Windows 9 Expected To Push Consumers Off Windows XP

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But you did "agree" to it when the pop-up came up just as you were pressing space bar while writing that report, email, code, whatever. /sarcasm

Yeah, those F*&$%^ing popups are the main reason I made disabling automatic updates one of the first things I do after installing Windows over a decade ago.
 


I'm no fan of windows update, but it's been really random whether or not it bothers me with that. I had a laptop that did constantly, but I have yet to see it on my desktop. Frankly, I just wish they would download the entire number of packages available, and then patch the whole business all at once, rather than this check-->install-->restart-->check-->install---> R & R

 
Windows XP is definitely NOT cobwebbed, was and is still one of the best releases ever. Why can't MS listen??? The people WANT XP!!!
 
I never upgraded to Vista or 7 or 8. I am still using Windows XP on my P4 HT, Core2Quad and i3 systems. XP have performed flawlessly in the 10 years I have used it and XP continue to be a pleasure to use. You can integrate the newer AHCI hard drive controller drivers to allow XP to install on newer systems, there are also visual styles that can be integrated to bring XP's visual style more in line with later releases. If one uses common sense about which websites you visit and use a good security suite you should be fine.
 
I have already only left Windows XP, I upgraded my old laptop to Ubuntu Linux!!! :-D The future is in Open Source!!! DO IT!!!
 
There are two types of people that use computers - those that know what they are doing and those that don't.The people that like Windows 8 (and variations of) are people that don't know what they are doing. They are happy just to check email, social networking sites, send texts and just bimble along not bothering anybody. They don't really care about changing settings on the device or adding new hardware and they view the vendor as having the responsibility of backing up their files to the cloud. They're just not interested in anything technical and that's why Windows 8 appeals to them - it's basic.Then there are those people that actually do things with computers - databases, networking, photo and video editing, programming..... etc. They really do like to have full control over their device and that's why Windows XP / Windows 7 / Linux appeals to them. They hate Windows 8 because it removes all the control from the user and stifles creativity and innovation.So, if Windows 9 could be used as a traditional Windows XP / Windows 7 style computer then it would appeal to all the critics AND if it could also be used as Metro style (or whatever it is today) then it would appeal to the people who just want it simple to use.Will Microsoft implement this? Not sure! If they don't I see a large proportion of XP users switching to Linux Mint with their FREE OFFICE compatible programs (sorry APPs). It's very similar to XP, it's sleek, fast and secure. As for the rest I foresee an Android explosion in tablets and cloud computing taking over along with a large proportion of desktops going to the landfill.... Your call Microsoft.
 
I do agree people need to move away from XP, but no time soon will I be changing from Windows 8 or Windows 7 both are great OS. The damage that Vista caused is hard for MS to recover from. Win9 might be better off waiting until they are completely sure of their product instead of trying to live up to an unrealistic go live date.
 
I will NEVER leave XP. Never. The harder MS and it's BOZO zealots push the more I will resist. I have dozens of systems running XP, 7 and 8. My XP systems are older boxes but with the right amount of security tweaking/monitoring/third party solutions and support I'll be perfect for years to come. The same DB's that are so overly confident of these "potential XP exploits" I'm going to be exposed to are the same DB's that will be at a loss and freaked out WHEN (not if) their precious windows7, 8 and 9 systems are hacked and compromised. I just love to watch these know it all twits fall on their faces. Will I screw up sometime? Sure. But I'm tired of all this arrogance and MS propaganda implemented for the sole purpose of profits.
 


