Definite Apple Fangirl here, but I will admit that XP is definitely a great operating system, especially in comparison to the ones that make you want to toss a PC out the damn window (ME, Vista).

They're trying to force people over to Vista because they know they've kinda blundered and botched it's existence. Not the best way to do it, IMO.

shorty63136

If Windows XP is Bill Clinton, that clearly makes Windows 3.11 John McCain! *gasps* You Republican you! Btw for all those ready to flame me, I'm totally not serious! To prove it, I'll call Windows 7 Obama! There!

Anyway, I'm sticking with XP until I actually need to change. Which could be a while, I stuck with 98 and then 2000 for a while there!

bbfreak

in all reality, who around here that uses xp worries about lack of MS support? anyone? bueller?

and as far as the clinton reference goes, he is more like ME. looked ok for the minute he was relevant, but ultimately created more problems than he solved.

godwhacker

with all the MS bashing going on, it's easy for great OS's like XP to get steamrolled. (this is coming from a partial apple fanbois' perspective)

discounteggroll

I'm a Vista user for a few months, but if I could, I sure as hell would put Windows 2000 on this laptop...

... damn ACPI and driver issues.

Dakota Courtois

"In the wake of its very expensive ad campaign promoting (in a roundabout way) Vista, the move is a bit surprising..."

Actually, it's not surprising at all. With Vista, Microsoft has finally hit the point where a significant number of people are willing to consider alternatives to an operating system they want no part of. Microsoft is simply responding to a harsh reality: Drop XP, lose tons of money as users hang on to their old systems or make the switch to OSX and Linux.

No company can dominate forever, because they grow to the point where they suffocate under the weight of their own bureaucracy. Just as IBM lost dominance in the PC market to agile newcomers like Compaq and Microsoft years ago, Microsoft is now losing ground to faster, better, and smarter ideas and companies.

As a satisfied Mac user, I hope that Apple never reaches anything near the level of Microsoft's dominance. Apple had to work very hard to survive the Microsoft era, and years of teetering on the edge of extinction worked wonders for the company and their products. Arguably, Microsoft is one of the best things to ever happen to Apple, so I'm not looking forward to their decline.

NotMe

The problem is that people (in general) don't have faith in Vista. Nobody's going to upgrade if they A) have the option not to and B) don't trust that it'll work well.

The Vista fiasco has given me the motivation to go full Linux at home - instead of running a few platforms.

scrag

@Curves:

Agreed. I'm sticking with XP as long as possible. Unless microsoft comes out with a DECENT operating system to replace it, I might not upgrade at all.

sluissa

I've upgraded to Vista and I haven't regretted it. I still can't see what all the people say about Vista. Seems like they are just talking about Vista in a "a friend of a friend of mine told me blah blah blah" sense without having actually used Vista.

y2julio

I am skipping Vista altogether. I'll give Microsoft another shot with Windows 7, but until then, it's either XP or Mac OS X.

Samifumi

Ok, so I a not Joe SixPack nor a Soccer mom (thank goodness) but I am the average Windows User and I like XP. I refuse to upgrade to Vista, and no amount of ad dollars will change my mind. I am glad to hear of the extension, because I want to buy new hardware but I wont do it if Vista is part of the deal. Thats the way it is on Main Street.

Curves

@undefined: I'm just imagining Kyang being like, "OK, let's run Firefox", followed by you searching through hundreds of file folders trying to find where exactly you put Firefox.

Meanwhile, Kyang wants to play music so you have to sing while still trying to find Firefox in this huuuuge file cabinet.

^_^

TalKeaton

@majortom1029: no, the problem is that Microsoft does not release bug fixes in a timely manner and i've been using Vista for almost a year.

se.blackheart

@Kyang: well, i love you Kyang and should you tire of Vista, i'll be your OS.

se.blackheart

@bbfreak:
i loved 3.1.1, i resisted the change to win95 till 97-98.
just couldn't get my mind around the installation process being automated to that extent. but i got over it.
and really, i don't miss a stack of floppys that require my constant attention to install an OS. life is much better now.

godwhacker

Most of the people (even on these comments) have not used vista for more then say an hour.

