Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft Counts Down To XP Death
mikejuk writes "Microsoft have just released an end-of-support countdown gadget that ticks off the days until XP is no longer supported — but it only runs under Vista or Windows 7! It focuses the mind on the fact that XP is being forcibly retired. It is a wake-up call to think hard about the unpleasant situation and consider the alternatives.So as you watch the count down to XP's death tick by think about the problems created by using software that actually belongs to someone else..."
does it work under wine?
So then buy from Redhat, or Ubuntu or whoever. Lots of folks will provide support for FOSS software. This is an old piece of FUD you are spewing here.
But if you can't do it yourself, being dependent on RedHat or Ubuntu really isn't any better than being dependent on Microsoft other than philosophical differences which really don't enter into a business decision.
We've seen people taking advantage of that option (for somewhat different reasons) just recently with OpenOffice, and for KDE3 there is the Trinity "fork".
Regarding "Ownership" though - I completely agree, just because MS stops support doesn't mean you can not use the software anymore. Similarly Ubuntu or Redhat will also eliminate support for older versions at some point.
What abuse of power? You can continue using XP for as long as you want; they don't magically make it stop working.
They are just saying they are not going to spend further time and money updating it. After almost 10 years this should have been expected seeing that most software isn't maintained nearly as long.
Total cost of ownerships figures are debatable, what is not is that with closed source sofware you do not decide your own IT strategy.
You just "do as told"..
If you like that, be their guest...
So in order to encourage you to upgrade Windows XP to a newer version, they create a countdown clock that only runs on systems you have already upgraded??? Is it called the "Schadenfreude Clock"?
his is potentially good for the economy, because corporations across America will soon be forced to update the operating systems and IT departments may need to hire new techs for installations.
This is just another version of breaking windows (*sigh* just re-read this, the glass kind) being "good" for the economy because it caused people to buy windows and pay window repairmen. The "good" for the economy would be found instead in people switching to more efficient software, having less system downtime, and more security resulting in less spam/viruses wasting resources. But the simple forced switching causing companies to hire IT workers is not good for the economy.
Don't get me wrong, IT workers are important for a company, but you need to understand that all they do is lose a company money. Like HR, they usually don't produce product, they are on overhead. A good IT person can "save" a company huge sums of money by being efficient and lowering overhead and downtime company wide, but increasing IT budget is always a loss unless that increase is recouped by their ability to increase efficiencies elsewhere.
Dude, XP is over 10 years old. Please inform me which popular Linux desktop distro has backwards support for 10 year old packages?
XP was still on sale last year when I bought my netbook (now wiped and running Ubuntu). The date it was first released is meaningless.
It's very different, because there are multiple organisations that provide linux support and nothing to prevent new organisations springing up, while only one organisation provides windows support.
You wouldn't want to grow dependent on anything without there being a second source supplier who can step in if the first one fails. And similarly, multiple competing suppliers will result in better and cheaper service.
http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
Except Microsoft is still selling XP. I mean new copies of it to day. I can still buy a PC that comes new from the factory with XP.
How long did Microsoft support 98 after it stopped selling it? Windows 2000?
That is the difference. Stop XP should have five years from the day they stop selling it.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
You can upgrade that Ubuntu to the latest version for 0 GBP. People love to claim MS prices are in line, but they forget that they did not get a free win 7 disk in the mail.
Perhaps Microsoft should investigate why people are still using XP and haven't upgraded. The new Linux distributions are much nicer in many ways (I've been using Linux since 1998 in the server, on the desktop, and sometimes the laptop), so people want to upgrade. Why don't people want to upgrade to 7?
RHEL desktop self-support subscription is $49 a year. Windows 7 Home Premium is $200. Cost is roughly equivalent on a 4-year upgrade cycle, though RHEL support gives you more than a Windows license does.
RHEL Workstation self-support subscription is $179/yr. Windows 7 Pro is $300. Ditto on the qualification re: getting more.
If you're looking at a standard subscription for RHEL Workstation, it's $299 a year. Compare to the same level of support from Microsoft: probably Technet Pro, which is $349 for the first year and $249 for renewals.
How is the parent spreading FUD when you're the one comparing apples to oranges? You're either misinformed, or being disingenuous. If it's the first, then I hope I've opened your eyes. If it's the latter, then GTFO.
"Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
Debian, with in place upgrades there is no need for a standing version. Gentoo as well. This whole one version thing is a hold over from proprietary licensing.
If you want to go that route XP has not been supported that long, XP SP1 is for instance no longer supported, I do not believe SP2 is either.
