You Can Have My XP When You Pry It From My Cold Dead Hands

Slashdot Technology Story | One Year Later, "Dead" XP Still Going Strong. XP, the OS that won't die, owes its enduring life to millions of users who refuse to buy the hype of Vista, and who will likely wait to install Windows 7 when it comes as part of a new computer. This extended life is a testament to the maturation of PC operating systems, and to the human tendency to keep something we are comfortable with, and that works. XP is stable, seldom crashes, and gets the job done. I feel about it the way I feel about the 17 year old car that I still drive occasionally. If it still gets me from one place to another, with a minimum of fuss, I will keep it until it dies. In these tough economic times, we all could stand to resist the call of the new and shiny toy. Of course, I will still buy new gadgets, if they are within the budget. Operating systems, however, are like tires. They ain't pretty, but if they still work, keep them.

Comments

[Chuck Newton]

Well, if you insist.

[Harry Hackney]

I use Vista on my laptop every day. I like it. I've installed two copies of Windows 7 RC for friends and it was absolutely the easiest Windows install I've ever done. One of the people found her XP disk after I was done. I offered to reinstall XP for her and she said, "NO WAY!" I'd say she's a Windows 7 fan already.

[Martha]

I agree, Chuck. I have Vista on my desktop and big laptop and XP on my netbook. Vista is every bit as stable in my office as XP. Furthermore, I find myself frustrated time and again that the netbook can't perform the tasks that the other computers can, because of the extra bells and whistles Vista offers, particularly integrated with Office 2007. I will be getting Windows 7, which promises a Vista-like performance with less system hogging. From a performance point of view, why anyone would stay with XP (other than they don't want to drop the change) is beyond me.

Martha

[Rick Georges]

Why are you all so anxious to give Microsoft more of your hard earned money? Office 2007 works great with XP, and XP does the job. Martha, your netbook with XP can do anything Vista can do. Vista may make it easier in some cases; but, you have more control in XP. Vista intrudes on your decision making. Vista and Windows 7 have improved to the point that they are usable; but, are they worth $200 and up? I don't think so.

[Martha]

I hear you Rick - and that is why I qualified my last statement "other than you don't want to drop the change". I am using the operating systems that came with my computers, so that is my basis for comparison and I didn't need to pay up for more. If I act by July 11, I can upgrade Vista to 7 for half price and it isn't a bad price. If it was a $200 jump, I don't think I would do it. That said, the Vista experience is much more user-friendly than the XP experience, but I definitely agree that XP is a better experience for the behind-the-scenes tweaker. Save for my husband, the computer geek, who has now totally mastered Vista-tweaking and now likes it better than XP.

Martha