Windows XP, the Legend: Still Third Most-Used Desktop OS 2 Years After Demise

Discussion in 'other software & services' started by stapp, Apr 8, 2016.

  1. stapp

    stapp Global Moderator

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  2. login123

    login123 Registered Member

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    The comments are interesting. :)
     
  3. Amanda

    Amanda Registered Member

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    Windows XP is a LEGEND, one of the best operating systems I've ever used.

    Microsoft should do a Windows XP v2, with the same GUI and options to chose Windows Vista/7/8 GUI's.
    Also, with new libraries and DirectX 12.
    No tracking or spying either.
    And out-of-the-box Virtual images of all Windows editions, from Windows 1 to Windows ME, and no requirement for activation.
    And an initial price of $99 for the FPP license.

    Anyway, that's what I would do if I were Microsoft's CEO.
     
  4. MisterB

    MisterB Registered Member

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    The Xp zombie apocalypse of compromised Xp machines flooding the internet with spam and malware has yet to happen in spite of all the doomsayers. I continue to be one of the holdouts and keep using Xp on a daily, if somewhat limited, basis among the several computers and OSes I use. It works even better as a VM due to its relatively low resource use compared to newer versions of Windows. It is also the only version of Windows that works in Virtualbox seamless mode without bugs that I've tested.

    The comments are nothing I haven't seen already here on Wilders. The world is divided into two camps. One upgrades fanatically and won't bear the thought of using an OS that seems even slightly dated and the other found an OS that works for them and will keep using it as long as it keeps working and will hold out against all attempts to persuade or force them to upgrade.

    There has always been a disconnect between software developers and those who actually use their products and the situation with Xp is just one of the more glaring examples.
     
  5. jpcummins

    jpcummins Registered Member

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    I understand the reasoning behind upgrading to a new operating system. And while the cost may be prohibitive to some it is not, at least in my opinion, exorbitant. What aggravates me is having software and hardware that continues to work fine but is no longer supported by the new operating system. That and the time and effort spent in creating projects that is now wasted because the new operating system will not allow one to continue utilizing the project. This is why I, and I am sure others, still remain with Windows XP. Just my personal opinion.

    John
     
  6. NormanF

    NormanF Registered Member

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    Heh

    Don't feel bad... a lot of us are still running PPC Macs long after Apple disowned them.

    XP works! Forget about planned obsolescence.
     
  7. safeguy

    safeguy Registered Member

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    It will take a few more years for the usage number to decline further.
     
  8. login123

    login123 Registered Member

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    @amarildojr, I would pay for XP V2. :)

    No rose colored glasses here, I use XP almost exclusively, it works, it's fast, it's safe.
     
  9. sdmod

    sdmod Shadow Defender Expert

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    Yes I find XP sp3 the best of the bunch to use. I liked Windows 2000 because it was less gaudy and gimicky and had a certain businesslike, conservative respectful 'feel' but after time I moved to XP because it added certain things that I could see the sense in.
    I think with XP and later, the operating system developers went in a particular direction that I didn't like. I want to own the operating system, I don't want it to own me.
    I use various security software (Shadow Defender, Sandboxie, Avast Pro, Malwarebytes Anti Malware and (the old faithful) Sygate Personal Firewall Pro ) and I feel perfectly safe using those security products in my own way.
    I think that most of the problems that I've ever encountered came from installing badly conceived software ( I don't mean malware) but from the time that I started using Shadow Defender to 'test and try' before allowing software to reside on my system, I've never had that problem.




     
  10. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    I felt comfortable using XP even when support stopped as I always counted on security software to protect me. But now slowly but surely they are ending support for both XP and Vista. That may be a game changer
     
  11. NormanF

    NormanF Registered Member

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    So what?

    Actually, an obsolete OS is very safe! No one bothers to write malware or viruses for it. Bad code guys, like bank robbers, go where the money is found.

    The fact Microsoft is ending support has no bearing on whether XP/Vista can run on computers.
     
  12. Infected

    Infected Registered Member

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    And support for more RAM..
     
  13. MisterB

    MisterB Registered Member

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    Xp x64 supports gpt disks and more than 4gb or ram but licenses are not widely available and hardware that supports it is also scarce. I bought a copy of it last fall and after testing it on my W520 for which it has an almost complete set of drivers, I ended up activating it on a VM. It didn't do very well with thread balancing on a quad core CPU compared to Windows 7.

    It is really the hardware limitations of a 32 bit OS that will cause it to slowly fade away, not any security issues. I imagine Windows 7 continuing to be used well beyond 2020 because its hardware limitations are not nearly as bad.
     
  14. Amanda

    Amanda Registered Member

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    Of course :) No limit, no special Ultimate edition, just plain 128GB limit right out of the box.
     
  15. Daveski17

    Daveski17 Registered Member

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    I actually preferred the gaudy XP interface when it came out. There again, I have little taste lol.
     
