Corrine Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 I will be participating in a conference call Thursday evening and could use your help so that I can provide feedback that will go to Microsoft. 1. If you are still using Windows XP, is there a reason you haven't upgraded. For example: -- computer isn't powerful enough to upgrade -- cost of new/refurbished computer -- computer is only ~6 years old and running fine -- other? 2. If you recently (within the past year) replaced or upgraded your Wndows XP computer, what did you do? -- purchased a new or refurbish Windows 7 computer -- purchased a new Windows 8 computer -- purchased a license and installed on XP machine 3. If you purchased a new/refurbished computer: a) was there something in particular that prompted the selection of that particular device? was there anything particularly problematic setting up/adjusting to the new computer? Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Only one of my regular clients (about 25 people, including non-paying family and/or friends) has upgraded to Win 7; none to 8 or 8.1 yet. When explaining to them the dangers of continuing to use XP, they shrug and use the following excuses: can't afford a new computer can't afford Win 7 or 8 it works fine, why bother with it (older folks typically reply this way) I just use it for Facebook and email I hardly ever turn the thing on anymore. I use my smart phone (younger folks) since you converted me to Linux, I don't boot into Windows anymore (my brother and two other friends) All-in-all, Corrine, it sounds as though more folks can't afford upgrades or they are of the "if it ain't broke..." old school. Personally, as you know, I only use MS Windows these days for gaming. I was reluctant to upgrade my systems until I found that I could run my older games on 7 with no troubles. Once I determined that, I upgraded my two installations of Windows on my main system and my office laptop to 7. I don't game on the laptop, but I wanted to install 7 on that machine to stay on top of how the OS works in order to assist customers who may have that OS on their systems. There you have it. Hope that helped a little... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebrke Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 (edited) Purchased new Win 7 computer for elderly computer user (mother). XP laptop was 5 years old--I wanted something dependable for her and had good experience with Lenovo (XP machine). Found Thinkpad E531 with Win 7 from New Egg on sale. No real adjustment issues with new machine--for her limited purposes, there's almost no change from XP. EDIT: Should have said I don't think Win 8 would have been an option for her without something like Classic Shell installed. Edited May 8, 2014 by ebrke 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webb Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 My 5 year old computer's manufacturer had not written any MOBO drivers for any OS after XP. People tell me I can use Vista drivers. It runs fine. As long as people like Avast and Adobe keep supporting it there's no rush to change OS's (I refuse to use the term "upgrade"). I may just wait for Windows 9 and buy a new computer. I could get a bare bones model and install some of the hardware from my existing machine - it has a floppy drive, 2 HDs, 1 CD and 1 DVD. Or I may just switch to Linux. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corrine Posted May 8, 2014 Author Share Posted May 8, 2014 As long as people like Avast and Adobe keep supporting it there's no rush to change OS'sAs long as people like Avast and Adobe keep supporting it there's no rush to change OS's If you (or anyone else still using Windows XP) have Adobe Reader installed, please note that there will be no additional security updates for it. I suggest uninstalling it and install an alternate reader. Personally, I like Sumatra PDF. It isn't a target and doesn't include unwanted extras with the install or updates. (See Replacing Adobe Reader with Sumatra PDF.) Adobe Reference: End of support | Acrobat and Reader for Windows XP However, Adobe Flash Player is still supported. From Adobe Flash Player | Tech specs: System requirements Windows 2.33GHz or faster x86-compatible processor, or Intel® Atom™ 1.6GHz or faster processor for netbooks Microsoft® Windows® XP (32 bit), Windows Server 2008 (32 bit), Windows Vista® (32 bit), Windows 7 (32 bit and 64 bit), Windows 8 (32 bit and 64 bit), or Windows Server 2012 (64 bit) Internet Explorer 8.0 or later, Mozilla Firefox 17 or later, Google Chrome, or Opera 11 512MB of RAM (1GB of RAM recommended for netbooks); 128MB of graphics memory If you still have Java installed, JRE7 will be updated until April 2015. JRE8 is not compatible with Windows XP. From Oracle Java SE Support Roadmap After April 2015, Oracle will no longer post updates of Java SE 7 to its public download sites. Existing Java SE 7 downloads already posted as of April 2015 will remain accessible in the Java Archive on Oracle Technology Network. Developers and end-users are encouraged to update to more recent Java SE versions that remain available for public download. Note, however, from the section on Browsers, Oracle JDK 7 and JRE 7 Certified System Configurations: *Oracle does not certify browser versions that are no longer supported by the browser's provider. