Countdown: XP moving to limited support

[newbie original]

Windows 7 is a year away, and Vista is an unpalatable alternative for many.....especially those with older(slower) systems.

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscente...bered_now.html

Windows XP's Days are Really Numbered Now
Gregg Keizer, Computerworld

Saturday, February 07, 2009 10:04 AM PST

In 10 weeks, Microsoft Corp. will begin to retire Windows XP by shifting the seven-year-old OS into a more limited support plan.


Windows XP, Microsoft's most successful operating system ever, will leave what the company calls "mainstream support" on April 14, and enter "extended support."


By Microsoft policy, mainstream support delivers free fixes -- for security patches and other bug fixes -- to everyone. During extended support, all users receive all security updates, but non-security hot fixes are provided only to companies that have signed support contracts with Microsoft.

 

[newbie original]

This date was already extended before, so we can consider ourselves lucky. I can't imagine why they wouldn extend it again. There is really nothing to be sad about here. The whole point of this exercise is that MS gives hardware manufacturers a reason not to maintain or develop drivers for XP anymore. It's a win-win for both Microsoft and the hardware manufacturers, since now both of them have grounds to push out whatever next big innovation they come up with. I am surprised people still haven't come out from the first year experience of Vista. Win7's kernel is based on Vista's. Some beta testers do expect Win7 to run faster though.

EDIT:

Windows 7 Beta recommended specifications:[46]

Processor speed 1 GHz (either 32-bit or 64-bit)
Memory (RAM) 1 GB<---------------WOW!!! MINIMUM requirement of 1 GB!!!
Graphics card DirectX 9.0 capable
Graphics memory 128 MB (for Windows Aero)
HDD free space 16 GB
Other drives DVD-ROM
Audio Audio output

 

[cmc211]

WTF is that..

 

[Siawash]

My next pc/laptop is going to be a Mac, no matter what Microsoft develops.

 

[Á&#316;é&#64303;]

My next pc/laptop is going to be a Mac, no matter what Microsoft develops.

You loose either way.

 

[Siawash]

Taking a loss is better than nothing. I'm not saying Apple is great, cause its not. But Microsoft's development team sucks.

 

[Help?]

so basically Microsoft will run a new virus on XP and not provide us with a fix

 

[yoyo913]

so basically microsoft will run a new virus on xp and not provide us with a fix

microsoft mafia

 

[Siawash]

Lol, that's Gates, isn't it?

 

[newbie original]

The following are a list of user friendly(beginner) level Linux distributions/operating systems. All are available for free and can be easily customized to "look" like anything you want.ex: Windows, Mac, etc.etc.

Ubuntu
-new version released every 6 months or so
-every 2 years a LTS(Long-Term-Support) version is released that is supported for 3 years
-largest support community of any Linux distribution

Minimum Requirements(Recommended):
700 MHz x86 processor
384 MB of system memory (RAM)
8 GB of disk space
Graphics card capable of 1024x768 resolution
Sound card*
A network or Internet connection

Website: www.ubuntu.com

* I have been using Ubuntu for the past 2 years and do NOT have a sound card. I have been using the onboard(motherboard) sound and a very old pair of speakers.........I get crystal clear sound after installing Ubuntu.

---------------------------------------------X-------------------------------------------------------

XUbuntu(this is really just a different flavor of Ubuntu, that is designed for slower/older systems)
-new version released at the same time that Ubuntu is released(i.e. every 6 months)
-every 2 years a LTS(Long-Term-Support) version is released that is supported for 3 years
-access to Ubuntu's community which is the largest support community of any Linux distribution

Minimum Requirements
128 MB RAM
1.5 GB of free space on your hard disk
Once installed, Xubuntu can run with 192 MB RAM, but it is strongly recommended to have at least 256 MB RAM.

website: http://www.xubuntu.org/

---------------------------------------------X-------------------------------------------------------

Linux Mint
-based on Ubuntu
-new version released after corresponding Ubuntu release
-includes EVERYTHING Ubuntu contains PLUS Flash/Javascript/CODECS for viewing multimedia plus various other optimizations and pre-installed software that would have to be manually installed in Ubuntu

Minimum Requirements
A minimum of 512MB of RAM is recommended. Once installed the system works fine with as low as 256MB RAM. The installation process deals with 2.5GB of data compressed on a 700MB CD and it can hang or fail on systems with less than 512MB RAM. If you have between 256MB and 512MB RAM you may have to try to install several times.

website: www.linuxmint.com

---------------------------------------------X-------------------------------------------------------

Fedora
-Over the last few months, Fedora has been increasingly compared favorably with Ubuntu, and, to a large extent, it deserves this praise. If anything, it has probably exceeded Ubuntu in innovation, with at least a dozen major new ideas in every release
-the latest release is much faster and smoother, in terms of booting up, than before
-much better DEFAULT look than Ubuntu....on par with Linux Mint's default look
-on par with the latest version of Ubuntu, in terms of speed

Minimum Requirements
The following CPU specifications are stated in terms of Intel processors. Other processors, such as those from AMD, Cyrix, and VIA that are compatible with and equivalent to the following Intel processors, may also be used with Fedora. Fedora requires an Intel Pentium or better processor, and is optimized for Pentium 4 and later processors.

