Microsoft no longer sells Windows XP

[Goofproof]

I talked to one of my suppliers yesterday and he said that XP Pro will still be available for awhile.

I find it really offensive when the OS and equipment manufacturers get together to try to make everything obsolete every few years and you have to buy new hardware (with mega-gigabytes of memory) and new software in order to do basically the same things you've been doing all along.


Den

I got a suprise when I rebuilt MoneyPit 2 last week, I bought it 6gb of fast ram, the motherboard uses 8gb. I found out XP won't use that much, I put in 4gb it doesn't see all of it 3.5gb or something like that. So I have 2gb spare I can use if I build another. I can't use it in MoneyPit 1, it never hurts to have spares. Jim

[6PtStar]

I talked to one of my suppliers yesterday and he said that XP Pro will still be available for awhile.
Den

I think will still be available if you have one of the local companies build you a computer. Best Buy and Circuit City have pulled it off their shelves and will no longer sell it. Dell will only supply it on their business machines. Still quite a bit for sale on E-Bay but there is a lot of panic bidding and it is driving the price up. I think I will try to buy a copy in hopes that when my fairly old computer dies maybe I can find one that has XP compatible hardware in it and have it wiped and XP loaded but I thought maybe the panic buying on E-Bay would settle and I can get it a little cheeper.

Jerry

[DreamStalker]

newegg.com is still selling xp

[sthnreb]

Windows running in 32 bit version is limited to 3 gigabytes of memory. If you change and run the 64 bit version of windows, it will recognize more memory. Only problem, not many 64 bit programs around. Makes you wonder why it is available? Virus programs are just now supporting 64 bit systems. I loaded XP Pro on one of my computers in 64 bit mode and finally had to remove it. At that time, Avast was the only virus program working on 64 bit. Windows IE would run in either 32 or 64 bit versions, it installed both. I guess that's similiar to my memory.

[Nodzy]

I've been a key-plucker since MS-DOS 3.1 days, and back then knew squat about a PC. Since '97 I've been a Windows fanatic, and been through each MS (MESS) OS with the exception of Vista - I won't even try it since too few of the hundreds of apps I have installed (and frequently use) are supporting, or reliably supporting Vista... yet.

I've even dabbled with MAC in the '96 and '97 years, and was impressed with its durability, despite the lack of apps back then dedicated to it.

Vista has too many integration problems for me to worry with.

As for hardware, I build my own desktops to eliminate the OEM/VAR fingerprints in preinstalled software, and in the motherboard firmware, which requires you to go to the OEM/VAR for updates that should work, but often cause other problems, or open security holes large enough to fly a 767 through. So, I build my own and add-in what I want and need... as I feel the need - and I dote on WIN-XP Pro for it's reliability and versatility for its easy acceptance of tweaks and Registry mods to make it more friendly.

For laptops... mine is a dinosaur DELL Inspiron 8200, WIN_XP Pro, upgraded to a 2.5GHZ processor, and max'd to the walls, 2GB RAM, 120GB C-drive and 160GB E-drive in the options bay - and the same apps are installed on the laptop and desktop. The I8200 is an everyday working beast with acceptable speed and fantastic reliability. My biggest gripe is that it runs hot by nature of a desktop processor being used.... and the twin cooling fan module in the case rear doesn't last too long, and replacing the fan module requires a complete disassembly of the laptop. Plus, being a legacy laptop.... the fans and processor cooling tube are costly now.

Most working files I mirror desktop-to-laptop and back with synchronizing software added in for MS Outlook 2007 and another great low-cost app for general file synchronizing. Of course, I set each sync app for manual use... not timed or event mirror-sync'ing.

• The sync tools are:
  SyncPst for Outlook
  AllwaySync Pro

When, if, Vista matures to be able to handle every app reliably, maybe then I'll try it... but from experience.... I never jump on an OS until it's been out 3-plus years.

My middle name is not..... BETA.

Nodzy said it......

[Guest]

STUPID QUESTION FROM THE PEANUT GALLERY:

If I buy a Mac, can I run Encore Pro on it, and will it support my Infineer card reader?