Eventually, websites will get too heavy for those old boxes and you will need to upgrade
 
"As previously reported, the problem with Windows XP for many may not be with fighting off a Windows 8 upgrade, but replacing legacy software that doesn't play nice with the likes of Windows 7. For businesses that could be a big expense.Still, Dell believes that Windows 8.1 and Windows 9 should pull businesses and consumers away from the dying, cobwebbed platform. "When Windows 9 comes out, we're also seeing a lot more interest around developing the transition strategy for their OS," explains end user computing marketing chief Margaret Franco."There is a pressure point in order to start accelerating OS migration because in April, that's when the support for XP ends."All well and good for business users who are just going to tack the enormous cost of this migration on to the prices for their products. I have over 120 programs on this XP-based computer (which works fine considering the bloatware that Windows and Chrome and so on and so forth have become), not to mention the years of customization in the user interface ... who is going to pay for migrating that over (assuming it is even possible which in many cases of more specialized programs will NOT be possible at ANY reasonable price). In Windows 8 there isn't even a Start menu to customize properly to look like the one I have been using all these years (and no, Windows 8.1 did NOT actually restore the menu, per se; it was just a Marketing joke to "placate" complainants). It's like asking the Millennials to give up their touchscreens and go back to buttons ... as if. Not to mention the screwed-up convoluted directory system imposed after XP. Confused? How many Document directories do you have? The answer is more than one per user. Good luck trying to find your files -- I have over a million files at present -- since they can be nearly anywhere in your user account which is why M$ had to add a universal search feature just to find them! Every Win7 / Win8 user I've talked to has no idea where their files are. When I've looked, they're all stuffed into one of two places: Desktop Folder or the Documents [Public] Folder. Can you imagine digging through a 1,000,000 files all stuck in one or two folders? It's a joke. A sad, sad, joke. We need to stop employing inexperienced children in the software design department. The results are truly shocking!
 
P.S. If they would put the XP user interface back in place I suspect the resistance to update would drop significantly. It was the last computer user-friendly interface. The Win8 UI is incredibly dumb; as it was designed to be since it was intended for their phones, not their computers, and something just went horribly wrong somewhere in management. Another good reason NOT to allow Marketing to run Engineering.
 
^knowom: You nailed it. If someone over in the Linux camp ever gets their "stuff" together and releases a consumer-grade UI with real consumer software support, M$ will have a significant battle on their hands. Don't hold your breath.
 


And then an update gets pushed silently that has a major security flaw or causes the application to crash.

I have seen it happen with Java 7 which had a version that had such a major security flaw they told people to roll back to a previous version and it took about 10 versions for them to fix it.

So far though with Windows 8.1 I haven't really been bothered by updates. Now it installs them silently and will automatically restart the machine in 2 days. If you shut your system down at night, you will almost never know when updates are being done unless it is a major one. I check for updates all the time too as I am very anal about keeping my system up to date.



You can have all the security you want. You can run, say 3 AV systems but there will still be holes that they wont be able to block. Then there is the fact that the AV companies are going to start dropping XP support. I have already seen a few that state the 2014 version will not run on XP.

Sure they will update the definitions but after a while that wont help.

Then there are drivers. At some point that hardware will fail. Then you need to replace it. You can try but the older hardware gets the more expensive it tends to become. You end up getting new hardware and even just two years ago a lot of vendors have stopped creating drivers for XP for their hardware. That's where you have generic drivers that wont allow you to utilize certain features of the hardware rendering it useless.



As said above. And it is not "potential" exploits. There are going to be exploits. Why do you think XP has been getting security updates for 13 years? Because new exploits are found all the time.

Sure at some point the newer OSes will have the same issue but when they first launch, they are safer to use. 7 was safer at launch than XP with SP3 and all the patches. It is a fact. Vista was safer at launch than XP, 8 safer than 7.

And yes, Microsoft is a for profit company. They will try to make a profit. If you can find a way to pay the thousands of software developers and support agents along with marketing and R&D without making a profit, please let them know. In fact let every company know.

Welcome to capitalism. Where companies make money selling you products.



7 had a very similar interface to XP, it just looked modern. I loved XP when it first came out but after I moved to 7 the interface looks pretty old and childish now that I look back at it.

Windows 8 was not designed with just phones in mind but Microsoft was instead making a very smart move. They are trying to unify their experience across all platforms which no other company is doing yet. For example, go buy a Mac then a iPad/iPhone. The OS experience is very different. Now go buy a Surface tablet and a touch based desktop PC. The experience is the same.

