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Post by oldpop2000 on Jan 12, 2014 10:14:21 GMT -6
Just a heads up to those of you still using Windows XP, it will officially die on April 9th, 2014. That means, no more updates, or anything. At the same time, Microsoft Essentials will die along with it.
www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2429423,00.asp
My strong suggestion is that if you are using Windows XP for gaming, that will be fine but don't use it much for the internet unless you get a good antivirus like Avast or AVG along with maybe Malwarebytes etc. You will have to move to Windows 7 eventually but should test to ensure your system hardware is capable of it, specifically memory size and drive access time. I've been through this since Dos 2.0 and it is a simple transition for about six months, then after that, things can be a problem. I am not attempting to scare anyone, just give you the benefit of forty years of computer experience in both hardware and software. |
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Post by sirchaos on Jan 14, 2014 15:24:58 GMT -6
I´m sure the issues were already roughly similar back when they transitioned from clay tablets to papyrus. :-)
Anyway, thanks for the warning.
Back at the NGO, we do have a computer that still runs on XP, but it´s completely disconnected from the internet, due to the safety concerns you allude to, since it contains sensitive data.
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Post by oldpop2000 on Jan 14, 2014 16:30:51 GMT -6
I´m sure the issues were already roughly similar back when they transitioned from clay tablets to papyrus. :-) Anyway, thanks for the warning. Back at the NGO, we do have a computer that still runs on XP, but it´s completely disconnected from the internet, due to the safety concerns you allude to, since it contains sensitive data. You could just use a portable drive like I have, then when you are finished, just remove it and put it in a safe. That's how I setup government high security systems. They were shielded from EMI and from someone listening at a distance. They also had removable drives that were stored in vaults. My passport drives are nice for that purpose especially if you password access. The software that comes with it, allows for that. |
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Post by sirchaos on Jan 15, 2014 13:35:48 GMT -6
I´m pretty sure I don´t know all the security measures they´re using. A lot of our older people are from the time when the East German intelligence service (the infamous Stasi) declared the NGO an "enemy of the state" that was to be destroyed, so their decisions in that regard are informed by a healthy dose of paranoia.
On the plus side (for us younger people) our executive chairman can tell stories about that time...
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Post by oldpop2000 on Jan 15, 2014 13:51:56 GMT -6
I´m pretty sure I don´t know all the security measures they´re using. A lot of our older people are from the time when the East German intelligence service (the infamous Stasi) declared the NGO an "enemy of the state" that was to be destroyed, so their decisions in that regard are informed by a healthy dose of paranoia. On the plus side (for us younger people) our executive chairman can tell stories about that time... Man, you are talking to someone who was born before the Cold War, lived through it and served in the USAF during its height. Believe me, I know all about high security and paranoia. Things change.... and things stay the same. |
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Post by RNRobert on Feb 5, 2014 10:35:37 GMT -6
I have a 10 year old Sony Vaio that still uses XP. Since some of my games won't work with Win 7, I will still keep it operational for game play (and use my HP laptop and Macbook Air for online use).
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Post by oldpop2000 on Feb 5, 2014 11:46:42 GMT -6
I have a 10 year old Sony Vaio that still uses XP. Since some of my games won't work with Win 7, I will still keep it operational for game play (and use my HP laptop and Macbook Air for online use). According to reports, we who have older systems with XP are in the majority. It and Win 7 are still the largest section of the Operating system market. I have 11 year old Dell desktop, with Raid 1(mirrored) drives and it works great with XP. My SPWAW generals addition runs well on it, so I have kept all the older games. I use it outside on my workbench for testing and research on computer repairs for my son. He gets in over his head every once in a while. |
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Post by williammiller on Feb 5, 2014 11:47:27 GMT -6
I use Oracle VM VirtualBox (https://www.virtualbox.org/) to run Windows XP 32-bit in a virtual mode on my Win 7 64-bit laptop (I have several older software packages that are either not 64-bit friendly or not post-Win XP friendly that I need to still use).