The problem with vista is not the os itself. ITs the fact that microsoft never did an ytrue advertising for it and let the corrupt media bash vista. This bashing was the only real news on vista and all the general public let this get to them.

majortom1029

Used XP, currently use Vista, will use Windows 7. Not a single problem with those that wasn't my fault. I would use OSX if I had to, but I really don't care either way. The computer's just there to help me, and at the moment, I'm just more familiar with Windows.

It's not like MS, Apple, or any corporation loves me or something, so I don't see why I should hold loyalty to any of them, or their products for that matter.

Kyang

@y2julio: Agree! People need to get a life and move on from XP

hired_geek

I hate to sound like another cliche but vista works fine on my laptop for surfing the web, burning cd's and dvd's, watching tv, and as a windows media extender for my xbox360. I know what your thinking.."ms fan boy"
think twice tho caue my entire recording studio uses macs.

yungjerry703

@Curves:
there are bunches of xp variants out there. xp will be around for a long, long time.

godwhacker

@yungjerry703:

Yeah its interesting that since the MAC OS is so stable, because their software is all proprietary, that the DAW software just works much better on MACs than windows. My whole school uses MACs for every studio, with logic and protools etc.

this kind of sucks for me however, as my home setup is totally dependent on windows and cracked DAW software for windows, especially audition 3 which tends to crash whenever it damn well pleases.

pevans34

@y2julio:
here is a story for you, so my sis got a thinkpad by lenovo with vista installed on it. One day she couldnt connect to the internet. She called up UGA tech support and they said that they dont support it and she has to go to the manufacturer. Lenovo said this and that, and in the end we found out that vista corrupted her bios. HER BIOS. So she reinstalled vista, well once again internet isnt working, computer randomly shutting down and such. The thing is though, ya vista might work for a bit of people, but why upgrade when vista is slower, less stable, and more of a pain in the ass. That is why it sucks. The only major reason to upgrade is eww ahhh look at the cool new effects that require 2GB of ram.

semicolin

@metaslugx:

Worst.Analogy.EVER.

dead_red_eyes

@dlomax: Okay, I was waiting for someone to pick up on my Thomas reference and now I'm all embarrassed for misquoting him. Thanks, dlomax, for letting me know before all my literature profs found this.

Dan Nosowitz

Obama is Vista, it looks streamlined, and it promises change, but it's still the same old Government (NT kernel) with more bloat attached to it.(... bloat)

McCain is like Linux, streamlined and adjustable to best suit the needs of the individual.

metaslugx

Um, sorry to be pedantic and all, but it's "that good night." Unless Dylan Thomas was working on a Batman story before he died. Which would be cool.

dlomax

@TalKeaton: i keep Firefox in the shower so it doesnt burn the place down, same with iTunes...better acoustics in there.

se.blackheart

Why upgrade at all when it just cost so damn much? what does MS think, that i have an extra 120$ laying around or what? ill just stick to the xp pro i have and Linux and mac, if its not broke, dont fix it, Damn computer corporations! whats next, them sending driver updates that crash my computer to make me buy a new one, LMAo

FionaJobnick

@majortom1029: I got my new Thinkpad T61p 3 months ago with Vista Ultimate. Luckily I also thought to click the box for a free XP disc (one of the things I love about thinkpads) because for 2 months I had major issues when running anything but the basics. Cad, 3d modeling, Photoshop were all slower than they should have been on this new machine w/ 4GB ram, and would often crash. After downgrading to XP, I've had no such issues. Sure, Vista is pretty, and there are a few cool features, but really nothing to justify the frustration of having to restart twice a day after some program or another would freeze.

cmaceachen

I'd say Vista is like Tom Cruise...unstable as hell, nice to look at and when he/it is dancing around in underwear, youre entertained.

se.blackheart

I haven't gotten to use Vista much, but my computer came with XP two and a half years ago and it's still running quite well. I'm going to need to upgrade eventually, but I want to see what Windows 7 is going to do before I upgrade to either it or Vista.

