Meanwhile back in the real world...... Many businesses have expensive proprietary software (scheduling, security, estimating, billing, engineering, telecom, etc...) that was written for use on XP and only get manufacturer support via service contract on XP. We have a $100'000+ piece of hardware that only runs off a XP based OS and there is no plan from the manufacturer to update the system.
I don't see why software written for XP wouldn't run Windows 7, unless it is poorly written. In terms of hardware its a little more complex, new hardware should be Windows 7 based, but in reality there is probably no need for a current functional piece of software controlling hardware to be upgraded unless there is a problem, simply because it won't provide any operational benefit.
Win 7 runs on surprisingly low end systems...less than you would think. I see computer fixer's point, and agree wholeheartedly.. I still use XP, as even though some soft is compatible, it runs much better on XP; at least in my experience. The OP's point is invalid, if there is a point to be taken..I see the OP as spam, nothing more....
And what? The hardware on which I run XP could not make any use of DrectX11 And also to change from XP managed solution to W7 managed solution takes WAY more than the home user OS swap So yes, you might be right, but not necessary correct sebus
Point of order. Windows 2000 is the OS that's 10 years old, and on the verge of being discontinued (dropped from extended support phase) July 13 2010. XP still has a couple years of support, and new software (Office 2010) is still being released for it. As far as DirectX 11, A lot of cards are only DX9 let alone DX10. XP is still a good system, and particularly good for systems unable to run W7.
Having read that, I do not think I will be able to sleep tonight, that is, having no DirectX11. Life just lost its meaning...
This will continue forever, in a few years there will be people here claiming Windows 7 doesn't have Direct X 12 or 14 Just use what suits you. I was an XP geek for a long time too and wasn't impressed with Vista at all (Server 2008 was something else though), then I tried Windows 7 just for the heck of it and fell literally in love with it, now I barely touch XP these days.
I know what you mean about XP. It kills me to use it. It feels so dated. But at the same time. Reliable to this day. I think XP and 7 are the best OS's MS has ever made.
Yeah you're right they're the best there is (+ Windows Server 2003 which is also good) Windows 7 feels like an updated version of XP and that's why it's so good.
What if I don't stop using it? What will you do If I was working in an IT shop where we were reliant on software vendors that have no plans to move to a newer platform I would either ditch the software or find a way to virtualize it. If vendors say "We have no plans to make our software compatible with anything other than XP." shows many things, first is you need to ditch that vendor because they don't have the money to innovate their product or don't care about innovating it. Fixing bugs is a lot easier than rewriting something, and when your company is run by greedy self centered pricks or people with no vision that is what happens. The biggest difference between programming for XP and newer OSes is that the new OSes don't support many of the old legacy runtimes (VB3,4,5 VirtualC++ 3,4,5), so you need to use the .NET Framework which is better anyway since it integrates itself into the OS better by making more WMI calls rather than direct API calls. Then you have UAC which older runtimes and programs don't support.
I think the only thing that can stop you is the advancement in technology regarding computer hardware. A really modern computer can't run or install Windows 95, 98 even ME and 2000 today because modern computers isn't built for old and ancient OS like that. I think in a couple of years, new computers won't install XP easily or at all. But thats were Virtual PC comes in, through that we can enjoy ancient relics in computer history.
Microsoft have just anounced that they will allow XP downgrade rights from Windows 7 until 2020 ! "Put that in your pipe and smoke it!" That would suggest that Microsoft are not going to abandon XP quite just yet!
1. Could be to persuade businesses to buy win 7 (at least the 32 bit part). 2. Once businesses become used to win 7, very few will downgrade to win xp. 3. By 2020, win xp will become like 2 decade old, and by an analogy, 2 decades back, we had DOS and wordstar/lotus with green screens. PC/XT or something. win xp will be dead long before 2020.