So what's going to happen to the online activation?
Long ago when XP came out there was an issue of what happens when XP gets killed and there's no more activation. I believe Microsoft claimed that they were going to release a patch to take away the activation before killing XP, but I don't know if that's even true. And if it's not, people may be in serious trouble when their XP thinks their new harddrive requires phoning home and Microsoft refuses to answer. Forced upgrades for everyone.
XP was forced onto netbooks because Vista, and 7 are to much for netbooks, and MSFT forced manufacturers to install bigger processors and actual hard drives to get XP onto those machines.
Remember the first netbooks were a lot like the ipad in terms of hardware. small flash memories(4-8 gb) low power processors etc all running Linux. MSFT realized the threat and extended XP's life because that was easier than cutting down windows 7 to fit on the first few Netbooks.
The only thing that really surprises me much any more is just how easy people forget reality and their own history.
i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
Just because Microsoft won't support XP, doesn't mean my company won't still be using 14+ year old software.
It's time for all coders to go over and give the guys at REACTOS a hand getting it out of Alpha.
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
And if you read the license carefully you are entitled to 2 free support calls, after that you're billed € 250 excl. VAT per case just like the rest. That was the quote about 8 years ago, I don't think it has been lowered in the meantime. Of course this is only valid if you bought a full license.
The best weapon of a dictatorship is secrecy, but the best weapon of a democracy should be the weapon of openness.
That's why I write my own OS, drivers and software. I also dug my own well in my backyard, bought a windmill-powered generator, built my own car, bake my own bread and only read stories that I wrote myself. Of course, with the latter, I usually have to wait about five years to forget the plot, but at least I know I'll like it.
Actually, I do bake my own bread, weather permitting.
I know you're joking but I've several friends who have *built* their own wind-powered generator systems (largely from instructions in MAKE magazine or Instructables) and while small generators like that certainly aren't running their whole houses, they do offset some electricity usage. Likewise, one of them has also made his own inverter for his solar panels, so he can back-drive into the grid (which seems like a Very Bad Idea, but hey he's the one with the master's degree in electrical engineering, not me.)
I was in a car crash a couple years ago and have serious memory problems. Back when my brain worked better I used to write a lot of short fiction, and guess what? I do reread my old stuff with no clear idea of how it's going to end. Le sigh. So your joke is all too real.
Nostalgia's not what it used to be.
Um...last time I checked there are around 73,357,145,315* companies in the world which will provide support for Micorosoft products
Last time I checked, there was one. And you probably couldn't afford it.
The problem here seems to be a misunderstanding of what 'support' means. Support means being able to get someone on the phone (or your favourite communications technology) and say 'this is broken, fix it,' and have them fix it. If your hardware or software configuration triggers a bug in the Windows 7 kernel causing it to crash, how many companies can offer support? One: Microsoft. A few other organisations have access to the source code, but none have the legal right to ship patches.
Now, if you're running Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and you have a bug like this, then you can get Red Hat to fix it if you have a support contract, but there are also many thousands of other companies willing to do the same work. For Linux and *BSD kernels, there are even individual consultants that a small business can afford to hire who will track down and fix a bug that only affects you. If you're in the same situation with regard to a Microsoft product and you're not a Fortune 500 company or a major government, you're pretty much out of luck.
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
If SuSe or Red Hat goes belly up tomorrow, or it's announced it will no longer be supported, you seriously expect that someone will *100% for sure* support it to the level required by an enterprise customer?
Well, considering that Oracle will do that very thing for RHEL right now, I'd say the answer is obviously yes.
Hey, I finally got my first freak! Took you long enough!
I laugh at your naive assessment that competing/alternate Linux vendors/contributors will support something that isn't theirs. If SuSe or Red Hat goes belly up tomorrow, or it's announced it will no longer be supported, you seriously expect that someone will *100% for sure* support it to the level required by an enterprise customer?
Yup. Because if RedHat won't, and Novell won't... I will.
That counts as one of the best features of Linux. Company-X might not have any desire to help you keep an old box running and secure. But unlike EOL'd Windows versions, if we hear about a new critical vulnerability today, by tomorrow a patch will exist; and unlike Windows (EOL'd or not), it doesn't matter if that vulnerability affects Solitaire or the deepest recesses of the kernel, a sufficiently knowledgeable user still has the power (and legal right) to repair it.
So yeah, in many cases, it might make more sense to upgrade to a newer version. But if you absolutely, positively need to keep an old Caldera 2.2 box up and running, and have enough money to throw at me, we can keep that sucker up and running until the Sun swallows the Earth.