Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Microsoft Kills Support For XP SP2

Posted by timothy on from the too-soon? dept.

Trailrunner7 writes "Microsoft's announcement this week that it is preparing to end support for machines running Windows XP SP2 not only represents a challenge for the thousands of businesses still running SP2, but also is the end of an era for both Microsoft and its customers. It wasn't until 2004 that the final release of XP SP2 hit the streets, but when it did, it represented a huge step forward in security for Windows users. It wasn't necessarily the feature set that mattered as much as the fact that the protections were enabled by default and taken out of the users' hands."

6 of 315 comments (clear)

  1. So what? by SanityInAnarchy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What's wrong with SP3?

    --
    Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
    1. Re:So what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Nothing wrong with SP3. Just another "security columnist" trying to make headlines by exaggerating a minor event. Title of his article? "End of Support for XP SP2 is End of an Era", give me a break.

    2. Re:So what? by westlake · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Way back when I had XP SP2, installing SP3 borked my machine. Had to do a System Restore.

      The plural of anecdote is not data. How many upgrades to SP3 were successful on the first attempt?

    3. Re:So what? by Hijacked+Public · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I'd do that, but my XP disc is stamped "DO NOT MAKE ILLEGAL COPIES OF THIS DISC" and I haven't yet finished reading USC Title 17 to determine whether your recommendation would be illegal.

      --
      "Sacrifice for the good of The State" - The State
  2. Re:XPSP2? by spidercoz · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I know you tried to make the OP look foolish but is it really that hard to write Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2?

    --
    "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - Evelyn Beatrice Hall, re Voltaire
  3. Re:Typical MS forcing their customers to be slaves by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Maybe they should contact the company that supports their multi-million dollar financial software to get off their asses and fix their software.

    Microsoft, for all their faults, maintains their OS API quite well. You do not see this sort of API stability from almost any other vendor. API that worked in Windows 95 still works, more or less.