Thursday, April 10, 2014

Windows XP - Say Goodbye to the Best

Windows XP support has ended.  XP is still used and running 30% or more of the back end systems and infrastructure we know today, from bank machines to cash registers.  Home users still run it.  Commercial companies and government agencies still use it.  Support ends April 15th, and that makes for a 13 year run that will be unparalleled.  No Operating System in the Microsoft fold has or probably will measure up to the intuitive, simple yet powerful interface that Windows XP sports.  It runs on old slower hardware or high end devices, uses high or low end graphics well, has a driver for almost any piece of hardware out there right now, and is robust enough to handle heavy loads, especially the lesser known 64 bit variant, which lacked the driver support XP was popularly known for.  Ok for all of the Windows XP haters, many of who will say I am crazy as a loon for my nod to Windows XP unparalleled immortality...  What is poised to take XP's place?  Not Vista, nor Windows 7, which both are resource piggies, even 7 is not as nearly stable and overall functional, nor is it easier to configure than XP, and Windows 8 saw productivity fall through the floor with its introduction of a fashionably trendy row blocks and text that resembled graphics on an old Dos shell.  If you want to get something done, XP was and is the OS of choice.  If you want pretty yet buggy, try Vista, if you want function but glacier slow shaded graphics and transitions, try Windows 7, if you want bland and easy to read but don't need multitasking (buzz word kiddies, from the 80s and 90s) go with Windows 8.  If you want to do computing, calculations, conversions, real work, or system to network transfers... XP is the winner.  To be productive, XP is still hands down the best.  If you want to slow down, to watch pretty videos or pictures, and experience gee whiz doo dads, XP is not for you.  It should have been an easy decision for Microsoft to continue support, even cheap support, such as a low cost extended warranty and continued pay as you go general support.  But no, they would rather dump millions into an effort to control the customer, instead of helping them get something done.  This is the trend today with all technology companies, to force you to do what they want you to, yet pay extra for it - Sneaky huh?  Shame is that XP is a champion OS that we may not see again in our lifetime, maybe never again if tablets do finally conquer the hearts and minds of XP lovers, since XP is no longer a contender, that can now happen.