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 I still use Windows XP OFFLINE except to get ESET updates on three installations that I own; WinXP Pro in VirtualBox on my Mac, and native install of WinXP Home on my dual boot Linux Sony laptop. The Sony laptop is VERY slow and I rarely use it. But it has my old scanner driver on it. Also a dualboot native install with Debian Wheezy on this computer that I haven't even updated yet and totally forgot about. I will have to get the last updates on it and get ESET updates on it now. I have a Windows 7 Ultimate upgrade from Vista, but I no longer have a Vista computer to install it on. That computer died. I mainly use Mac and Linux at home for the moment but I do want to get Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1 Pro computer somewhere along the way. But I want a computer that will have new enough tech on it Intel Core i5 with 8GB RAM. The cost will come down soon enough where I can get in time. But I have other priorities at this point. Java is not installed on any of these Windows XP systems, neither is Flash, or Reader. I use Sumatra on them. Flash not needed since they are not online and I don't need to be able to view videos, website navigation etc. I want to get a modern Windows computer but it's just not in the cards right now. So I have a Mac Mini with Lion which will likely not be supported soon, and Linux computers for now and offline the three Windows XP installations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 My tale of three computers. The first one is too old to upgrade, 2001 vintage, and runs an old webcam security camera 24/7. It was my first front door security cam system and has kept working when my newer systems locked up for various reasons. The second is 2005 vintage and gets stuck during the install of Windows 8.1 despite it being cleared as capable of it. It has a $600 video surveillance card I can't afford to drop so will continue to run XP. It runs four cameras. The third computer is vintage 2008 and runs a $1000 video card that records 8 cameras. The software and drivers are XP only, it accepted Win 8.1 with some fiddling, but in order to run properly I have to be in an Administrator account and have the UAC turned all the way down. It kinda defeats the purpose. So minimally I would need a new video surveillance card capable of recording 12 cameras at 30 frames per second (higher FPS is what makes them costly) which currently go for around $1000 and put it in the 2008 computer. Maybe then I could turn the UAC back on. I did the best I could with one 8.1 upgrade, but I don't even know if that was worth it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Wow! Remind me to NOT snoop around your yard. Nevermind the dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveydoom Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 2. If you recently (within the past year) replaced or upgraded your Wndows XP computer, what did you do? -- purchased a new or refurbish Windows 7 computer -- purchased a new Windows 8 computer -- purchased a license and installed on XP machine 3. If you purchased a new/refurbished computer: a) was there something in particular that prompted the selection of that particular device? was there anything particularly problematic setting up/adjusting to the new computer? I installed Win7 on my XP machine. It runs great, much faster than with XP installed. It has an i5 CPU and 4 gig of RAM. I also purchased two Win 8 ASUS laptops. I just like ASUS products and the price was right. I had no problems setting them up and adjusting to Win8. I did however install Classic Shell since they are not touchscreen devices. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 (edited) Personally I switched from XP to Windows 7 over a year ago. Bought a new machine with Windows 7 Pro. I had an install of XP in Virtual Box until the end of 2013 and simply got rid of it. I was careful to buy just before the onset of Windows 8. I might add that I have a new desktop I built for Linux only and a variety of other desktops and netbooks that run Linux. One of these desktops is my former XP machine that probably could have run Windows 7 32 bit in a pinch - but why? The last four folks I've helped: One guy waited until a week before the end of support and then called me. I advised him to buy a new desktop. He did get one with Windows 8. (Buy new.) Friend of my wife had an ancient laptop too old to upgrade. Again I advised a new computer. She got Windows 8 which I set up for her with Classic Shell so she was comfortable. (Buy new-modify.) Older man already had a Windows 7 laptop but was going to junk a pretty good XP desktop. I installed Linux Mint MATE for him after a memory and video upgrade with used parts I had around here. He's happy. (Switch to Linux on spare machine.) Older lady simply could not afford a new machine. I gave her a Windows Vista-esque desktop from my computer museum - with an install of Linux Mint Cinnamon. (Switch to Linux on primary machine.) Edited May 8, 2014 by raymac46 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 I have to add that today I was in the hospital for some diagnostic tests. The lady who set up the room for me was checking her records and I noticed she was running Windows XP. I asked her if she knew anything about XP becoming obsolete: Lady: I don't know what it is, but it runs slowly. Me: Well support has ended for XP. You don't have it at home, do you? Lady: Oh no. I have a Mac at home. End of exchange. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebrke Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 I have to add that today I was in the hospital for some diagnostic tests. The lady who set up the room for me was checking her records and I noticed she was running Windows XP. I asked her if she knew anything about XP becoming obsolete: Lady: I don't know what it is, but it runs slowly. Me: Well support has ended for XP. You don't have it at home, do you? Lady: Oh no. I have a Mac at home. End of exchange. Makes you wonder a little bit about the privacy/security of medical info, doesn't it. :'( 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross549 Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Indeed. On a completely unrelated note.... I actually have a need for a WIndows box that has access to the net on a regular basis. It seems like virtualization is not an option since I would need to be able to access the ethernet card directly on a regular basis. Anyway, I have no XP Pro discs, else I would have deployed one by now. Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Makes you wonder a little bit about the privacy/security of medical info, doesn't it. :'( Yeah, but don't worry. Ray's in Canada where they have socialized medicine. They don't have the money to buy newer operating systems or hardware. Here in the KAPITALIZT Corporation Dreamland, hospitals have bazillions of $ that they've bled from the citizens to buy the very bestest operating systems and hardware available. