The end of windows XP and Microsoft collosal stupity.

[MisterBeale]

http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2014/01/21/264571072/as-windows-xp-fades-away-will-its-users-stick-with-microsoft
As Windows XP Fades Away, Will Its Users Stick With Microsoft?

But the company faces a challenge as it herds its users away from the 12-year-old operating system: With so many computing options on the market, customers leaving XP behind might end up leaving Microsoft behind, too.

What The End Means For You

First, a brief explanation of what "ending support" means: XP won't stop working in April — if you have it on your computer now, you'll still have it on your computer then. But the machine won't receive new security updates. Even with Microsoft's anti-malware updates, it will still be much more vulnerable to attacks.

"The data could be erased, the data could be changed, people could take over those machines to use for spam or other elicit purposes," says Michael Silver, a tech analyst at Gartner.

Silver estimates that up to a quarter of PCs in the U.S. are still running XP. He says it's unlikely that most XP users will migrate to a new operating system by April — even though the end date was announced years ago, when XP's would-be successor, Windows Vista, was released.

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/tech/95-percent-us-atms-run-windows-xp

Who is still using Microsoft XP? Probably your aunt, your grandparents and probably your parents.

20 percent of computers worldwide use XP. It’s the second most popular operating system behind Windows 7.

Your kid almost definitely uses it. A recent study by AVAST found that 96 percent of schools still use XP.

Your uncle who works at Hill Air Force Base probably uses it. 10 percent of Federal government computers, including some classified military networks, still use XP.

You use it all the time: 95 percent of all U.S. ATMs still run on XP.

Every week, Microsoft employees look for vulnerabilities in their software. When they find them, they create what’s called a patch to fix it. After April 8, Microsoft will stop offering patches for XP.

“Therefore, anybody running an XP system could fall prey to someone who is trying to exercise one of those vulnerabilities,” says Eugene Spafford, executive director of The Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security at Purdue University. He says XP users had more than six years to prepare for the end, but not everyone has been proactive.

I think I'll be partitioning my drive and coming here via Linux from now on. . . . My machine is will do a new operating system, but why should I buy one? Thieves.

http://www.economist.com/node/13354332

The strategy of planned obsolescence is common in the computer industry too. New software is often carefully calculated to reduce the value to consumers of the previous version. This is achieved by making programs upwardly compatible only; in other words, the new versions can read all the files of the old versions, but not the other way round. Someone holding the old version can communicate only with others using the old version. It is as if every generation of children came into the world speaking a completely different language from their parents. While they could understand their parents' language, their parents could not understand theirs.

 

[martybegan]

http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2014/01/21/264571072/as-windows-xp-fades-away-will-its-users-stick-with-microsoft
As Windows XP Fades Away, Will Its Users Stick With Microsoft?

But the company faces a challenge as it herds its users away from the 12-year-old operating system: With so many computing options on the market, customers leaving XP behind might end up leaving Microsoft behind, too.

What The End Means For You

First, a brief explanation of what "ending support" means: XP won't stop working in April — if you have it on your computer now, you'll still have it on your computer then. But the machine won't receive new security updates. Even with Microsoft's anti-malware updates, it will still be much more vulnerable to attacks.

"The data could be erased, the data could be changed, people could take over those machines to use for spam or other elicit purposes," says Michael Silver, a tech analyst at Gartner.

Silver estimates that up to a quarter of PCs in the U.S. are still running XP. He says it's unlikely that most XP users will migrate to a new operating system by April — even though the end date was announced years ago, when XP's would-be successor, Windows Vista, was released.

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/tech/95-percent-us-atms-run-windows-xp

Who is still using Microsoft XP? Probably your aunt, your grandparents and probably your parents.

20 percent of computers worldwide use XP. It’s the second most popular operating system behind Windows 7.

Your kid almost definitely uses it. A recent study by AVAST found that 96 percent of schools still use XP.

Your uncle who works at Hill Air Force Base probably uses it. 10 percent of Federal government computers, including some classified military networks, still use XP.

