XP - Windows 7

[ShiftZZ]

I have a small notebook which I use in the van and as we all know support for XP has stopped.

Is it worth updating or leave well alone?

 

[Wildbill]

just use it till it stops working

 

[hilldweller]

I was forced to do this to test a program for a customer under W7.

I guess I'm better protected but otherwise no significant improvement and some nasties where W7 stops you doing perfectly reasonable things without jumping through hoops. It's certainly tied down to keep the user away from the core.

If it works, don't fix it. I'm still running XP in the MH.

 

[scotjimland]

Likewise Dave, I had XP on an old Sony Vaio, but rather than change to W7, I cleaned everything off and installed Linux Mint 17 ..

runs lovely now.. faster than it was with XP and plenty of software.... but whether it would suit you would depend on whether you need Microsoft software or not..

 

[Jim]

Plus one for Linux Mint Really do like it. It boots from off in under a minute, is so stable, every program I want was more or less pre-installed or is so easy to install with their software manager

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[GJH]

I'd leave it as it is.

As I've always said, computers are only tools and if the tool is doing what you want it to there is no point in changing it.

 

[DocHoliday]

I'm in the same position. I'm uneasy about using XP to access financial sites because there will be security holes in XP and they will be exploited. So I installed Linux Mint 17 alongside XP in dual-boot mode and it works just fine. XP for general use and Mint for financial stuff.

EDIT: And here's a guide on how to do it.

 

[hilldweller]

EDIT: And here's a guide on how to do it.

There's a VERY interesting rant on there against Microsoft.

Right up there with the 911 conspiracy theories. Which I'm inclined to agree with.

Thanks for the link.

Anyway, I'm sure the NSA or Microsoft have no reason to fiddle with this Olde Farte.

 

[DocHoliday]

He's a bit too tinfoil hat for me, but he writes a mean guide!

 

[magicsurfbus]

I reckon there's a good case for just keeping low usage computers on whatever OS works and maybe having a minimum install of open source software like Open Office, GIMP, etc etc. I had an ancient HP laptop doing that for a while in our camper, but the slow processor speed can become a bit frustrating at times.

If you wanted the absolute basics in a MH, try a Raspberry Pi - they were launched a couple of years ago for school programming use and the fag packet-sized processing unit costs less than £50. It runs on Linux.

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[DiggerJon]

XP for me every time thank you. Windows 7 is s**t and slow. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

 

[Puddleduck]

I use an old XP laptop to run my sewing machine. Because the sewing machine software was written for XP I haven't needed to download the patch for anything newer and don't have the problems others have because of incompatibility. There's nothing much else on that old machine except the sewing software.

 

[hilldweller]

He's a bit too tinfoil hat for me, but he writes a mean guide!

I'm sure there's a lot of truth in it. Control the world's computers, you control the world.

In fact it is the duty of the Yank government to implement every means to ensure their protection and prosperity.

I think it's naive to think they could not hack Linux with ease. The scammers might not be bothered, too few targets.

 

[hilldweller]

I use an old XP laptop to run my sewing machine..

I use an old wife. She cooks too.

 

[Puddleduck]

I use an old wife. She cooks too.

But I am the old wife..... and I also cook, do laundry, iron and clean now and again.

The sewing machine is posh and has to be programmed before it will sew a stitch.

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[DocHoliday]

XP for me every time thank you. Windows 7 is s**t and slow. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

But it is broken. All Windows versions are broken, but the newer ones hopefully will become less broken as patches are released. XP will not be patched any further and it will become more and more vulnerable to hackers and malware. But hey, it's your bank account and your money, so who am I to advise.....

 

[Yorick]

But it is broken. All Windows versions are broken, but the newer ones hopefully will become less broken as patches are released. XP will not be patched any further and it will become more and more vulnerable to hackers and malware. But hey, it's your bank account and your money, so who am I to advise.....

Hmm, at McAfee most of us programmers use XP for our work machines.

If it was dangerous, the company wouldn't let us.

McAfee do know a bit ab0ut hackers and malware.

 

[DocHoliday]

Hmm, at McAfee most of us programmers use XP for our work machines.

If it was dangerous, the company wouldn't let us.

McAfee do know a bit ab0ut hackers and malware.