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 (edited) Wow! Remind me to NOT snoop around your yard. Nevermind the dog. I live on a private road with three houses. It's amazing how some cars/trucks creep along the road slowly until they see the first camera, then backup. You'd really have to be looking hard to see it, yet exactly where it become visible is where they stop in their tracks. It made sense to keep the older systems up and running while I upgraded over the years, but I did drop two old video tape systems years ago. This all started in 1994 when someone tried to break in at 2am. Almost everyone in this area was joining Neighborhood Watch back in the 1990's when this area was more popular with burglars. Edited May 8, 2014 by Robert 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Yeah, but don't worry. Ray's in Canada where they have socialized medicine. They don't have the money to buy newer operating systems or hardware. Here in the KAPITALIZT Corporation Dreamland, hospitals have bazillions of $ that they've bled from the citizens to buy the very bestest operating systems and hardware available. The curious thing is although hospitals spend fortunes on the newest computers, when laptops with patient info are stolen out of employee cars they never seem to be encrypted. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corrine Posted May 8, 2014 Author Share Posted May 8, 2014 I will be participating in a conference call Thursday evening and could use your help so that I can provide feedback that will go to Microsoft. Thanks to each of you, the telephone conference went very well. The people I spoke with from Microsoft were -- and still are -- very interested in your feedback and experiences with Microsoft products. I provided a link to this thread to them so if there is additional feedback you would like to add, please feel free to do so. If there are specific apps that are not supported on Windows 7 or Windows 8 that you would like to mention, that may be helpful as well. Again, thank you! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Actually, -- don't be shocked now -- I have no complaints at all regarding Win 7. I've had nothing but positive experiences with that OS so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross549 Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Heh... so I deployed WinXP today........ and it is connected to the internet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Heh... so I deployed WinXP today........ and it is connected to the internet! A comfortably safe distance back from the bleeding edge, aren't we? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 I still get lost in Windows 7 and can't remember where features are kept or how to get to them. In Win 8 I'm even worse at remembering. I think I have Windows Alzheimer's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Windheimer's? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross549 Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 A comfortably safe distance back from the bleeding edge, aren't we? Well, all this fancy internet stuff is really throwing me off. Website look soooooo much better with the new Internet Explorer 6! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Indeed. On a completely unrelated note.... I actually have a need for a WIndows box that has access to the net on a regular basis. It seems like virtualization is not an option since I would need to be able to access the ethernet card directly on a regular basis. Anyway, I have no XP Pro discs, else I would have deployed one by now. Adam I wouldn't waste time getting XP Pro, I would suggest Win7 Pro in virtual environment. Works really well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 What a waste to be deploying WinXP at this point... At least for Internet use anyway. There are a lot of 16-bit programs that will only run on Windows XP most of which do not need Internet. Mostly games. Games I don't want to give up. So WinXP will be around OFF LINE for a long time to come. Some don't do as well as others in things like DOSBox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross549 Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 I need it to not be virtualized for my application to work. I don't have another valid license for win7 to deploy instead, or else I would gladly do so. There is no flash or java on this machine and the only browser used is Firefox aside from updates. Malwarebytes is already installed, and the machine is behind a NAT router. I am sure I'll be fine. Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewmur Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 (edited) My tale of three computers. The first one is too old to upgrade, 2001 vintage, and runs an old webcam security camera 24/7. It was my first front door security cam system and has kept working when my newer systems locked up for various reasons.... Special applications is the reason a lot of XP users refuse to change. (Notice, I wrote "change" and not 8"upgrade". Personally, I don't really consider 7 or 8.1 to be "upgrades".) Unfortunately, one of the most widely used apps in this category is ATM software. :'( :'( Edited May 9, 2014 by lewmur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross549 Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Fortunately, those ATMs are running specialized software. The problems with IE are largely mitigated as a result. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Well, all this fancy internet stuff is really throwing me off. Website look soooooo much better with the new Internet Explorer 6! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 I am sure I'll be fine. Adam Sure. That's what everyone says right up until the time they call me pleading to come unlock their systems/files. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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