You use it all the time: 95 percent of all U.S. ATMs still run on XP.

Every week, Microsoft employees look for vulnerabilities in their software. When they find them, they create what’s called a patch to fix it. After April 8, Microsoft will stop offering patches for XP.

“Therefore, anybody running an XP system could fall prey to someone who is trying to exercise one of those vulnerabilities,” says Eugene Spafford, executive director of The Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security at Purdue University. He says XP users had more than six years to prepare for the end, but not everyone has been proactive.

I think I'll be partitioning my drive and coming here via Linux from now on. . . . My machine is will do a new operating system, but why should I buy one? Thieves.

http://www.economist.com/node/13354332

The strategy of planned obsolescence is common in the computer industry too. New software is often carefully calculated to reduce the value to consumers of the previous version. This is achieved by making programs upwardly compatible only; in other words, the new versions can read all the files of the old versions, but not the other way round. Someone holding the old version can communicate only with others using the old version. It is as if every generation of children came into the world speaking a completely different language from their parents. While they could understand their parents' language, their parents could not understand theirs.

Simple solution. If Microsoft abandons support, it abandons ownership protection. Someone else is now free to take up the slack. I'm sure current XP users would cough up $1-$2 per patch for "support" if they really wanted to keep using the system.

 

[Chuckt]

http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2014/01/21/264571072/as-windows-xp-fades-away-will-its-users-stick-with-microsoft
As Windows XP Fades Away, Will Its Users Stick With Microsoft?

But the company faces a challenge as it herds its users away from the 12-year-old operating system: With so many computing options on the market, customers leaving XP behind might end up leaving Microsoft behind, too.

What The End Means For You

First, a brief explanation of what "ending support" means: XP won't stop working in April — if you have it on your computer now, you'll still have it on your computer then. But the machine won't receive new security updates. Even with Microsoft's anti-malware updates, it will still be much more vulnerable to attacks.

"The data could be erased, the data could be changed, people could take over those machines to use for spam or other elicit purposes," says Michael Silver, a tech analyst at Gartner.

Silver estimates that up to a quarter of PCs in the U.S. are still running XP. He says it's unlikely that most XP users will migrate to a new operating system by April — even though the end date was announced years ago, when XP's would-be successor, Windows Vista, was released.

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/tech/95-percent-us-atms-run-windows-xp



I think I'll be partitioning my drive and coming here via Linux from now on. . . . My machine is will do a new operating system, but why should I buy one? Thieves.

http://www.economist.com/node/13354332

The strategy of planned obsolescence is common in the computer industry too. New software is often carefully calculated to reduce the value to consumers of the previous version. This is achieved by making programs upwardly compatible only; in other words, the new versions can read all the files of the old versions, but not the other way round. Someone holding the old version can communicate only with others using the old version. It is as if every generation of children came into the world speaking a completely different language from their parents. While they could understand their parents' language, their parents could not understand theirs.

Simple solution. If Microsoft abandons support, it abandons ownership protection. Someone else is now free to take up the slack. I'm sure current XP users would cough up $1-$2 per patch for "support" if they really wanted to keep using the system.

What is lesser known is the fact they are still providing support for Chinese users of XP.

 

[Pogo]

Who's still using XP?

People who don't buy the Microslush bullshit idea of "if it ain't broke, change it".

 

[Politico]

A lot of people on a planet called Earth.

 

[Mojo2]

http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2014/01/21/264571072/as-windows-xp-fades-away-will-its-users-stick-with-microsoft
As Windows XP Fades Away, Will Its Users Stick With Microsoft?

But the company faces a challenge as it herds its users away from the 12-year-old operating system: With so many computing options on the market, customers leaving XP behind might end up leaving Microsoft behind, too.

What The End Means For You

First, a brief explanation of what "ending support" means: XP won't stop working in April — if you have it on your computer now, you'll still have it on your computer then. But the machine won't receive new security updates. Even with Microsoft's anti-malware updates, it will still be much more vulnerable to attacks.

"The data could be erased, the data could be changed, people could take over those machines to use for spam or other elicit purposes," says Michael Silver, a tech analyst at Gartner.