But do your servers run on XP? I doubt it. If you work in a large corporation you're behind several layers of security, or you should be. An individual in a motorhome or a house is in an entirely different situation.

 

[GJH]

But it is broken. All Windows versions are broken, but the newer ones hopefully will become less broken as patches are released. XP will not be patched any further and it will become more and more vulnerable to hackers and malware. But hey, it's your bank account and your money, so who am I to advise.....

It is only broken if it doesn't manage the job in hand.

It may be unwise to use an XP machine for banking (after 30+ years in IT I think using any Internet connected computer for banking is unwise) but if all the machine is used for is offline tasks or tasks protected by an adequate firewall then where is the problem?

If somebody is daft enough to access torrent sites or the equivalent there is an inherent danger but if all an individual in a motorhome or house is using the machine for is to access mainstream sites without uploading any personal data then where is the problem?

 

[SMB]

Stick to XP. I'm on Windows 8 and it has loads of cool features I don't want. The less complicated the better..

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[greygit]

I think Windows 7 is great and very stable I also fined its quite fast, mine boots and is ready to use in 12 seconds, but and it's a big but, you need a PC with some up to date "bits" in it.

Actually thinking about it my laptop also running W7 pro is seven years old and its still pretty nippy on there.

 

[Jim]

I was dragged kicking and screaming from XP, loved it. But windows 7 did not disappoint, probably the best ever OS. Windows 8 however only makes me scream, I'll never downgrade to that.

 

[DocHoliday]

@GJH, I refer you to post #7 where I said "XP for general use and Mint for financial stuff." Clear enough?

 

[DocHoliday]

I was dragged kicking and screaming from XP, loved it. But windows 7 did not disappoint, probably the best ever OS. Windows 8 however only makes me scream, I'll never downgrade to that.

I like 7 very much too. But I just bought a laptop with 8.1. It's supposed to be better than 8 and with Classic Shell installed nigh on identical in terms of user interface to 7 ... I hope.

 

[GJH]

@GJH, I refer you to post #7 where I said "XP for general use and Mint for financial stuff." Clear enough?

Yes, but my comment was specifically on the quote "But it is broken." in your other post which appears to say that XP is broken in all circumstances and, as the rest of my post explored, that is not the case.

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[DocHoliday]

@GJH stop twisting what I said. I never said it was broken in all circumstances. If I could use an analogy to a car, XP has a faulty screen demister and iffy brakes. You can still drive it and do many useful things with it. But it's sufficiently broken that it's not safe in every possible circumstance.

 

[DocHoliday]

Hmm, at McAfee most of us programmers use XP for our work machines.

If it was dangerous, the company wouldn't let us.

McAfee do know a bit ab0ut hackers and malware.

https://kc.mcafee.com/corporate/index?page=content&id=KB78434

"McAfee strongly advises its customers to upgrade to a later version of Microsoft Windows OS to ensure the best level of security coverage by its products."

Seems to be a case of do what I say, not what I do.

EDIT: And this is quite interesting: 24% still using XP

 

[GJH]

@GJH stop twisting what I said. I never said it was broken in all circumstances. If I could use an analogy to a car, XP has a faulty screen demister and iffy brakes. You can still drive it and do many useful things with it. But it's sufficiently broken that it's not safe in every possible circumstance.

Not twisting at all, just stating what the statement appeared to say. I also agreed that it is not safe in every possible circumstance:

It may be unwise to use an XP machine for banking (after 30+ years in IT I think using any Internet connected computer for banking is unwise) but if all the machine is used for is offline tasks or tasks protected by an adequate firewall then where is the problem?

The car analogy does not work because iffy brakes are always dangerous whereas using an XP machine offline poses no danger at all.

As McAfee demonstrate, using XP machines protected by an adequate firewall is perfectly safe. At the same time they are correct to advise customers as they do because they can be pretty certain that most customers will not have those levels of security in place.

 

[hilldweller]

I think Windows 7 is great and very stable

Mine crashes regularly on certain video files. Loads of other sufferers on the web. The finger points at media player.

 

[Daifuse]

I hear Windows 9 is in the offing - anyone know what that's about? I gather that MS are aware of how people still use and enthuse about XP so 9 might be a way to combine its best features with later developments.

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