5 reasons to jettison XP and switch to Windows 7

[ChrisGreaves]

IT Business.ca article
The views expressed are not necessarily ....
...but my eye was caught by the phrase "today is the last Patch Tuesday for the venerable OS".
What will Woody warn against now (grin to Woody L)

" ...which means it will become more unstable and less secure as time goes on"
I wonder if they mean "more unstable than it has been"?

[HansV]

Support for Windows XP SP2 ended on the 13th of July, 2010. But Windows XP SP3 will still be supported until the 8th of April, 2014.

Windows 7 is a good OS, and if you have the hardware for it, I'd certainly recommend upgrading. But many older PCs simply aren't powerful enough to run Windows 7, and for those, staying with Windows XP SP3 is not a bad idea. Windows XP has been stable enough for me during the 7 years that I used it.

[BobH]

Knowing that this might be upsetting to him , I must say that I agree with Hans!

At last count we have 5 PCs here - 3 for 'er indoors; 2 for me. Four of them run XP-SP3 and the other runs Linux. Although quite powerful enough to do everything we've asked them to do, the Windows 7 hardware survey says that they are insufficient to the task of that OS. The processors (P4 and Core-Duo, except for the notebook running Linux) all seem to be adequate to the task but the graphics cards aren't, at least, not according to the Win7 survey software.

Until one of these 2 to 6 year-old systems die of decrepitude, I'll be running XP-SP3, I guess. While Win7 has a great deal of 'kool' factor for the 20-something daughter, this old geezer just doesn't see or feel the need. But, then, I don't often get motivated by advertising either.

[HansV]

Knowing that this might be upsetting to him , I must say that I agree with Hans!

Er... should I change my mind now? Nah...

I use Windows XP at work and Windows 7 at home. Windows 7 certainly has a number of cool features that Windows XP lacks, but they're not essential - I don't really miss them when I'm at work.

[ChrisJakarta]

No. 5 of the five reasons noted to jettison XP and switch to Windows 7 is XP Mode Virtualization, which it says "is the Windows 7 trump card". Sadly, as far as I can determine, this is only available on Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate. I believe these versions are significantly more expensive than the 'standard' versions that are usually offered. If this is true, seems to me that that is an expensive (and usually not accessible) "trump card."

Chris

[HansV]

XP Mode Virtualization <...> this is only available on Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate.

That is correct, Windows XP mode is not available in Windows 7 Basic and Windows 7 Home.

I've been using Windows 7 Home for half a year now and I've never missed XP mode, since I don't have a need for it.

[ChrisJakarta]

So I guess that leaves only four reasons, at least for the rest of us. Although for me the XP Mode would be useful, since I still need to use PageMaker (can't afford to upgrade, and in any case couldn't justify it for my quite basic needs), and I'm sure PageMaker would not run under Windows 7. However, I guess I can still use a Virtual Machine running XP, so all is not lost.

I'm not clear if the Windows 7 XP Mode requires a separate XP license. If not, that might justify the extra cost of the Professional version, since an XP license is needed to run XP in a virtual machine.

Sorry if this has gotten a little off topic...

Chris

[HansV]

I don't know if PageMaker would run in compatibility mode on Windows 7. See How to Run a Program in Compatibility Mode in Windows 7. This works well for me with older programs such as games that I still want to run on Windows 7 Home.

I don't think you need a license for Windows XP in XP mode on Windows 7 Pro or Ultimate, but you do need a separate AntiVirus program for it.

[HansV]

As I have already stated, I like Windows 7, yet I think the article Five good excuses so you can keep using Windows XP on the same site makes a lot more sense than the "5 reasons to jettison XP and switch to Windows 7" article - I don't think any of the latter really cut the mustard.

[ChrisGreaves]

Sorry if this has gotten a little off topic...Chris

I don't find it is off-topic at all. I posted the thread and am now enjoying the learned discussion that takes place!

[JoeP]

However, I guess I can still use a Virtual Machine running XP, so all is not lost.

I'm not clear if the Windows 7 XP Mode requires a separate XP license. If not, that might justify the extra cost of the Professional version, since an XP license is needed to run XP in a virtual machine.

You can use something such as VirtualBox from Sun/Oracle. It is free and you can run a variety of guest OSes. Note: for XP & other Microsoft OSes you must have a valid license to install in the VM.

With XP mode you do NOT need a separate license for XP. One is included.

Joe