Silver estimates that up to a quarter of PCs in the U.S. are still running XP. He says it's unlikely that most XP users will migrate to a new operating system by April — even though the end date was announced years ago, when XP's would-be successor, Windows Vista, was released.

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/tech/95-percent-us-atms-run-windows-xp

Who is still using Microsoft XP? Probably your aunt, your grandparents and probably your parents.

20 percent of computers worldwide use XP. It’s the second most popular operating system behind Windows 7.

Your kid almost definitely uses it. A recent study by AVAST found that 96 percent of schools still use XP.

Your uncle who works at Hill Air Force Base probably uses it. 10 percent of Federal government computers, including some classified military networks, still use XP.

You use it all the time: 95 percent of all U.S. ATMs still run on XP.

Every week, Microsoft employees look for vulnerabilities in their software. When they find them, they create what’s called a patch to fix it. After April 8, Microsoft will stop offering patches for XP.

“Therefore, anybody running an XP system could fall prey to someone who is trying to exercise one of those vulnerabilities,” says Eugene Spafford, executive director of The Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security at Purdue University. He says XP users had more than six years to prepare for the end, but not everyone has been proactive.

I think I'll be partitioning my drive and coming here via Linux from now on. . . . My machine is will do a new operating system, but why should I buy one? Thieves.

http://www.economist.com/node/13354332

The strategy of planned obsolescence is common in the computer industry too. New software is often carefully calculated to reduce the value to consumers of the previous version. This is achieved by making programs upwardly compatible only; in other words, the new versions can read all the files of the old versions, but not the other way round. Someone holding the old version can communicate only with others using the old version. It is as if every generation of children came into the world speaking a completely different language from their parents. While they could understand their parents' language, their parents could not understand theirs.

As beautiful as Apple products are, they are too pricey and their planned obsolescence rate is ridiculously frequent. As much as i loved Mac, i will not dance to their tune any more.

XP has been around for 12 years and I think I will see if I can re-up with a Microsoft system for another decade or more.

The lack of backward compatibility sucks.

Imagine a $30,000 car you bought 15 years ago no longer being able to drive on the streets, lanes and hiways of America.

Bullshit.

Someone should do something.

I don't pretend to know what that might be.

I don't want to get all Communisty on free enterprise but something should be done.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Businesses use XP still everywhere.
Ours does.
Windows 8 is probably the most business unfriendly OS on the planet.
Windows 7 was not on new PC's for long enough for a lot of businesses to migrate to it as obviously businesses wait till bugs are worked out.
Not one of our enterprise systems works with Windows 8 - not one.

 

[mudwhistle]

Businesses use XP still everywhere.
Ours does.
Windows 8 is probably the most business unfriendly OS on the planet.
Windows 7 was not on new PC's for long enough for a lot of businesses to migrate to it as obviously businesses wait till bugs are worked out.
Not one of our enterprise systems works with Windows 8 - not one.

Microsoft has been really screwing up lately.

Their release of the XBOX One was a major mistake. They also made the mistake of making one of my favorite games Forsa XBOX One exclusive.

I'm not buying Forsa 4. It would cost me over $500 just to play that damned game if you include the price of new console. I'm perfectly happy with the XBOX360.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Businesses use XP still everywhere.
Ours does.
Windows 8 is probably the most business unfriendly OS on the planet.
Windows 7 was not on new PC's for long enough for a lot of businesses to migrate to it as obviously businesses wait till bugs are worked out.
Not one of our enterprise systems works with Windows 8 - not one.

Microsoft has been really screwing up lately.

Their release of the XBOX One was a major mistake. They also made the mistake of making one of my favorite games Forsa XBOX One exclusive.

I'm not buying Forsa 4. It would cost me over $500 just to play that damned game if you include the price of new console. I'm perfectly happy with the XBOX360.

Yep - the XboxOne rollout was very typical of Microsoft...repackaged original.
Why would anyone "upgrade" to an XBoxOne?
And Windows 8? God it is annoying, it is the exact opposite of what an operating system is supposed to be.

