This brings back memories of my very favorite Windows 98SE.
Windows 98SE was so buggy that I switched to Windows NT4 which was much more stable.
My long goodbye to Windows XP (2022)
291–300 of 323 posts
Re: My long goodbye to Windows XP (2022)
#292>My belief is that computer security is highly overrated. With a decent firewall, which every router has these days, only your own activity can expose you to attack from hostile actors. All internet browsers also help you by warning when you are about to do something stupid like executing code from a remote source HN uses might be young, but C# malware will run everywhere. Also, remember Blaster/Sasser? Good times.
Not if you don't install dot NET.
Re: My long goodbye to Windows XP (2022)
#293I have a Windows 7 Professional system with my startup's software in some boxes and, since now my office is functional enough, am about to get that system powered up and running again. So, here's a piece of information relevant to security and versions of Windows, I'd like to give exact and really clear references instead of working just from memory, but for such references just now I'd have to do a lot of digging. F…
I don't know what your startup's software does, but I already don't want to use it.
And your reason(s)?
Re: My long goodbye to Windows XP (2022)
#294Earlier quoted context omitted.
haven't actually tried 11 yet because it's just a reskinned 10 (and visually, it looks a lot better). I've been on 11 since it was released and I find it to be objectively a worse experience. On Win 10, I could game on one screen and stream a video in a browser on the other. On Win 11, I get stuttering on the streamed video. It's also failed to update twice now. I invested hours into debugging the issue the first tim…
> It's also failed to update twice now. I invested hours into debugging the issue the first time. This time it's been days and I'm about to just do a fresh Win 10 install over this nightmare. My current 11 install has never failed to update, but I have experienced various update failures before on 10. This sort of issue is present in both versions, it's just random whether you'll experience it or not, and I wouldn't…
This sort of issue is present in both versions, it's just random whether you'll experience it or not,
No, it's not random, which I know because I stumbled upon the solution. The problem was that it was using an old 100MB partition as the EFI boot partition. Nowhere in any of the system logs did it mention this. No error message said anything about it. Ridiculous.
and I wouldn't be surprised if the stuttering issue is just some random driver incompatibility too.
Why? My system is the same hardware after the update. In fact, the only thing that's changed (and this happened awhile after the Win 11 'upgrade') was a video card that's 3 - 5x faster than the old one.
Re: My long goodbye to Windows XP (2022)
#295Earlier quoted context omitted.
This totally ignores the concept of "zero-days", vulnerabilities discovered that are only known by bad actors or known but not patched yet. This is very common, and these vulnerabilities are sold for a lot of money and the buyers make sure to protect their investment as long as possible. Of course that also means they go exclusively for high-value targets which means end users are most likely fine (see Pegasus as an…
> This totally ignores the concept of "zero-days", vulnerabilities discovered that are only known by bad actors or known but not patched yet. If we're talking zero-days, then XP offers no more or less protection than any other version of Windows on that front.
Either Windows XP has no vulnerabilities left and we should all immediately start using it or it has lingering vulnerabilities and they simply aren't noticed by more recent projects like Google Project Zero.
Re: My long goodbye to Windows XP (2022)
#296>My belief is that computer security is highly overrated. With a decent firewall, which every router has these days, only your own activity can expose you to attack from hostile actors. All internet browsers also help you by warning when you are about to do something stupid like executing code from a remote source HN uses might be young, but C# malware will run everywhere. Also, remember Blaster/Sasser? Good times.
Not if you don't install dot NET.
Every XP user on legacy will use C# tools in one way of another. The amount of Java and C# enterprise software being developed ad-hoc it's huge.
Re: My long goodbye to Windows XP (2022)
#297So many problems with this piece >> My computer is also not some old rubbish. It has an Intel Core2Duo CPU with 4 Gb RAM. It was top of the line in 2009. Just because you had a top of the line PC in 2009 does not disqualify it from being 'old rubbish' in 2023. A Core2Duo is ancient at this point. >> The truth is I have never been hacked once in the eight years I have had this computer. Or something has been compromis…
The irony from the author's statement, is that Core 2 Duo was in no way top of the line in 2009. Core 2 Quad was already out for a couple of years, and in 2009 Intel already had the Nehalem based i7 with quad cores and 8 threads that moved the goalposts an insane amount it became a staple CPU for the next decade till Ryzen launched. I still have a Core 2 Quad and Duo chips kicking around the house but at around 17 ye…
> in 2009 Intel already had the Nehalem based i7 with quad cores and 8 threads that moved the goalposts an insane amount it became a staple CPU for the next decade till Ryzen launched
Used one myself until 2018, was a great piece of tech.
Re: My long goodbye to Windows XP (2022)
#298Earlier quoted context omitted.
We're talking about a 21 year old OS as alternative. Back then, Windows would also require significant manual configuration to get it running. Windows may have become more "automagic" these days, but at least in the Windows XP era a common part of installing Windows was going to the local library to look at guides and manuals for setting up less common hardware. Even something as simple as setting up a sound card wit…
I never once went to the library or struggled to install XP, nor have I ever encountered anyone who did. It quite literally pretty much just worked. Maybe it comes down to hardware choice?
Then you pretty much only saw the tail end of XP, at the beginning it was very much a struggle. Especially with old network adapters and SCSI devices being problematic, as well as many old 9x drivers not running on XP anymore (after all, XP was the first consumer Windows on NT).
Re: My long goodbye to Windows XP (2022)
#299Reading this article, I feel the old age holding the author from adapting to new systems, I just end up in the mindset of I never ever want to be this person.
Adapting to ever-changing systems that are reduced in functionality and remove control for you just means you're a hamster in a spinning wheel, mindlessly going after the latest trend.
I hope to never ever be that person, but you do you.
Re: My long goodbye to Windows XP (2022)
#300Earlier quoted context omitted.
Writing security updates costs money-and as the software gets older, the cost generally goes up too. Is it wrong for them to decide, after a reasonable period, to stop spending that money on outdated versions? What happens then when a small subset of customers says “we need those updates so much, we’ll pay extra for them?” Is it wrong to take their money and spend it on writing the updates they request, with a reason…
> I don’t see any “psychopathy” here, just rational business decisions. That's just a prettier word for the same thing. And bringing up Oracle as your reference for ethical behaviour is certainly... a take that doesn't really say what you think it says.
I used to work for Oracle. I'm still friends with people who I worked with at Oracle. Many of my current colleagues used to work for Oracle. My current manager, and his manager too, used to work for Oracle.
Did we always agree with the decisions of Oracle executive management? Nope. Of course, so long as you work there, you can't say that publicly. But, even though there's quite a few things that Oracle did while I was there that I strongly disagreed with – I can't see the problem with charging extra for supporting really old versions. It is just common sense, and it is part of the package the customer signed up to at the start – the collateral given to the customer as part of every deal explained it. Many other vendors do it too. A consumer might legitimately claim they didn't understand what they'd signed up to, but that's not believable when a billion dollar company signs a million dollar deal.
Oracle has over 100,000 employees today. I have no idea how many ex-employees there are – I've met so many over the years, we are everywhere – but I guess it must be well over 1 million by now.