  16. login123

    login123 Registered Member

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    Yes, and newer hardware will stop working for xp. I bought a win 7 computer 6 to 8 months before microsoft stopped support for xp, and already HP did not have drivers made for xp. Gave me fits trying to get a dual boot working.

    edit:
    Security software here is similar to sdmod's:
    Powershadow, Sandboxie, Avast free, MBAM paid, Outpost firewall free, Spywareblaster.
    Only downside is you can't try out anything that requires a restart.
     
  17. roger_m

    roger_m Registered Member

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    Even though HP themselves didn't provide drivers for it, more than likely there would have been drivers available for it. Manufacuturers rarely provide driver updates, and usually don't provide updates for operating systems other than one pre installed on a computer. However, almost always there are drivers avaiable from Microsoft via Windows Update, or from other sources (e.g. the hardware manufactuers for the devices being updated, and driver update software).

    For example I've installed Windows 10 on over 30 computers. While in just about every case, the computer manufacuter provided no support for Windows 10 (and usually none for Windows 8/8.1 either) they run Windows 10 fine, and there are no missing drivers in Device Manager.
     
  18. login123

    login123 Registered Member

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    @ roger_m
    Yes, thanks for the info, I eventually figured that out.
    In fairness, the problems with that dual boot included more than just the drivers.
    It only worked out with the generous help of Brian K here and some nice folks at other forums.

    For the future, I'm going to try using imaging software to maintain the older OSs.
     
  19. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    It was good, but I have to say that Win 8 is better when it comes to stability. The biggest problem was the lack of a start-menu, but this is easily fixed with Classic Shell. Besides that, Win 8 works just like Win XP.
     
  20. chrome_sturmen

    chrome_sturmen Registered Member

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    Agreed that 8 is more stable than XP, but to say 8 works just like XP is erroneous I think. It can be made to look like XP and to an extent behave like XP, but only after a considerable amount of tweaking: disable metro interface, disable charms, install classic shell, disable myriad services etc.. also the privacy encroachments of windows 10- updates have been pushed to windows 8 (and 7 users) that do the same (there are workarounds but still).

    I suppose it's up to what each person values most and the trade-offs they are willing to make- some increased stability and modernity in exchange for alot of tweaking/configuring 8 to look/act like XP - when the XP they already have, well, already looks like XP.

    If the XP users have no stability issues, are comfortable with their security setup, and everything functions for them as they want, within the realm of computing that they do- I suppose there is no need to make that change.
     
  21. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    Well, that's what I meant, you can make it work just like Win XP with some tweaking. For example, my biggest gripes were the lack of Start-menu and Quick Launch bar. That was easy to fix, and I also used 7+ Taskbar Tweaker to solve annoyances of the TaskBar.

    But other than this it works just the same. I believe Win Explorer is slightly better, it fixed an annoying sorting bug. Almost all of my favorite Win XP software also work on Win 8. And of course, don't forget about changes under the hood, it's more stable and secure.

    http://rammichael.com/7-taskbar-tweaker
    http://www.howtogeek.com/128123/10-awesome-improvements-for-desktop-users-in-windows-8/
    http://arstechnica.com/information-...er-on-the-inside-under-the-hood-of-windows-8/
     
  22. safeguy

    safeguy Registered Member

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    The main aspect I liked about XP was the minimal hardware requirement. I wouldn't call XP secure or stable (even when it was supported) so I would beg to differ in that regards. :p

    In any case, nearly 13 years of support is in my opinion more than reasonable.
     
  23. MisterB

    MisterB Registered Member

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    I would have stopped using Xp long before support ended if I found it to be unstable or insecure. I have little patience for things not working. The fact that I'm still using it means it hasn't crashed very often or suffered any sort of infection. The word I would use is securable, not secure. Like any other OS, security depends as much on the user as the OS.
     
  24. Reality

    Reality Registered Member

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    Got to put my plug in for XP. Great OS. Very stable here and very "forgiving" as I was and still am doing my learning on it. It just keeps on keeping on and I have no intentions of retiring it unless somehow I'm forced. Last install, no probs about M$ activating it, probably because there's many many businesses still using it and paying to keep it updated.

    Haven't updated mine in years. Only ever had one badware on XP and that was my lack of knowedge about things such as a firewall. Got Kerio dumped AVs not long after, and never been hit again. Use Sandboxie now and that gives a lot of cover for minimal effort. A good dose of common sense (human error notwithstanding) and a few good softs to lock it down make this OS just perfect for me. Don't need all the fancy eye candy, just something that works. I dont want something that is hardwired to calling home to M$ and I DONT want MS changing my computer without my knowledge.

    Yes.
     
  25. Amanda

    Amanda Registered Member

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    But you're comparing an OS from 2001 to one from 2012? :p Of course the new would have better processor/memory management.
     
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