 

[Chuckt]

Who's still using XP?

People who don't buy the Microslush bullshit idea of "if it ain't broke, change it".

If all you use your computer for is Word Processing, why do you need a new computer every couple of years? It is a waste of money.

 

[Iceweasel]

I think I'll be partitioning my drive and coming here via Linux from now on. . . . My machine is will do a new operating system, but why should I buy one? Thieves.

I've been on Linux for 3+ years. I still have XP on one partician since I have an expensive program that needs it. I don't need it but rarely, otherwise I'm on one of three Linux distros, Debian is my main one. Don't start there though unless you are familiar with Linux. Ubuntu or Mint would be a good start.

You might also consider adding a second drive and putting it there, that way the grub (bootup screen) won't overwrite Windows' boot. Otherwise you can partician during the install and add Linux automatically to coexist with Windows or manually adjust it (which might be a bit confusing).

I've had Macs too and Linux has the best of both worlds but it does have a steeper learning curve. I'm no geek so it's very doable these days.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

I think I'll be partitioning my drive and coming here via Linux from now on. . . . My machine is will do a new operating system, but why should I buy one? Thieves.

I've been on Linux for 3+ years. I still have XP on one partician since I have an expensive program that needs it. I don't need it but rarely, otherwise I'm on one of three Linux distros, Debian is my main one. Don't start there though unless you are familiar with Linux. Ubuntu or Mint would be a good start.

You might also consider adding a second drive and putting it there, that way the grub (bootup screen) won't overwrite Windows' boot. Otherwise you can partician during the install and add Linux automatically to coexist with Windows or manually adjust it (which might be a bit confusing).

I've had Macs too and Linux has the best of both worlds but it does have a steeper learning curve. I'm no geek so it's very doable these days.

I have LinuxMint running on two laptops and a desktop at home.
It is awesome. It beats the daylights out of Windows.
The learning curve is getting it setup with codecs etc....but after that it is so much faster and cleaner that Windows, especially Win8 which is a nightmare.

 

[Iceweasel]

I have LinuxMint running on two laptops and a desktop at home.
It is awesome. It beats the daylights out of Windows.
The learning curve is getting it setup with codecs etc....but after that it is so much faster and cleaner that Windows, especially Win8 which is a nightmare.

Yep, and the overhead is a lot less too. I generally use less than 600 megs of memory with a browser, email program, Mac style Cairo dock going and three virtual desktops for two monitors (something I hear Windows still doesn't do).

 

[iamwhatiseem]

I have LinuxMint running on two laptops and a desktop at home.
It is awesome. It beats the daylights out of Windows.
The learning curve is getting it setup with codecs etc....but after that it is so much faster and cleaner that Windows, especially Win8 which is a nightmare.

Yep, and the overhead is a lot less too. I generally use less than 600 megs of memory with a browser, email program, Mac style Cairo dock going and three virtual desktops for two monitors (something I hear Windows still doesn't do).

I have the desktop setup as my "entertainment center"
I have Plex Server running on it, and then via Roku I share any movie/show/music to every TV in the house. I transferred all of my DVD collection to an external drive, as well as downloaded movies - and watch them in full 1080 anywhere in the house.
Works well.

 

[Iceweasel]

I have the desktop setup as my "entertainment center"
I have Plex Server running on it, and then via Roku I share any movie/show/music to every TV in the house. I transferred all of my DVD collection to an external drive, as well as downloaded movies - and watch them in full 1080 anywhere in the house.
Works well.

I watch movies on this one too but not to the TV. I have (had) XBMCuntu on another partition and broke it. I'm not sure if I'll reinstall it, it was TOO lightweight. I'll have to look into Plex Server.

 

[mudwhistle]

Businesses use XP still everywhere.
Ours does.
Windows 8 is probably the most business unfriendly OS on the planet.
Windows 7 was not on new PC's for long enough for a lot of businesses to migrate to it as obviously businesses wait till bugs are worked out.
Not one of our enterprise systems works with Windows 8 - not one.

