
Windows XP Will Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night - sally_terp
http://duo.sc/1fJKahu
======
_delirium
I recently upgraded my parents from XP to Windows 7, and it wasn't a very
pleasant transition. Mostly, miscellaneous peripherals don't work anymore,
because the companies never released Win7 drivers. So I can see why some
people are holding back.

They're older peripherals of course, but perfectly serviceable still, except
for the lack of drivers. For the scanner I did actually find a third-party
driver package ([http://www.hamrick.com/](http://www.hamrick.com/)) that'll
make it work for $40. But for $40 you can just buy a new scanner and junk the
old one, as wasteful as that sounds. It'd be nice if Microsoft would just buy
this guy out and include his drivers as Win7 standard.

Some scientists I know have bigger upgrade problems, because equipment more
specialized than scanners isn't always so easy to replace, and there is a
bunch of miscellaneous lab equipment that connects to an XP computer for basic
data-logging and control. On the plus side, you can at least isolate those
computers from the internet.

~~~
Thrymr
Aside: I purchased the professional edition of VueScan
([http://www.hamrick.com/](http://www.hamrick.com/)) about as long ago as
Windows XP came out, and it is still supported for upgrades. Better than
bundled software, works on multiple platforms with every scanner I throw at
it. One of my best software purchases ever.

------
bbarn
Why is it there's an expectation for MS to support XP for so long, yet people
have so little problem with Apple's OS policies? Entire PowerPC architecture
abandoned between versions? My last mac was a great little 10 inch ultra-
portable, which no more than 6 months after purchase was made obsolete by the
Intel macs release. A release upon which, they not only stopped supporting the
old OS, they stopped giving people any upgrade path at all for their
equipment. Most machines that run XP can be made to run windows 7, albeit
without all the bells and whistles. Those that aren't, are likely old enough
that they'll probably need replacing soon enough anyway.

~~~
sentenza
Because there are different kinds of "just works".

There are those people that want to have a seamlessly integrated UI that just
works, so they use Apple.

There are those people that want their toolchain to just work, so they use
Linux/BSD.

And finally, there are those that want their computer to just work until it
breaks and they have to buy a new one. Those people are "still on Windows".

------
ericcholis
One particular pain point, no SNI support in IE:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Server_Name_Indication](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Server_Name_Indication)

Luckily, it would seem that the major non-IE browsers support it (almost)
everywhere.

------
themark
Ms should open source xp and let the community fix it

~~~
rplnt
There should not be any XP at this point in time.

~~~
nfoz
Why not? People can do what they want with their computers. If someone likes
XP, they are familiar with it runs on their hardware and their software is
working etc., who are you to tell them what to do.

The sad thing is they aren't getting security updates. If it was open-sourced,
then people could keep their systems secure.

~~~
rplnt
How would security updates magically appear if XP were open sourced? And do
you really think that people that use XP would somehow got to them? Maybe 1
out of 100 users of XP would care and seek how to patch that OS. Hence no one
cares about making updates for that OS. For example my Fedora 16 and most
installed software on it is open sourced and I don't receive any security
updates. Why there are not groups of people making security patches for it?

edit: If you are suggesting that users would go back to XP once it's
opensourced then you don't have much faith in people.

~~~
nfoz
> Maybe 1 out of 100 users of XP would care and seek how to patch that OS.

That's a good number of people, I think. I would love to see them empowered to
maintain their computers however they want.

Security updates don't magically happen. But with open source, people who want
to do them _can_ put in the effort. That's the point. You could maybe sustain
a business of being paid to maintain security updates for this magical open-
source-XP. Or maybe some enthusiasts would choose to do it. Maybe they
wouldn't. But we'll never know, because opens-source-XP will not exist.

------
camus2
Remember the Y2K bug? well you've seen nothing yet with XP going outdated,
trust me! But yeah,there is a huge market opportunity for IT firms.!

That mess will cost billions to businesses still running on XP...

------
leoc
The interesting thing is that patches for some of these vulnerabilities will
actually exist, it's just that you'll have to pay through the nose to get your
hands on them: [http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2334577/banks-
negot...](http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2334577/banks-negotiate-
extended-windows-xp-support-for-atm-systems)

------
at-fates-hands
We had a client who wouldn't upgrade because they had several key programs
that would only run on IE6, one of which included their accounting software.

I can only imagine how many hackers are licking their chops right now. I'm
pretty sure some groups have been working on exploits for a while now, getting
ready for the coming gold rush.

~~~
dangrossman
It's probably time to upgrade clients like that to Windows 7 Professional, and
have them run their old apps in XP mode. That's the free Windows XP VM that
came with Windows 7.

~~~
ygra
It's not solving the problem, though, as you then _still_ have an XP machine
that cannot be patched anymore. It's just virtual and only runs when the old
application runs, but that doesn't necessarily help.

------
rplnt
The global percentages are not that scary in my opinion. From what I've seen
it's under 20% overall, and much better (~14%) for certain groups of users. Of
course my source is biased (as is is netmarketshare.com), but it's big enough
to be believable.

~~~
jonathansizz
So potentially having tens or hundreds of millions of computers in a giant
botnet 2 months from now is not scary?

------
afhsfsfdsss88
People can still keep using XP for as long as they want as long as they keep
the machine physically disconnected from the internet!

The big risk is remote exploitation[most of the time].

------
wikiburner
Anyone know where you can still buy legit copies of Vista?

I've got several clients with various systems and software that probably won't
run with 7 or 8.

~~~
sentenza
Depends on how you value your time. If you have time to spare, buy crappy old
PCs with Vista license keys on Ebay, "harvest" the license keys, install a
nice shiny Ubuntu and re-sell them as Computer (No Windows) on Ebay again.

Might even be that you'll get a better price for a computer without windows
than for one with vista.

------
ralphc
I've been warning everyone I can about this. Matter of fact my stylist has an
second computer with XP in a bad upgrade loop so it doesn't boot. Wired
ethernet, just used for browsing. I'll be putting LXLE on it, should handle
everything she does on this box.

------
themark
It shouldn't be allowed to happen. It's almost like letting public
infrastructure fail.

~~~
mikeash
It's like letting a bridge fail, after advertising that you're going to let it
fail for years, and putting up lots of bright neon signs, and orange cones,
and barrels, and flashing lights... and people still go out of their way to
drive over the bridge because they don't want to learn how to drive over the
newer bridge that's just down the road.

Microsoft's support of old crap is already at a heroic level. They've already
gone above and beyond what anyone should reasonably expect. If people persist
in using old junk well after it's obviously a bad idea, that's their own
problem.

~~~
camus2
I agree 100% that's why businesses shouldnt be buying bridges from people that
tell their customers there is an expiration date on the infrastructure,that's
basically a scam.

A bridge should be maintainable and upgradable forever,just like Linux.
Windows obviously was a poor choice to begin with !!!

~~~
benjaminl
Ubuntu provides five years of support for their LTS releases. The oldest OS
that Ubuntu support is from 2010. Red Hat just EOLed an OS from 2003. Debian
provides support for previous releases for "about a year or so". While Windows
XP was released in 2002, over 12 years ago and Windows XP Embedded will be
supported until 2016. So it looks like if you want the longest period of
support, your best bet is Windows not Linux.

------
fredmin
500 error.

must of been hosted from windows xp.

~~~
ntakasaki
It's actually running nginx on Linux.

~~~
ubercow13
Should have used XP