I'm not really one to adopt an OS right out the door; there're too many unforseen problems. I'd rather give it a year or two to work the bugs out while working with a sturdy OS that's been around for a while, as I'm doing now.

TalKeaton

I agree, Vista is actually, once you get used to it, a great operating system. It does what you want it to do and it looks cool. I don't see why people are saying it sucks because it doesn't

tekman94

Windows XP is all around me and I kinda like that.

No matter what it's pure win for Microsoft.

Old or new, it's THEIR OS on (and in) the box!

strider_mt2k

@se.blackheart: No way dude. Since when does Vista believe in Scientology? Have you ever seen Vista jump all over Oprah and her couch?

SomeoneUKno

I have no problems with either xp or vista maybe because i built my own machines and dont rely on going to whatever store or website to get my computers. You get what you pay for you buy cheap you get cheap you buy expensive most of the time you get good, but neither is better than building it yourself.

For people bashing any os (vista,xp,mac,any linux distro, solaris,bsd etc.) can you build your own os if not stfu; how can you criticize anything when you can not build your own or anything near what your bashing from stratch.

utube2007

@metaslugx: Who is the Mac in this analogy?

Given the above article, I would describe McCain as XP... Older, though with a lot of experience through its many years... But it's missing quite a few modern conventions, and you have to wonder how long it can last given the new styles of OS out there.

Palin is more like DOS. Not in terms of its age, but in the fact that it can do a lot more than most people give it credit for despite the fact that it isn't nearly as convenient or accepted as the more 'adaptable' OSes out there. It has singularity in purpose and does it, even if it doesn't appear to understand what the graphical OSes are doing.

TalKeaton

@TalKeaton: i keep thunderbird in mah pants...where else?

se.blackheart

@metaslugx:

Mccain: Linux
Palin; MAC OS
Obama: Windows XP
Biden: DOS

pevans34

I dont believe this extension is designed for the consumer end, since pretty much every PC you get in the store these days is Vista. Its meant for the business end where there are lazy IT people who took 4 years to go from 2000 to XP and dont want to have to upgrade the systems AGAIN so soon. That and there is alot of specialized software (read: expensive, propreitary, necessary) that software developers havent guarenteed to work on Vista yet, wont support people who do, because they havent bothered to spend the money to rewrite it.

Aturayd

I'm still running 98SE on one box - primarily as a print server, but I digress. The ONLY thing keeping me from updating several other boxes is vista.

sharkync

@se.blackheart: Ah! You have good organizational skills. I'd make a terrible OS.

TalKeaton.OS3: I promise that I'm not going to accidentally throw out all the system files like the last two times. For reals!

Also in 3.0, you won't have to reboot me as often! I now only require 3 hours of sleep a night.

Which is what I got last night, which may explain a lot about this post.

So where would you keep Thunderbird?

TalKeaton

@utube2007: The issue here isn't cheap computers. As I posted earlier, I have a 3 month old Thinkpad T61p w/ 4GB ram. This is definitely not a cheap-ass computer, it is a workstation. After 2 months with Vista and multiple daily freezes of my cad and 3d apps, I switched back to XP and have since had no problems.

I'm no stranger to computers or building my own rigs. That is not the issue for me, or for most people who have problems with Vista. There is a reason large corporations with huge IT departments refuse switch to Vista- it's unstable. Just because you are able to surf the internet and play a few games, doesn't mean people who really USE and RELY on their computers should switch. But hey, I'm sure you know more than the sys-admins who oversee hundreds of workstations because, afterall, you snapped a few components together and "built" your own computer.