Basically you can run any OS on VirtualBox just like it is an application: in a window, full-screen, or like I do on a second monitor I attach to the laptop. You can set the number of processor cores the virtual OS uses, how much memory it has available, virtual drives, etc. A good side-effect is that the virtual machine OS is in its own protected memory and hard-drive slot and does not even know the host OS exists, and thus (especially in Windows XPs case) would be safer to operate as the host OS is so isolated that virus and trojans are unlikely to be able to cross over.
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Post by oldpop2000 on Feb 5, 2014 12:32:46 GMT -6
I use Oracle VM VirtualBox (https://www.virtualbox.org/) to run Windows XP 32-bit in a virtual mode on my Win 7 64-bit laptop (I have several older software packages that are either not 64-bit friendly or not post-Win XP friendly that I need to still use). Basically you can run any OS on VirtualBox just like it is an application: in a window, full-screen, or like I do on a second monitor I attach to the laptop. You can set the number of processor cores the virtual OS uses, how much memory it has available, virtual drives, etc. A good side-effect is that the virtual machine OS is in its own protected memory and hard-drive slot and does not even know the host OS exists, and thus (especially in Windows XPs case) would be safer to operate as the host OS is so isolated that virus and trojans are unlikely to be able to cross over. I'd forgotten about VM VirtualBox. I use DOSBOX, but VirtualBox is excellent. I probably will continue to use my old desktop but may load Virtualbox onto my 64 Bit HP Notebook. |
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Post by oldpop2000 on Feb 15, 2014 11:37:05 GMT -6
If you have been reading about this issue of the Microsoft ceasing support for Xp, don't panic. It's not as big a deal as they would have you believe. Microsoft Windows 8.0 is a flop, just like Microsoft Windows ME was a flop. It happens and no matter how they modify it, it is a flop. Here are some tips.
First thing to remember or determine is, what are the three prime uses for my machine. Is it browsing the internet, work from home, online school work, gaming, multimedia, graphics; think about those and other uses, and prioritize them. If you have kids, what do they need, realistically. Don't be pushed by peer pressure to have the biggest and baddest computer on the block. In most cases, a Windows XP machine will surf the internet just fine with a good anti-virus and malware package, which in almost all cases is free. Ensure that XP firewall is turned on and that your router has a firewall. After that, just be careful what you access. If you do on-line banking, ensure the site is using HTTPS, which means it has a secure socket to encrypt. Also, use an online password strength checker, to test your passwords. Use capital letters, numbers, lower case and special characters. Make sure the password is at least seven digits or more.
www.passwordmeter.com/
If you work from home, find out whether the work you are doing consists of sending keystroke and mouse strokes to a server on the other end or whether you are process received or entered data and sending the results. In all these cases, internet speed is far more important than computer speed, believe me. In the former case, you a smart terminal, in the latter you are the processor. On-line school work is essentially the same, are you sending key and mouse strokes or processing data and sending the results. Frankly, if you are sending strokes, it doesn't matter how fast your computer is, interrupt processing is handled with about the same speed. Even multi-processing doesn't really affect IRS or interrupt service routines.
For gaming systems, are you doing online gaming then internet speed is vital, if they are IGOYOU, then graphics is important not processing speed. In this case, an upgrade to a better graphics card is more advisable.
For multimedia such as streaming videos etc. Then internet speed, graphics and in many cases a more sophisticated operating system that can deal with multi-processing better, is the best choice. You have to investigate what kind of multimedia work you doing. If you are into graphics arts, graphics processors are important along with hard drive speed.
I can't answer everything but in general, don't panic if you have a Windows XP machine, you are in the majority. In many cases, the majority of users just surf the net so the computer is a smart terminal. After Microsoft drops XP there will be a host of second party providers who will step up and help keep the operating system working. I will admit that Windows 7 is a better bet for most people, but you have to run the Microsoft Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. Here is a link to that page that has a video and access to that advisor.
windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/help/upgrading-from-windows-xp-to-windows-7#T1=tab01
Good luck and if you have a question, I will try to answer it.
Update: I found this, this morning - www.computerworld.com/s/article/9246387/Microsoft_sets_Oct._31_as_stop_date_for_Windows_7_consumer_PC_sales
If you want to purchase a new system with Win 7, ensure that it has the power to upgrade to Windows 9. |
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