400 MHz Pentium II or better
192MB RAM
Recommended RAM: 256MB

website: www.fedoraproject.org

---------------------------------------------X-------------------------------------------------------

EDIT: My personal experience(Ubuntu...for the most part...on an old system) is that my sound and (wired internet) network card drivers are automatically detected after installation. The installation involves nothing but a few mouse clicks. I manually install flash, javascript, multimedia codecs(for multimedia viewing), video card drivers and a fancy theme. This entire process takes a TOTAL of ~2 hours, which is SIGNIFICANTLY less than what it takes me to install Windows XP on the same system. Oh, and the system ALWAYS runs faster than it would with Windows XP installed.

 

[Á&#316;é&#64303;]

Linux can be great, unfortunately it is unlikely for a user that doesnt have advanced computer knowledge to ever try it. (or succeed installing it)

 

[elhelmiey]

hi newbie original! currently i am using windows xp and i would like to know whether i can have Ubuntu too (so that i can have both os)? if can so kindly tell me how?

in your opinion which one is better between Ubuntu, XUbuntu, Linux Mint or Fedora? which one is the most you would like to recommend?

 

[Bobby]

<3 Ubantu.

My friend's netbook has it.

 

[newbie original]

Linux can be great, unfortunately it is unlikely for a user that doesnt have advanced computer knowledge to ever try it. (or succeed installing it)

The ones I mentioned above(Ubuntu or Linux Mint) are very simple to install if you've got a spare blank hard drive....even an old one will do. The problems arise when trying to dual boot with Windows because you have to be SO careful not to mess anything up, or you'll lost the Windows installation. Once installed, Ubuntu is pretty simple to use actually.

....currently i am using windows xp and i would like to know whether i can have Ubuntu too (so that i can have both os)? if can so kindly tell me how?

in your opinion which one is better between Ubuntu, XUbuntu, Linux Mint or Fedora? which one is the most you would like to recommend?

You can but it is much easier for a Linux beginner to install it on a blank hard drive. For dual booting, you're probably best to ask here for support:
www.ubuntuforums.org


I have never used Fedora so I can't say anything about it. Ubuntu/XUbuntu,Linux Mint have all worked on the hardware on my desktop. XUbuntu worked the best for me......but some of my hardware components are very old. I don't know how well Ubuntu will perform with new hardware. Again, the best place to ask for help is:
www.ubuntuforums.org

As far as XP goes, most people won't give up xp until their computer dies, or microsoft pries their XP cd from their hands.

 

[Á&#316;é&#64303;]

why worry at all? Unplugging a HD so that the boot sector doesnt get screwed works always. Anyway, it is true you can finish the "wizard" process of installing pretty easily but thats only a small part of the actual installation

 

[Tom]

My brother uses Ubuntu, once Windows XP starts becoming something of the past, im moving onto that. Maybe with a dual-boot or something.

 

[newbie original]

Upgrade from XP to Windows 7 NOT possible:

For Windows XP users who avoided Vista because of its many problems, that upgrade work may seem as adding insult to injury, making it harder for them to finally adopt a new version of Windows. Through its PR agency, Microsoft confirms to InfoWorld that there will be no "in-place upgrade" option for XP users, but it declines to explain why not. "More materials on your question are in the works," the spokesman says.

Why a clean-install requirement may make sense

But there may be good reason not to support an in-place upgrade, suggests Michael Silver, a Gartner analyst who follows Microsoft technologies. That's because viruses, registry errors, and other performance-sapping flaws in the user's Windows environment would be carried over into Windows 7; something that would not happen with a clean install.

Business IT typically does clean installs on user systems to avoid these issues, Silver notes, so the lack of an in-place upgrade will be a nonissue for most enterprises.

Consumers and small businesses are the ones who tend to prefer the in-place upgrade option, Silver notes, and they're the ones who may be annoyed by the clean-install requirement if coming from XP. "Microsoft is in a bit of a no-win situation here: Support the upgrade and live with whatever bad experiences users have or don't support the upgrade and make it harder for people to do it," Silver says.

"Most users will be better off doing the clean install anyway," he says, so he recommends that even Vista users avoid the in-place upgrade and proceed to the clean install.

Silver also notes that users who did not upgrade to Vista often have hardware that can't run Windows 7 or Vista (typically, PCs from 2006 or earlier), so they would likely get a new computer at the same time with Windows 7 preinstalled, which means reinstalling their apps, preferences, and data anyhow.