By the way, if you want to be taken seriously, learn the difference between your, you're, there, and their.

cmaceachen

@y2julio: I upgraded to Vista only because I got the free CD from the Windows Feedback program. My first attempt to install failed when I tried to keep my programs. Doing the clean install (which relegates your programs to the Windows.Old folder) went without a hitch. Windows Explorer is noticeably slower, but other than that, the experience feels pretty flat. I actually like the administrator approval function that asks me everytime I install or run a program. Who needs virus protection?

/braces for viral onslaught

Metron4

@bbfreak: I'm sorry, but did you just say that you switched from 98 to 2000 willingly?! Windows 2000 was slower than any other peice of Windows I've seen yet, I was also incredibly annoying in that it always seemed to get it's boot record corrupted whenever I lost power, forcing me to do a manual repair via the windows disk. >:(

subsider34

@cmaceachen: "One pays for product they expect to work" who said it wont work not me; It will work does it turn off and on can you use it for some stuff if yes its work nobody said it had to work well it just has to work.

utube2007

@cmaceachen: and you should know what your buying, if you buy some cheap as computer and expect it to work perfect your out of your damn mind, if you dont know about computers you should learn about them or just be taken advantage of period; its not the companies responsiblity to inform the consumer what is good or what is not unless thats there policy.

utube2007

@undefined: That is just fucking stupid. One pays for product they expect to work. Whether or not one can build it themselves has nothing to do with it. I couldn't build a car, but if I buy one, it damn well better work.

The aphorism is: Don't look a GIFT horse in the mouth. If you are BUYING the horse, you'd be an idiot not to.

cmaceachen

@se.blackheart: >_< Touchè. Shoulda seen that coming.

What about VLC?

TalKeaton

@semicolin:
I
Call
Complete
Horseshit.

Vista has absolutely no way of modifying the BIOS through the OS, unless the user executed a program made by the device/MB maker which does the BIOS upgrade via the OS, which is always a stupid thing to do. Whoever was on the other line at Lenovo clearly has gotten beaten one too many times in the head, or your just creating a sensational story.

Ive worked with Windows way too many years. I know that windows has no code within it to modify your BIOS. Only a user can execute a program that can do such a thing, one which has absolutely no Microsoft code within it.

diabolusunknownTheSecond

@TalKeaton: i use protection so as not to get VLC.

se.blackheart

@se.blackheart:
"Help me Windows Vista! Vista, use your witchcraft to get the fire off me!"

Metron4

@Curves:
i can understand. I have 1 laptop (XP Media Center); a server (Server 2003), 2 desktops (one XP Pro & one Vista Ultimate). of those only the laptop has the OS that came with it however.
I didnt even mention the VM machines I am running (not one copy of Vista on those). I switch OS at will. Vista is a decent OS, i have never had a crash on my Vista desktop. I think it just got a bad rap.
With that said, XP is the best OS Microsoft has come out with in a very, VERY long time. Its stable, rock solid, (comparing to other OS) easy on the resources and very customizable. XP will be around LONG after MS quits offering support.

justsomereportingguy

@diabolusunknownTheSecond: I was going to say the same thing, although using slightly more polite language ;-)

Vista's great. It has flaws but every OS does. The point is if I had to choose between Vista and XP, I would choose Vista hands down (assuming the hardware on the computer is no more than 3 years old). Yes that's right, you need better hardware to have a smooth experience on the new OS. Kind of like how it was w/ XP, kind of how it was when Mac moved OS X and how it will be when they move to Snow Leopard.

Usama

@godwhacker: Since 1991, not one call, not one email to MS support. Who needs em?

Gary_7vn

@Curves AND @shorty63136:

You guys are missing out. I've got 3 PCs with Vista, 1 laptop and 2 desktops (I built the desktops myself but the laptop's from HP and my sister is the primary user), and I wouldn't go back to XP.