Microsoft has been really screwing up lately.

Their release of the XBOX One was a major mistake. They also made the mistake of making one of my favorite games Forsa XBOX One exclusive.

I'm not buying Forsa 4. It would cost me over $500 just to play that damned game if you include the price of new console. I'm perfectly happy with the XBOX360.

Yep - the XboxOne rollout was very typical of Microsoft...repackaged original.
Why would anyone "upgrade" to an XBoxOne?
And Windows 8? God it is annoying, it is the exact opposite of what an operating system is supposed to be.

8.1 is only a fraction better.

It's still difficult to find things.

 

[Chuckt]

I think I'll be partitioning my drive and coming here via Linux from now on. . . . My machine is will do a new operating system, but why should I buy one? Thieves.

I've been on Linux for 3+ years. I still have XP on one partician since I have an expensive program that needs it. I don't need it but rarely, otherwise I'm on one of three Linux distros, Debian is my main one. Don't start there though unless you are familiar with Linux. Ubuntu or Mint would be a good start.

You might also consider adding a second drive and putting it there, that way the grub (bootup screen) won't overwrite Windows' boot. Otherwise you can partician during the install and add Linux automatically to coexist with Windows or manually adjust it (which might be a bit confusing).

I've had Macs too and Linux has the best of both worlds but it does have a steeper learning curve. I'm no geek so it's very doable these days.

I have LinuxMint running on two laptops and a desktop at home.
It is awesome. It beats the daylights out of Windows.
The learning curve is getting it setup with codecs etc....but after that it is so much faster and cleaner that Windows, especially Win8 which is a nightmare.

Windows 8 was a nightmare at first. We got it to work. Some things like search doesn't work and we don't buy apps from the app store. I found a way to keep Windows 8 from booting to the app menu because we don't use it so Windows 8 just boots to the desktop.

 

[Andylusion]

http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2014/01/21/264571072/as-windows-xp-fades-away-will-its-users-stick-with-microsoft
As Windows XP Fades Away, Will Its Users Stick With Microsoft?

But the company faces a challenge as it herds its users away from the 12-year-old operating system: With so many computing options on the market, customers leaving XP behind might end up leaving Microsoft behind, too.

What The End Means For You

First, a brief explanation of what "ending support" means: XP won't stop working in April — if you have it on your computer now, you'll still have it on your computer then. But the machine won't receive new security updates. Even with Microsoft's anti-malware updates, it will still be much more vulnerable to attacks.

"The data could be erased, the data could be changed, people could take over those machines to use for spam or other elicit purposes," says Michael Silver, a tech analyst at Gartner.

Silver estimates that up to a quarter of PCs in the U.S. are still running XP. He says it's unlikely that most XP users will migrate to a new operating system by April — even though the end date was announced years ago, when XP's would-be successor, Windows Vista, was released.

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/tech/95-percent-us-atms-run-windows-xp

Who is still using Microsoft XP? Probably your aunt, your grandparents and probably your parents.

20 percent of computers worldwide use XP. It’s the second most popular operating system behind Windows 7.

Your kid almost definitely uses it. A recent study by AVAST found that 96 percent of schools still use XP.

Your uncle who works at Hill Air Force Base probably uses it. 10 percent of Federal government computers, including some classified military networks, still use XP.

You use it all the time: 95 percent of all U.S. ATMs still run on XP.

Every week, Microsoft employees look for vulnerabilities in their software. When they find them, they create what’s called a patch to fix it. After April 8, Microsoft will stop offering patches for XP.

“Therefore, anybody running an XP system could fall prey to someone who is trying to exercise one of those vulnerabilities,” says Eugene Spafford, executive director of The Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security at Purdue University. He says XP users had more than six years to prepare for the end, but not everyone has been proactive.

