn't as of the first release of Creative Cloud last year. I haven't used any Adobe software in 6 months or more.

Looking at screenshots of CS2, Photoshop still doesn't look all that different today. I've seen almost no interface changes in any of the Adobe products I've used from CS5 to CS6 to CC, except things have been moved around in Dreamweaver CC.

[SteveG1988]

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/xp/default.aspx?SEMID=1&WT.srch=1&ocid=XPEOS_SEM_google_FAM_WINDOWS_BRAND_NULL_LEARN_windows%20xp&wt.mc_id=XPEOS_SEM_google_FAM_WINDOWS_BRAND_NULL_LEARN_windows%20xp

You can get a laptop for as low as 249 bucks

[vtk]

Since the announced end-of-life date is a Tuesday, I expected a final few updates to be pushed, one of them being an obnoxious notification to let people know of XP's obsolescence, like the one I declined to download last week.  But my computer hasn't notified me of any available updates today. 

Not that I'm complaining.

[bugo]

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/xp/default.aspx?SEMID=1&WT.srch=1&ocid=XPEOS_SEM_google_FAM_WINDOWS_BRAND_NULL_LEARN_windows%20xp&wt.mc_id=XPEOS_SEM_google_FAM_WINDOWS_BRAND_NULL_LEARN_windows%20xp

You can get a laptop for as low as 249 bucks

That's a lot of money for somebody with a low income.

[formulanone]

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/xp/default.aspx?SEMID=1&WT.srch=1&ocid=XPEOS_SEM_google_FAM_WINDOWS_BRAND_NULL_LEARN_windows%20xp&wt.mc_id=XPEOS_SEM_google_FAM_WINDOWS_BRAND_NULL_LEARN_windows%20xp

You can get a laptop for as low as 249 bucks

That's a lot of money for somebody with a low income.

Chromebooks start at an even lower price. After that, I suppose you could wait for a hand-me-down PC from the family, after they've moved on.

[Roadgeek Adam]

Not that I have any intent on switching from XP even despite the end of support, but right now, computers would need to be a lot cheaper to even consider it, and even then, I'd probably see about a VirtualBox if possible.

Besides, Ol' Rustbucket (my desktop computer) is already struggling with XP Service Pack 3 on it (it took several hours to even get the cleanup ready for it). I don't think putting anything newer on it will even help.

Call me what you want, but XP stays for me.

[Roadsguy]

Well, it's happened.

My grandparents still use XP, and I'm even going to put it on an old laptop once a replacement for HP's IDE-to-proprietary-connector adapter arrives. There's nothing really wrong with still using it for home use if you're careful browsing, have antivirus, and know where to go for tech support other than Microsoft, but the vulnerabilities would be a problem for work use.

[SteveG1988]

Not that I have any intent on switching from XP even despite the end of support, but right now, computers would need to be a lot cheaper to even consider it, and even then, I'd probably see about a VirtualBox if possible.

Besides, Ol' Rustbucket (my desktop computer) is already struggling with XP Service Pack 3 on it (it took several hours to even get the cleanup ready for it). I don't think putting anything newer on it will even help.

Call me what you want, but XP stays for me.

I got a windows 7 compatible laptop for 159 bucks on ebay. 2.8GHZ Dual Core AMD Phenom II with 4gb of ram and a 160gb hard drive.

[Roadgeek Adam]

Not that I have any intent on switching from XP even despite the end of support, but right now, computers would need to be a lot cheaper to even consider it, and even then, I'd probably see about a VirtualBox if possible.

Besides, Ol' Rustbucket (my desktop computer) is already struggling with XP Service Pack 3 on it (it took several hours to even get the cleanup ready for it). I don't think putting anything newer on it will even help.

Call me what you want, but XP stays for me.

I got a windows 7 compatible laptop for 159 bucks on ebay. 2.8GHZ Dual Core AMD Phenom II with 4gb of ram and a 160gb hard drive.

We don't have $59 much less $159. And I am not switching.

[bugo]

Steve Gum thinks that $500 is pocket change and that everybody can afford new computers. 

[J N Winkler]

The flip side of that argument:  if $159, $59, or some arbitrarily low amount is too much to spend on new computer hardware, then what do you do if an emergency arises that requires spending that approximate amount of money?

[bugo]

There's a huge difference in between coming up with money for something that is necessary vs an unnecessary purchase forced by collusion between computer companies and Microsoft.

[algorerhythms]

Incidentally, if you have old programs that run on XP and not newer versions of Windows (or Linux), this article may be of interest.

[ET21]

Incidentally, if you have old programs that run on XP and not newer versions of Windows (or Linux), this article may be of interest.

Would this also apply to older games that worked on XP but don't anymore on 7 due to the 64-bit issue?

[vtk]

The flip side of that argument:  if $159, $59, or some arbitrarily low amount is too much to spend on new computer hardware, then what do you do if an emergency arises that requires spending that approximate amount of money?

I can afford to spend a hundred or two if I need to replace something, but I don't want to spend it if tht something still works. I'm more concerned with the time cost of migrating to a new computer, as outlined in my previous post.  And stuff that just won't migrate, like old software.  (I have a Win3.1 app which I still use once in a blue moon, as an extreme example.)

[Roadgeek Adam]

The flip side of that argument:  if $159, $59, or some arbitrarily low amount is too much to spend on new computer hardware, then what do you do if an emergency arises that requires spending that approximate amount of money?

Keep in mind I meant the $59 as a form of we don't have money to spend on an unnecessary expense. What Jeremy said is effectively the point being made here.