Still have an old Dell w/ XP and one of my built PCs has Windows XP (disc came w/ Vista when I bought it in Jan 07, special deal) and they're useful for my scanner since no driver was made for Vista. But I understand that the lack of a driver isn't Microsoft's fault, it's the company that made the scanner. They want me to buy a new scanner so why would they support the older scanner?

Usama

I'm sorry Microsoft, but it's not worth buying the latest OS if it's just going to make your average modern computer run like it's from 1996.

Skitchin

@utube2007: If you can't write an intelligent, sensible comment yourself, you should just stfu.

Does that make sense to you? Neither does your comment.

Gary_7vn

@semicolin: I run vista on my gaming rig that I built 2-3 years ago, before Vista was out and it runs great on my rig, even better than XP. I mean I love XP and all too (still have to use it at work) but Vista is a nice jump.

y2julio

Vista isn't all that bad. I tried it a few times and then I switched to Ubuntu.

Superevil

What about office 2007? Change for the sake of change (and to make mo money)? or "an improved UI"?

Personally I spend years getting to the point where I don't have to think how to do what I want do -- then one morning I wake up and someone has not only moved all the furniture around, they've completely changed it. 99% of the time I want a wp that can format text, add a TOC, with some headers/footers and page numbers -- that's it, that's all. What do I want with "ribbons" and the ability to type in not just one, Chinese dialects but several?

Vista is a bit like that, it "solves" a bunch of "problems" that I never had. Do I need it? What for? Even if they gave it to me, I don't want it.

Faster I would pay for. More stable I would pay for.

Gary_7vn

@NotMe: Linux is nowhere near ready for the mainstream public. I consider myself pretty technically advanced and I get frustrated with Linux all the time. Worst wall I've hit with Linux is driver support. you need to do 10 steps for a 2-4 step process for windows. Things need to get easier on Linux before I start recommending it to my non-technical savvy friends.

y2julio

@semicolin:

You are the biggest troll I've ever seen. Lol Vista corrupted her BIOS?

Go die in a fire.

-Scrixx-

@NotMe: Yup. Hopefully Linux will reach that point one day.

y2julio

@y2julio: I agree that Linux isn't ready for the typical user, but I'd probably have been bludgeoned if I hadn't mentioned it along with A) keep old system and B) switch to Mac.

Linux has been building interest, but there's a way to go before it's ready for the typical computer user.

NotMe

W@subsider34: Win 2KPro and XP are the only two worthwhile builds. The rest may have some merits but their shortcomings outweigh them.

While typing this the Windows Mojave commercial just played on TV. How ironic.

Jrsy is the dude, playing the dude, disguised as another dude

@Dan Nosowitz:

is it wrong that i hear rodney dangerfield when i read the headline?

godwhacker

@metaslugx: McCain is an abacus. An abacus doesn't connect to the Internets.

whootowl

@Curves: Agreed. I just picked up a Thinkpad a few months ago and one the reasons I chose this particular model is that XP Pro was the OS.

Jrsy is the dude, playing the dude, disguised as another dude

@NotMe: Yeah, the Linux cake needs to spend a little more time in the oven. It's close but not quite there yet. I've been using Ubuntu and just installed some updates today, one (or possibly more) of which broke my wireless connection. So it's frustrating to now figure out what needs to be removed. There were 131 updates so I'm going to be busy for a while....

And yes IBM was surpassed by others who were capable of seeing things 'outside the box' (I really hate that phrase but it does apply). I'm not sure I would have used Compaq as an example given that today they exist soley as a brand name, albiet with slightly cheaper pricing structure then their parent, HP. But then that was the whole point of Compaq, to put affordable PC's into as many consumer hands as possible.

I think Microsoft did for a time function similarly to IBM but in recent years they've branched out more, with a willingness to take risks with products (and services). It may seem like this move is 'too little, too late' and that they are following others (such as Apple) instead of innovating and leading the way. MS still has a lot of life in it yet.

