Windows 10: More Users Move to Windows XP Ahead of Windows 10 Launch

I need to poke a hole in the car metaphor.

My car is 25 years, one month and eight days old. It should easily last me 350,000 miles if it's properly maintained before tranny or engine overhauls. Problem is, Mazda doesn't supply nor make many parts for it anymore. They do carry some parts, like the auto adjusting struts, but since not many people drive those cars anymore they aren't obligated to service the car especially since it's well out of warranty. Not only that, but the engine, transmission, emissions, suspension and every other technology has progressed in leaps and bounds for the better. Yes, it's a shame they don't continue to provide all the parts for it nor make certain parts anymore. If they did, there wouldn't be a sleek and damned gorgeous 2015 Mazda 6 that even though outweighs my old 626 like no other, it gets much better mileage than my car.

Point being, technologies progress and make further innovations.

If we kept the idea that automakers, or software makers, were obligated to support and maintain incredibly old technologies, progress and innovation suffers because why make a SkyActiv engine with better transmissions that gets impeccable mileage even though the car is basically a rolling studio apartment? Why keep holding onto 15 year old operating systems when newer systems are incredibly resilient in regards to malware and performance and efficiency?

Even though Microsoft could make xp a top notch secure operating system, it would end up being Windows 10. It may seem like it's a totally new and foreign thing, but even if you dive down into the core of the OS, there are similarities in 10 and Xp. It's much like my old 626 and the new Mazda 6. Even though they're two different models and different years, there are some genuine similarities that feel familiar, yet different; mostly since the 6 came from the 626 lineage. Without a doubt, the new 2015 Mazda would be better. But you sound like you've grown attached to your old one.

Same with Win10. Sure it will be better than XP. Let's hope so, anyways.

That's not really the point though.

For an example, Let's say your older car was in top-notch condition. You would then probably not be pleased to read that Mazda is strongly encouraging you to give up your older car... and this only because of the sake of 'innovation', essentially forcing you to switch before you're ready.... to 'help the company'. That would seem totally unreasonable, yes?

IMO, the ideal situation would be that you can keep your old car, and also purchase the newer model IF you want to. More choices. *Wink You both forgot, there is aftermarket dealers for cars. Mostly refurbished or used parts that still work. Even if that doesn't work you can usually find it at a junk yard. There is an aftermarket for computers, especially for Windows 98se.

 

A better analogy would be that your old car does not meet current emission, fuel economy, and crash safety standards and years of wear-and-tear causes it to no longer operate as well as it did when it was new. Sure legally you can continue to use your car, but then something happens (whether due to a part failing or simply someone else running a red light) and then This happens




While this would've happened if you had a newer car.

 

sure not all of it compares, but I think the old car /old OS is a good comparison

 

I think it actually compares really well. If you know what you're doing and maintain your computer/car well it can last for a very long time, however you will eventually need to turn to third parties for patches and parts when the manufacturer no longer supports it. And the old system is still old, making it more risky compared to newer systems.

 

I think it actually compares really well. If you know what you're doing and maintain your computer/car well it can last for a very long time, however you will eventually need to turn to third parties for patches and parts when the manufacturer no longer supports it. And the old system is still old, making it more risky compared to newer systems. iam all for the new system ,wish some of my old customers[still using used xp computers I sold them years ago ] would buy new win8 computers ,so I could ,make some money showing them how to use it ,lol

 

I came here to say exactly this. I work in IT shop and if I put it in rough percentage, 60% computers run Windows XP, 30% run Windows 7 and other 10% is either Windows Vista or Windows XP. In case you are wondering what's Vista doing there - bunch of old Acers had Vista licenses on them and were pretty cheap with it so when people were buying those, they got it almost for free and are still rocking it.

There are many things you guys aren't thinking about, and that's what kind of hardware those older computers have. Many wouldn't be able to run Windows 7 or higher with smooth performance and if you already have a very old PC, you aren't very likely to invest bunch of money to upgrade and get more RAM, SSD and possibly better CPU on a very old socket (they can all be used parts, but they still cost money). There are many many companies that still work with Windows XP and either don't want to invest money and move to Windows 7 at least or they can't afford it.