I think I'll be partitioning my drive and coming here via Linux from now on. . . . My machine is will do a new operating system, but why should I buy one? Thieves.

http://www.economist.com/node/13354332

The strategy of planned obsolescence is common in the computer industry too. New software is often carefully calculated to reduce the value to consumers of the previous version. This is achieved by making programs upwardly compatible only; in other words, the new versions can read all the files of the old versions, but not the other way round. Someone holding the old version can communicate only with others using the old version. It is as if every generation of children came into the world speaking a completely different language from their parents. While they could understand their parents' language, their parents could not understand theirs.

I'm a bit surprised that the Economist would say such a thing about planned obsolescence. At least this particular writer doesn't seem to understand it.

Operating systems are huge. They have millions of lines of code. And one of the big issues with bugs and vulnerabilities, is that with every new patch and upgrade, one fix, can cause other bugs in those millions of lines of code.

I once was an aspiring programmer, and had to debug software, and it really is insane. If a large bit of software was a patient at a doctors office, fixing software bugs would be like putting a bandaid on a toe that has a cut, and then suddenly the patients ear stopped hearing.

And as newer software is made for the newer operating systems (Windows 7 or Window 8), that software tends to have more problems operating on the older system, resulting in people complaining about more bugs.

At some point.... the company is spending more money trying to duct tape and bungie cord an old obsolete system that they are not making money on, and they simply have to let that old system go. It's costing the company more resources to maintain, than it is worth it to maintain.

I'm not convinced that 13 years of life is all that bad. It certainly has outlasted most automobiles, that cost several times as much to purchase.

Certainly you don't see Ford or Toyota building the exact same car for 13 years straight. At some point you have to cut ties, and move on to better designs and technology. You can't just sit there still supporting XP for another 20 years.

Wouldn't we even WANT Microsoft to invest more of their resources into something newer and better?

I will say that Microsoft does in fact do things unnecessarily to push people onto the new operating systems. Again, it's partially because they want to sell more copies of the new stuff.... obviously.... but it's also because people calling in with problems, and complaining about issues with XP, is a cost to the company. If everyone moved on from XP, then they wouldn't have so many phone calls about XP (obviously), and that would save them money.

However... the fact is, there is no real alternative. Yes you have some Linux geeks out there, and that's fine. I'm for that actually. I would love it if Linux would take over the world..... but the fact is, it's not going to happen. At least not in the foreseeable future. I've installed Linux myself, and it's nifty... it's neat.... but it's not userfriendly, not by a long shot, and if someone doesn't have a geek core to them, Linux would be extremely frustrating and tiresome. Some of the most simple functions, like simply installing a basic free-ware game, is frustrating and bothersome. That's not an alternative to Windows. I wish, but it's not.

 

[Iceweasel]

However... the fact is, there is no real alternative. Yes you have some Linux geeks out there, and that's fine. I'm for that actually. I would love it if Linux would take over the world..... but the fact is, it's not going to happen. At least not in the foreseeable future. I've installed Linux myself, and it's nifty... it's neat.... but it's not userfriendly, not by a long shot, and if someone doesn't have a geek core to them, Linux would be extremely frustrating and tiresome. Some of the most simple functions, like simply installing a basic free-ware game, is frustrating and bothersome. That's not an alternative to Windows. I wish, but it's not.

I think the main problem with Windows is the registry. It's massive, resource hungry and takes a long time to load. It's not needed in OSX or Linux so clearly there's a way to have an OS without all that. Linux boots in about a half minute. Less if you have a streamlined setup. It's not a gamer's machine but Android runs them well. BTW, Google developers use a modified Linux Mint to develope Android. Linux can and does run games well but the money isn't there since it's open source so game makers aren't going there, there are few choices there but it's not the OS's shortcoming.

As far as installing software, I don't know what you mean. I open the software manager, click on the one I'm interested in and the really big ones take a couple of minutes. I then open the program and use it. No registry updating, rebooting or fuss about it.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2014/01/21/264571072/as-windows-xp-fades-away-will-its-users-stick-with-microsoft
As Windows XP Fades Away, Will Its Users Stick With Microsoft?

But the company faces a challenge as it herds its users away from the 12-year-old operating system: With so many computing options on the market, customers leaving XP behind might end up leaving Microsoft behind, too.