Jrsy is the dude, playing the dude, disguised as another dude

@pevans34: I can see Russia from my desktop!

NotMe

@Jrsy is the dude, playing the dude, disguised as another du...: Compaq is now just an HP brand, but they were responsible for reverse engineering the original IBM BIOS that opened the door to competition from new PC vendors.

I'm not saying that Microsoft will cease to exist, or even that their slide from dominance will happen in the short term, but rather that it has started. Microsoft has it's fingers in a lot of pies, and it's hard to battle the competition on so many fronts. Excepting Zune and XBox, their lack of hardware/software integration increases the challenges they face. Interestingly, Ballmer recently criticized Apple for not breaking the iPhone hardware/software into separate parts, but tight hardware/software integration has been Apple's stock in trade, and has served them very well indeed.

The truth is that everyone who sits in front of a computer these days owes a lot to Microsoft, like it or not. Be that as it may, the handwriting is on the wall, and Microsoft's complete dominance is beginning to crumble.

NotMe

@NotMe: Actually Phoenix cracked it first. They sold their version of BIOS to other IBM clone makers instead of using it to build their own PC'S. Compaq simply gets the credit because they brought the first i386 PC to market. Not that any of that matters because early technical manuals from IBM contained all of ROM-BIOS information anyway so it wasn't exactly 'reverse-engineered'.

Jrsy is the dude, playing the dude, disguised as another dude

Even if Microsoft stopped supporting XP right now I'd still keep it.
'nuff said.

Bokusatsu_Tenshi

Of course they're trying to let people get to Windows 7. That's why they're going ahead with it's release date slipped by Gates and extended. They know that the lousy job they did releasing Vista will never be reversed - no matter how much marketing they've done. When 7 comes out, they'll call it something new and people will think it's something new (regardless of what's under the covers). They are also certainly never going to admit to Vista being such a bomb that people want to skip either. Not until Balmer grows his hair back.

klamerus

@Jrsy is the dude, playing the dude, disguised as another du...: Thanks for the education. I stand corrected.

I well remember seeing the words "Phoenix BIOS" on the screen during boot up back in the day.

NotMe

@Aturayd: Best post here.

Usama

Six more months of downloading updates for my bootlegg...uh...legally-purchased copy of Windows XP Pro.

elgilicious

@bbfreak: So that makes Commies...what...Linux?

elgilicious

@Dan Nosowitz: For what it's worth, it was a good Thomas reference. Old operating systems definitely should burn and rave at close of day.

dlomax

@NotMe: Your welcome. And I was just stating a point. I wasn't trying to be a jerk anything like that :)

Jrsy is the dude, playing the dude, disguised as another dude

People still running XP with a machine capable of running vista are just plain stupid.

I have never ever ever had a windows box run as stable as with a clean and tweaked copy of vista on it.

Vista haters either have never used a clean copy of it or are just way too important to take the time to make the 1 extra click it takes to change your display resolution.

Yes its different. Yes out of the box it is made for idiots, but take the time to actually set it up properly and it runs solid as a rock.

It's worth it for the new API alone.

squish123

i run both Vista and XP and both are stable as he!! i agree that Vista looks way better than XP too. Streamlined and crisp! on another note...

@metaslugx: @pevans34:

shut your political pie-holes up!

hindsight2020

LOL By the way, WTF is up with all the politics. This seems a strange place for it.

vista64guy

I like Vista. I mean, you really require a pretty updated computer to run it. However; for doing my graphics & web apps, gaming and just about everything else its great. It's really nice to look at too. When Vista launched it had some annoying issues that were fixed in time. People just don't seem to remember XP was actually worse at the time. Service Pack 1 in XP caused me to have to wipe my hard drive and do a clean install.