I understand most people not being able to adapt, that's the nature of humans hence why we still have certain things. People don't like to let go or change. If anything it will be the next generation that embraces this idea and I think Microsoft will be ahead of everyone. I would rather be able to use a full desktop style OS on my devices rather than a watered down one like Android.



And this would require a company which would require capital funding which in turn would mean they would have to charge for the software and unless they manage to make a version of Linux that is so damn good and works with all of the existing software and hardware without any issues they would have to charge around the same price as Microsoft.

Someone tried this a few years ago with a Linux OS called Lindows. Guess how that turned out. The guy got sued into oblivion for ripping off the Windows UI.

Hell Ubuntus interface is in no way easier than 8 and is nothing like XP, especially the newer versions so what would make people move to it over 8?
 


The difference, which people like you fail to understand, is that Windows is like a boat.
Sure, something can always go wrong and you'll get a hole, and go under.

XP without any new security updates is going to be like trying to bail out a boat made of swiss cheese. Sure, you can probably keep it afloat, but it's way easier to sink because it has so many underlying flaws you have to try and compensate for - which, you can't. Unless you code OS security patches.

W7, on the other hand, has maybe a few holes (which nobody really seems to know about) but as those are found, they will be plugged up. Then all I have to worry about is the odd time a virus or something goes through the hull.

That is the critical difference. Many of the tools you use on your computer will be less effective and functional because they're operating on a foundation filling with water.
 


I sure as hell don't. I would take W8 any day over XP. I would take Vista, even, over XP.

It happened a while back. I was doing some server work for a family friend, and I had recently been in their offices setting up the XP machine they had. It took a LONG time - let alone to find a connection! Admittedly, I was kind of flying by the seat of my pants, no more than I would be with W7 though. I'm not formally trained.

Then came the time to set up the W7 on the network. It was done in less than 10 minutes.

That's when I decided it would be a cold day in hell before I ever willingly touched XP again. It's cobwebbed, and it sucks.
 
People don't grasp that XP is over 13 years old. That is antique for software
Its time to move on. Vista even really isn't that bad after the bugs were patched and if you run it on decent hardware (not 512 RAM!)
 
My main beef with Windows, (all versions) is that I only want an operating system, period. The piece of software which acts as an interface between my computer and third-party programs which I purchase separately. I am not interested in anything which comes integrated into or bundled with Windows. Every time I do a fresh install or buy a new computer, I spend endless hours deleting or disabling bundled software and integrated aps and features.
 


Agreed! Updating most installed software is possible with Secunia PSI. If configured properly, it will be done in the background & there will be a small popup as each old is removed/new installed. Just so happened that Flash was silently removed/upgraded with a small pop-up). The end result should be a 100% score (running old apps is just as risky at not patching/updating the OS), however hanging onto some old OEM apps can lower that.

I do understand that some of these older apps are needed for proper computer function, in many cases the installed version of CyberLink controls the recovery partition for the re-installation of Windows.

Secunia PSI will also alert the user to Windows Updates if needed, it won't install those in the background. However, just because Secunia is installed doesn't mean that users should avoid manual checking. Just so happens that VLC Media Player 2.1.3 needs to be updated to 2.1.4 through it's interface, it doesn't show on the site yet.

The only way I see Windows 9 pushing consumers off of XP is if their computer breaks & a new one is needed, however there will always be the diehards that will purchase refurbished computers with XP freshly loaded. Of which prices have been falling from the sky in recent years, however high demand for XP can force the prices of these 8-10 year old computers right back to 2009 prices. The market will dictate the resale prices.

I expect that no matter what, we're going to end up with about 10-15% who'll refuse to upgrade, including some small businesses. Fortunately these won't be in the healthcare sector, as there are HIPPA requirements to be fulfilled. Too, there are many businesses that has many computers w/out Internet access for production control & other uses, not being online greatly reduces the risk of infection. However, their IT department will need to do other things to lock down these PC's, such as preventing employees from watching movies on DVD (remove them if needed) & disabling USB ports so that no one can insert an infected one & compromise the entire network.