Not to mention software which is used in hospitals, schools or wherever - a lot of it was built for Windows XP, wasn't upgraded/updated properly and that's also why so many computers still run 32bit Windows - programs simply aren't compatible with 64bit and it would cost money to change that.

On top of all that, there are also old devices such as POS printers, older inkjet printers and barcode readers which quite often don't work on anything newer than Windows XP.

You should really stop thinking so simple and just because you love migrating - not everyone does and many people actually have a reason not to move. Or they simply have no reason to upgrade. Windows XP will still be used 5-10 years from now, there's no doubt about that and you just have to accept that *Smile

 

Ok first of all, you work in an IT shop and you yourself admit that 60% of your income comes from supporting XP users (plus an additional 10% that are either XP or Vista users). I'd love to have some more details about the problems those 60-70% of users come in with. How many are recurring customers? How many are not the user or OS's fault (IE: hardware failure)? How many of the customers understand the problem to the extent that they can avoid it in the future? How many problems could the user have resolved themselves if they had an explanation of what the problem was?

I sincerely do believe that many of these customers that come in with problems with XP systems sincerely do not understand how their computers function, much less how a newer OS would be beneficial to them. You talk and talk about people not upgrading because 7 and above doesn't support their bar code scanner/receipt printers/etc, and therein you reveal the flaw in your line of thinking: You are lumping consumer and business users together. Business users can potentially have THOUSANDS of dollars in equipment that will not support Windows 7 and above; but they also have IT - either in-house or a contract - that manages the computer systems and locks them down so that the lucky 1,000th visitor to that website doesn't get his prize. Sure there are probably many companies that don't have any IT system in place, but in not doing so they are opening themselves to risk and liability, even if from a disgruntled employee or customer. Consumers, on the other hand, are quite often idiots. Sure there are probably some that know what they're doing and have their system tidy and locked down tighter than a nun's knickers, but those are mostly a rarity. Quite often they simply don't know any better, and either actively refuse to learn about computers or have difficulty doing so. These are your customers. But not exactly. You only get the ones that consider their system non-functional, not the ones who paid good money because their computer told them it was infected or encrypted, or the ones that go watch the Lord of the Rings Trilogy while waiting for their computers to start up. These are the majority of people running Windows XP, not just the sample that you get in your shop.

 

Ok first of all, you work in an IT shop and you yourself admit that 60% of your income comes from supporting XP users (plus an additional 10% that are either XP or Vista users). I'd love to have some more details about the problems those 60-70% of users come in with. How many are recurring customers? How many are not the user or OS's fault (IE: hardware failure)? How many of the customers understand the problem to the extent that they can avoid it in the future? How many problems could the user have resolved themselves if they had an explanation of what the problem was?

I sincerely do believe that many of these customers that come in with problems with XP systems sincerely do not understand how their computers function, much less how a newer OS would be beneficial to them. You talk and talk about people not upgrading because 7 and above doesn't support their bar code scanner/receipt printers/etc, and therein you reveal the flaw in your line of thinking: You are lumping consumer and business users together. Business users can potentially have THOUSANDS of dollars in equipment that will not support Windows 7 and above; but they also have IT - either in-house or a contract - that manages the computer systems and locks them down so that the lucky 1,000th visitor to that website doesn't get his prize. Sure there are probably many companies that don't have any IT system in place, but in not doing so they are opening themselves to risk and liability, even if from a disgruntled employee or customer. Consumers, on the other hand, are quite often idiots. Sure there are probably some that know what they're doing and have their system tidy and locked down tighter than a nun's knickers, but those are mostly a rarity. Quite often they simply don't know any better, and either actively refuse to learn about computers or have difficulty doing so. These are your customers. But not exactly. You only get the ones that consider their system non-functional, not the ones who paid good money because their computer told them it was infected or encrypted, or the ones that go watch the Lord of the Rings Trilogy while waiting for their computers to start up. These are the majority of people running Windows XP, not just the sample that you get in your shop. Just Wow. . .