Just wondering...
Babette - "Dammit Jim! I'm a USER, not a TECH!"
That's James Kirk, not GoofProof, but if the shoe fits...

[6PtStar]

Only if you load Bootcamp and load Windows XP. Still stuck with Windows, Sorry!

Jerry

[Guest]

Blech! Well, I guess I'll keep duct-taping my old war-horse together then! Maybe I'll have to step up to having a dedicated CPAP only PC!

Thanks!
Babs

[6PtStar]

I thought you were gonna twist your family members arm and get her to build you a new one. Have you not kissed down low enough yet?

Jerry

[Babette]

Yeah, apparently. She DID buy herself a new PC, so my "slightly less used than THIS model" should be appearing shortly at my hacienda.

Unless she bought VISTA, and then...

LOL,
Babs

[Amontilado]

Just bought a refurbished HP with Vista. After turning off the visual "bling", it runs quite well. So far, am impressed, especially since my previous workhorse was an old IBM PIII-866 with Windows2000. Was leary about going the Vista route, but so far, everything I have running on it is working as anticipated.

Steve

[kennethryan]

I think you're painting a too rosy picture of linux. It's not for the average person. There are still, and always will be, problems with drivers of peripheral devices. A hardware upgrade or change may be needed. Not all motherboards are supported by Ubuntu.

...snip...

Linux is great for the server world or for the hobbyist who likes wasting a full afternoon making a scanner work, but it's not for the average person.

But we bought one special Acer machine that had SATA2 disks & neither we nor Acer could get the Intel SATA2 driver to work with XP so we reluctantly put 2 of these PCs into our network after a nightmarish effort to resolve the admin of them.

Wait ... which OS was it again that was difficult to install? :-)

5 years ago getting it to run on the latest hardware was often a pain. It's rare nowadays that my installs don't "just work" (aside from proprietary 3D graphics drivers and highly patented multimedia codecs). I can only think of two hitches in the last half-decade: one case where the install kept crashing (turned out to be a flaky DVD reader; burning the disk at slow speed fixed it) and the afternoon I spent learning how to do a fully software-RAID1 boot sequence (mirrored partition tables, initial program load, kernel and root).

I won't deny that there exists hardware that doesn't work out of the box for some distros. I just haven't encountered it. YMMV I suppose.

There's a reason why it's free and almost nobody uses it.

I'd venture a guess that you use Linux every day and don't even realize it. The vast majority of consumer DSL/cable and wireless routers use it. Nearly all consumer NAS and printserver boxes. The Verizon FiOS routers are Linux-based (both the original D-Link and the current Actiontec). Nokia tablets (e.g. N810). Ethernet and wireless webcams. TiVo. To name a few...

[ww]

Babs, get you a 20 or 24 inch Imac. It is a wonderful computer and comes with almost everything you need for day to day activities including music, photos, internet, e-mail and the apple version of Word and Xcel are compatible with the Windows version. Install VmWare (about $50) and your old copy of Windows XP and you will have a computer that will run all your day to day activities better than Windows and then the Windows XP will run as a background window on the Mac OSX desktop. The whole computer is only 1 inch thick with no external cabinet of any kind. There is a reason why every computer you see in a newsroom or graphic arts studio is an Imac! Yes, it runs nearly all of the programs on a Unix core and you can use most Unix commands if you get down to a command prompt.

[goose]

Serious graphics studios use Silicone Graphics machines (or better these days), but that's high end stuff.....

Stick with your PC with the Microcrap O/S.....
Sadly that's where all the software and programmers live. Apple is a good box, but too esoteric for general use. Programmers that want to make money code for the M$ machines.....just the way it is....
It used to be that the chipset in the Apple machines made it impossible for an Intel based machine to match it's graphic capability, but alas, even the Apple uses the Intel architecture today.......
Don't get me wrong, Apple still does EXCELLENT graphics -- just ain't as good as it used to be......
So unless you're into serious artwork, and movie making, stick with Microjunk.....

cheers
goose

[billbolton]

I'd venture a guess that you use Linux every day and don't even realize it.

So what!

The discussion here isn't about the "black box" application of operating systems

Cheers,

Bill