 

[ninjashoes]

yeah I definetly prefer a clean install anyway

 

[newbie original]

French Gendarmerie saves 50 million EUROS with Ubuntu !

The French Gendarmerie's gradual migration to a complete open source desktop and web applications has saved millions of euro, says Lieutenant-Colonel Xavier Guimard. "This year the IT budget will be reduced by 70 percent. This will not affect our IT systems."

Guimard this Thursday in the city of Utrecht in the Netherlands gave a presentation on the move from a Microsoft-based to an Ubuntu GNU/Linux-based desktop. The Lieutenant-Colonel was one of the keynote speakers at an annual conference organised by NOiV, the Dutch national resource centre on open source and open standards.

Most of these savings are on proprietary software licences. Up until 2004 the Gendarmerie acquired 12.000 to 15.000 licences annually. In 2005 it bought just 27. "Since July 2007 we have bought two hundred Microsoft licences. If one of us wants a new PC, it comes with Ubuntu. This encourages our users to migrate." Guimard estimates Gendarmerie since 2004 has saved 50 million euro on licences for standard office applications, hardware and maintenance.

The Gendarmerie's decided on a strict open standards IT policy in 2002. The 105.000 heads strong police force at that time used an out-dated IT system which was expensive to maintain and not able to interoperate with other police forces or custom agencies. Strictly maintaining of this policy for instance lead SAP to adapt its human resource application so it could be used with a web browser. "This means we can move to a competitor's human resource application at any time.

The decision in 2004 to move to open source, was raised by one of the Gendarmerie's accountants. "Microsoft was forcing us to buy new software licences. This annoyed our accountant, who tried OpenOffice." According to Guimard the proprietary software maker then started lobbying the Gendarmerie, which is how the general manager found out about the experiments. "When he saw OpenOffice worked just as well and was available for free, it was he that decided it should be installed on all 90.000 desktops."



No training

Guimard says the Gendarmerie since 2002 found out that open source applications usually are better at handling open standards than proprietary software. Moving to centralised Imap servers for email, lead the organisation to deploy Mozilla Thunderbird on the desktops. Making all the web applications work equally well,resulted in the roll-out of Firefox across the organisation. "Users need no training to use a web browser."

In 2007 the Gendarmerie decided to replace even the desktop operating system. Guimard: "Moving from Microsoft XP to Vista would not have brought us many advantages and Microsoft said it would require training of users. Moving from XP to Ubuntu, however, proved very easy. The two biggest differences are the icons and the games. Games are not our priority."

According to Guimard the move to open source has also helped to reduce maintenance costs. Keeping GNU/Linux desktops up to date is much easier, he says. "Previously, one of us would be travelling all year just to install a new version of some anti virus application on the desktops in the Gendarmerie's outposts on the islands in French Polynesia. A similar operation now is finished within two weeks and does not require travelling."

http://www.osor.eu/news/fr-gendarmer...b-applications

 

[newbie original]

Living in the Past: Windows 7 to have an 'XP mode'

Microsoft is trying to make it easier to sway users of Windows XP onto the latest version of its operating system.

For some time now, the company has been quietly building a "Windows XP mode" that uses virtualization to allow Windows 7 to easily run applications designed for Windows XP. According to sources familiar with the product, the application compatibility mode is built on the Virtual PC technology that Microsoft acquired in 2003, when it scooped up the assets of Connectix.

By adding the compatibility mode, Microsoft is aiming to address one of the key shortcomings of Windows Vista: its compatibility issues with software designed for Windows XP and earlier versions of the operating system.

Details of the Windows XP mode, previously known as Virtual Windows XP, were first published earlier Friday by the Windows SuperSite blog.

The technology has not been part of the beta version of Windows 7 or previously disclosed by Microsoft, but is expected to be released alongside the upcoming release candidate version. Microsoft said on Friday that it will release it to developers next week and publicly starting May 5.

According to the SuperSite report, written by bloggers Paul Thurrott and Rafael Rivera, the XP mode won't come in the box with Windows 7, but will be made available as a free download for those who buy the professional, enterprise, or "ultimate" versions of Windows 7. The site also has some screenshots of the mode in action.

There had been rumors of a secret user interface, but until Friday, no mention of the XP mode.

Update: Late on Friday, Microsoft confirmed XP Mode in a blog posting.

"Windows XP Mode is specifically designed to help small businesses move to Windows 7," Microsoft's Scott Woodgate said in the blog. "Windows XP Mode provides you with the flexibility to run many older productivity applications on a Windows 7 based PC."

According to the post, "all you need to do is to install suitable applications directly in Windows XP Mode which is a virtual Windows XP environment running under Windows Virtual PC. The applications will be published to the Windows 7 desktop and then you can run them directly from Windows 7."

Microsoft said it "will be soon releasing the beta of Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC for Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate."

Source: CNET