More about Secunia (free for personal use):

http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/personal/

Cat

 
Windows 9 should be XP Enhanced. Hell, Vista should have been that, and 7, and 8, but instead they were Windows Stripped.
 
I won't use Windows 8, because it is expressly designed to violate your privacy, far more than any previous version of Windows. That's the deal-breaker for me. I doubt I'll be using Windows 9, because it's pretty unlikely that Microsoft will have a change of heart... The "Smart Search" feature passes on your LOCAL drive searches to the internet, via Bing. Sure you can switch it off, if you are aware of it... but the fact that it is on by default speaks volumes about Microsoft's unscrupulous intentions, as does the fact that you are strongly pushed towards logging on with a "Microsoft account", which is basically an email address for flogging products and services to you, and one that is completely tracked by Microsoft.I don't want to be fighting my own operating system. I don't want to have to lock down settings and install third-party apps just to try and make this nasty cynical little OS more like the previous one.Linux can give you exactly what you want, without trying to deceive you.The ONLY think that is propping up Microsoft's PC dominance, let's face it, is gaming, and directX. And the global movement to change that and encourage more cross-platform support among software designers is growing rapidly.
 


I guess I, a guy with a IT degree and having built over a hundred computers for myself, family and working at various jobs not to mention the hundreds of PCs I diagnosed and fixed must not know what I am doing since I like Windows 8. Nor do any of the professionals I have met who hold high ranking IT jobs who like Windows 8.

Stop acting like you know everyone based on what they do and do not like.

Windows 8 may have a much more basic interface that can work for those people but it is still the same OS underneath it with more advanced controls built in. The Task Manage alone is leaps and bounds above that in 7 and then there is the file transfer system which is faster and better.

This is like looking at a car and thinking it is great because it looks nice when in reality what is under the hood is what matters more.

As for Android, until it actually graduates to full blown OS status, it is nothing really. Hell even Windows RT is more of an OS. Android, like iOS, is just a watered down OS. Nothing special about it.
 

Many people around here have a severe OCD against Win8's start page and categorically refuse to consider simple aftermarket alternatives like Classic Shell Start Menu. I find it funny how people blindly rage about something they could so easily bypass for free if they were willing to be rational instead of emotional about it.

I gave Metro/Modern a chance for about a week, couldn't get used to it, looked for traditional start menu replacement, found Classic Shell, installed it, problem solved.

The Win7/8 task bar has one UI failure that annoys the heck out of me: it is always on top of other windows and with auto-hide enabled, this effectively locks out the bottom of my screen when an application flashes its title bar until I go clear the notification. It is also quite annoying to accidentally make the task bar pop up while positioning the mouse pointer on something near the bottom of the screen then have to either click elsewhere to make it go away or wait for ~0.5s for it to disappear. Extremely annoying when I'm doing CAD, want to use the Find bar in Firefox/Chrome or anything else with useful information or controls that reside in the bottom 100 screen pixels. I'm considering reverting to Vista because of that; I really wish M$ would bring back the ability to disable "Always on Top" on the task bar.
 
Do they not understand it was cool new UI that was the problem to begin with? LOL Why do they think all they have to do is lie, and put on a act, and then think that people will just forget the truth and play along? Also they are forgetting about the crappy economy, And the new forced economy killer called Obama Care. Most people are still running XP not because they prefer it, It is because they are still running Pentium 3's and Pentium 4's, Why? Because they can't afford a new expensive computer when they are barley making bill payments. Plus the new copy of Windows cost allot. Windows has always been unfairly priced. Software should never cost more than $30-$40 Dollars. But Microsoft is allowed to illegally legally run a monopoly for some reason. And yet in America parents will now get arrested for their children running a lemonade stand. Wake Up People!
 
I can't wait untill Linux finally evolves to where you can do hardcore gaming with it and then we can completely forget about ever having to pay Bill "Vaccines for population reduction" Gates for his crappy NSA friendly software again!
 
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