What The End Means For You

First, a brief explanation of what "ending support" means: XP won't stop working in April — if you have it on your computer now, you'll still have it on your computer then. But the machine won't receive new security updates. Even with Microsoft's anti-malware updates, it will still be much more vulnerable to attacks.

"The data could be erased, the data could be changed, people could take over those machines to use for spam or other elicit purposes," says Michael Silver, a tech analyst at Gartner.

Silver estimates that up to a quarter of PCs in the U.S. are still running XP. He says it's unlikely that most XP users will migrate to a new operating system by April — even though the end date was announced years ago, when XP's would-be successor, Windows Vista, was released.

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/tech/95-percent-us-atms-run-windows-xp



I think I'll be partitioning my drive and coming here via Linux from now on. . . . My machine is will do a new operating system, but why should I buy one? Thieves.

http://www.economist.com/node/13354332

The strategy of planned obsolescence is common in the computer industry too. New software is often carefully calculated to reduce the value to consumers of the previous version. This is achieved by making programs upwardly compatible only; in other words, the new versions can read all the files of the old versions, but not the other way round. Someone holding the old version can communicate only with others using the old version. It is as if every generation of children came into the world speaking a completely different language from their parents. While they could understand their parents' language, their parents could not understand theirs.

I'm a bit surprised that the Economist would say such a thing about planned obsolescence. At least this particular writer doesn't seem to understand it.

Operating systems are huge. They have millions of lines of code. And one of the big issues with bugs and vulnerabilities, is that with every new patch and upgrade, one fix, can cause other bugs in those millions of lines of code.

I once was an aspiring programmer, and had to debug software, and it really is insane. If a large bit of software was a patient at a doctors office, fixing software bugs would be like putting a bandaid on a toe that has a cut, and then suddenly the patients ear stopped hearing.

And as newer software is made for the newer operating systems (Windows 7 or Window 8), that software tends to have more problems operating on the older system, resulting in people complaining about more bugs.

At some point.... the company is spending more money trying to duct tape and bungie cord an old obsolete system that they are not making money on, and they simply have to let that old system go. It's costing the company more resources to maintain, than it is worth it to maintain.

I'm not convinced that 13 years of life is all that bad. It certainly has outlasted most automobiles, that cost several times as much to purchase.

Certainly you don't see Ford or Toyota building the exact same car for 13 years straight. At some point you have to cut ties, and move on to better designs and technology. You can't just sit there still supporting XP for another 20 years.

Wouldn't we even WANT Microsoft to invest more of their resources into something newer and better?

I will say that Microsoft does in fact do things unnecessarily to push people onto the new operating systems. Again, it's partially because they want to sell more copies of the new stuff.... obviously.... but it's also because people calling in with problems, and complaining about issues with XP, is a cost to the company. If everyone moved on from XP, then they wouldn't have so many phone calls about XP (obviously), and that would save them money.

However... the fact is, there is no real alternative. Yes you have some Linux geeks out there, and that's fine. I'm for that actually. I would love it if Linux would take over the world..... but the fact is, it's not going to happen. At least not in the foreseeable future. I've installed Linux myself, and it's nifty... it's neat.... but it's not userfriendly, not by a long shot, and if someone doesn't have a geek core to them, Linux would be extremely frustrating and tiresome. Some of the most simple functions, like simply installing a basic free-ware game, is frustrating and bothersome. That's not an alternative to Windows. I wish, but it's not.

Well there you go...sorry, this will be rude but that is a whole lot of horseshit.
Linux is not user friendly?? And Windows 8 is??
That is hilarious.
Linux is a perfect system for simple users, I have set up a mint desktop for a lot of folks and they never want to go back to Windows. The "difficulty" in Linux, and it really is not that difficult anymore, is setting up the restricted codecs and proprietary drivers...which...wait for it...takes about 3 minutes. And your done.
You can always tell when a person badmouths Linux that has no idea what they are talking about. And you are one of them.
Linux used to be hard. It use to take hours and hours of hacking to get a system correctly setup. Now - about 3 or 4 minutes.