XP Holdouts, and Finding a Good Deal on a New PC

Hi, Wilders Security Forums!

Well, I wasn't sure if this thread should go in the other software & services forum or this one, however, I decided that it such ultimately go into this forum.

But anyway, with the end of XP in exactly one month from today, I was first wondering if there were any other posters at the board, in addition to myself, who were still XP holdouts.

Also, basically, the reason why I am still an XP holdout is because I would like to purchase a new 64 bit, Windows 8.1 PC with a decent processor in it...but I would like to find a really good deal on one.

However, for the last month and a half(or nearly a half), I just haven't been able to find a good deal or sale on the type of computer that I am looking for. Therefore, I wanted to ask the forum if you all know of any PC merchants(brick and mortar or online) who have any good deals on the type of PC that I am looking for.

Also, related to this topic, I recently came across an interesting Yahoo article called: "Windows XP diehards aren’t going quietly" and here's a quote from it:

And BTW, as far as purchasing Windows 7 at this point in the game, it's support ends in 2020. Therefore, in 6 years, people who would have purchased Windows 7 to replace Windows XP would basically find themselves in the same boat as they're in now.


But any replies to this thread would be appreciated.

 

6 years from now the picture will probably have changed entirely... Again.

I would personally upgrade to Windows 7, and stick with that for a while. With luck, Microsoft will have separated their mouse/keyboard and touch-based interfaces once again by the time Windows 7 support is dropped. And meanwhile, 7 runs very nicely on most computers made in the last 5 years or so.

The problem is, people are damned if they do and damned if they don't. Don't upgrade? You dig yourself deeper and deeper into the hole of unsupported legacy software. Upgrade? Half the time your legacy stuff breaks... And the cycle repeats itself a few years later. It's obnoxious for consumers; and infuriatingly wasteful, from an environmental and economic standpoint.

I honestly wish I could offer better advice, but the other alternatives (switching to Linux, switching to Mac, switching to some insultingly toy-like mobile platform) do not strike me as better...

 

I don't know, partner. Six years can go by pretty fast. Especially depending on how old you are. lol

Also, based on this chart that I found:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/lifecycle

Windows 8 ends support in January 10, 2023. And even though the end of support for 8.1 is "Not yet established," it obviously will be beyond the W8 end date.

Actually, I have no idea what legacy software is.

 

I will buy a Mac mini myself as it will suite me fine. But I haven't done so yet because I am waiting for Apple to upgrade the Hardware in the lineup. It's close to 500 days since the last Hardware bump so it can't be that far away.

And I was pleased to read an article where Schiller said that Apple had no plans to mix iOS and OSX into one OS, and that they will keep them separate.

 

I believe that is the date for Windows 8 in general, including updates. Notice how they indicate that 8.1 is the latest update or service pack, as SP3 is to XP. You'll likely have to update again (to Update 1 and whatever follows that) to stay with the 2023 date. The end of support for 8.1 in particular is probably sooner than 2023, just as support for the other versions without the latest service pack have already ended.

They're just letting you know now if you buy Windows 8, how long you can get support without having to pay for an OS upgrade.

It just means old software that hasn't been updated to be more compliant with more recent OSes. For instance, games designed for XP might not run on Windows 7 without jumping through hoops (or at all).

 

Well, I was hoping that they would have some good sales for St. Partick's Day and for Springtime this week, but from some of the advertisements that I've seen, they really don't have anything that I want. However, I haven't looked at all the ads yet.

Also, I have this feeling that the industry is taking advantage of the April 8th date and not really offering up good discounts on computers since they know that there are still a lot of people who are going to be buying a new computer over the next several weeks.

However, I thought about downloading Ubuntu and using that for a while until the industry becomes more flexible with their prices.

 

Linux may be an okay option if you're not particularly tied to Windows applications. The basic problem is that most Linux desktops suffer from a profound case of feature bloat, and are not suitable XP replacements. You can always install Fluxbox or such on top of a distro, and use it instead of the normal desktop, but that makes it harder to use (more minimal interface, etc).

 

Thank sounds like a: "Thanks, but no thanks" to me.

 

The PC retail industry is working with very small margins now. I don't think you're going to see big discounts any time soon. It's not like 10 years ago when every year new RAM was out and that would be a huge improvement over the older generations.

 

I rather figured. To be fair, I find lightweight window managers indispensible, but that's because most of my day consists of command line wrangling. Minimal desktops are definitely an acquired taste.

If I had to recommend a full Linux desktop though, it would be Xfce. Version 4.10 handles like Windows, but more configurable and without the tacky parts. IMO it's the most polished of the Linux desktops.

I would say Xubuntu might be worth trying, now that the horrible apt-xapian-index "feature" has been fixed in LTS. But you may want to make some changes to the defaults, like turning off the compositor, and maybe switching to a lighter GTK theme (if any exist ).

Edit: Actually both Ubuntu and Xubuntu come with lighter GTK themes - the high-contrast ones. They're a little ugly, and icons are broken in High Contrast Inverse, but they're much faster than the defaults.

 

I was thinking of getting something new, but for reasons mentioned here didn't see it as a wise road to take. I normally like to stay a generation at least behind, or more, to get it for pennies on the dollar. And this was no exception. I was able to get 2 Dell Inspiron 530's for less than half what what 1 newer one would cost. And it will still be relevant just as long. They both have Core2Duo CPU's (2.83 & 3.0 ghz), 4 GB RAM (4x1), and 250 & 500 GB HD's. The one has a mid grade video card and the other just onboard video. They are upgradable to 8 GB RAM. Cost was just north of $200 for both combined.

And they will last until at least 2020. I'm still running XP Pro SP3 now, and will milk it until the very end (at least). And another thing I like about Dells... their "reinstallation DVD's". You can find them on EBay dirt cheap, unlike a Windows OS. I got one for Win7 Pro 32-bit, and one for Win7 Ultimate 32-bit that has a key with it, just in case I want a licensed copy for some reason, that I paid a tad more for ($29.99). And Win7 Pro 64-bit, in case I want to upgrade to that 8 GB of RAM and go x64. The unlicensed ones you can get for like $10 if you pick your spots. I have an XP Pro SP3 disc too that I got for $7 years ago. And they don't install a bunch of bloat either... just whatever drivers you need for that OS & machine. No software, no nothing else.

Got boxes for both floors of my house and feel covered until at least 2020, on the cheap. I don't use them for current gen gaming or anything so these specs are more than sufficient... fly even the way I tweak the OS & browser bare bone style. Then when they stop support for Win7 I'll reassess the situation.

I'm thinking about just keeping XP on one of them and just using it as a gaming console (the one with the video card). Mostly emulators, and older games, or not current anyway. And other media... movies, music, etc... And use the one with 7 to browse the internet. Or if "XP Mode" works better than expected I could put 7 on both, and use both to do all of the above.

I could conceivably even bump them up to 8 GB of RAM and use whatever 64-bit version of the current OS is out there... well into the 20's. Unless they intentionally bloat the OS, but ever since Vista anyway they've actually been getting lighter.