vista64guy

I have built every desktop computer I've owned. My last Intel cpu was a 486DX100. Its been AMD ever since. So when I was forced to by a new laptop because my old one died in a car wreck last February, I searched our local stores for a low-cost AMD laptop. EVERY single one had Vista. Couldn't buy one with XP. When the BBuy salesman saw I was ready to leave, he suggested the HP because it could be downgraded to XP (partially true). I did and have been running the Vista Home Premium that it came with ever since. I HATE IT!!! It has BLUE SCREENED at least 8 times. It won't run most of my old software without locking up (even w/Compatability Asst.). Had to buy new Office 2007 software because I wouldn't even load my old software. I have been running XP on my desktop since it came out. It has blue screened twice. It is rock solid. VISTA SUCKS!!! I will be downgrading to XP this summer!

OsmondDadlet

@Gary_7vn:

What "Several" Chinese dialects...?

Kyang

@godwhacker: I'm in the same boat. I use Vista, and really I have few problems with it other than it being slow at times (nothing a reboot doesn't fix), but nevertheless I've yet to call MS support. With Google out there, you can find an answer to a most of your problems.

chewbacon

@bbfreak: OS X Snow Leopard is TOTALLY Obama.

Windows 7 is more like a half cybernetic and re-educated McCain (if Vista were Dubya)

lpranal

@bbfreak: i think jhon mcain would predate dos...

urbanturban666

@utube2007: srry for doubles but i forgot the best part... installing your os with the drivers, data partitions and nothing that is useless is allot better than getting a working os with craploads of crap software piled on it already... not to mention the ability to choose your printer instead of taking the (supposedly) free piece of crap printer that they give you...

urbanturban666

@utube2007:
true say. its better to build a desktop. ive come across a few dells with some pretty unusual power supplies so i cant just run to the store and exchange it if it conks. ive seen other big box machines with weird non standard motherboards, so if that conks you cant use one from a proper computer store... others using cheap ass ram or maxtor hard drives. others that have stupid ways of mounting the drives with weird clip things that you have to screw on the drive. all the parts in a homebuilt still have there own individual warranties so swapping them at the store is allot more convenient than lugging the whole machine...

urbanturban666

This is what happened when you make too good of an OS.

mastaassmasta

Oh teh noes! The scary Vista is going to make me have to learn new things.... oh my gods.. what willz we do!?!?!

pathetic....

axiomatic

Has Vista's newfangled audio kernel stopped playing fuckery with pro-audio hardware and drivers? If so, I might consider upgrading. Until then, XP is where it's at.

Ubik2501

Sounds like McCain companion. LOL 4 more years of the same old.

vgart

@godwhacker: Everybody who wants patches to prevent 0-day exploits, that's who.

HeartBurnKid, creepy morbid freak

@majortom1029: I just love how it's always an Evil Media Conspiracy™, and never just the fact that Vista simply sucked hard at version 1. SP1 is better, and most of the tech press has turned around from bashing to indifferent, accordingly (although most still recommend that you not buy it unless you're buying a new system anyway, due to Windows 7 being just around the corner).

HeartBurnKid, creepy morbid freak

After running win 2k on 3 or 4 systems since 2000, I had to buy a new motherboard/everything else last weekend and I was finally forced to upgrade to Win XP Pro.

Win 2k was lean and mean, easy to tweak with a lot of useful little features.

XP runs a bit sluggishly on this clearance 2-core machineset-up. And Gods, that Fisher Price interface! Blegggh! Using the classic interface and Resource Hacker, I was able to beat that much into submission, at least.

AdmNaismith

A new machine today with Vista works fine. Anyone who says otherwise is an idiot.

As for XP. EOL doesn't happen until 2014. Security updates are all that are important and you can use Windows XP all the way up to april 8, 2014 with all the security updates you desire.

So, you can jump from Windows XP to Windows 8 if you want.

As for this article, "extended the life". That is false. EOL or End of Life is not until 2014. What is happening in 2009 is EOS, End of Sale.

JEmlay