Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

My long goodbye to Windows XP (2022)

woodfromeden.substack.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

111–120 of 323 posts

Re: My long goodbye to Windows XP (2022)

#111

Post by protocolture »

Weird.

The author obviously likes security updates. He isnt running zero day windows xp (which is a hoot to expose to the internet btw) he is running fully patched windows xp.

The issue he says is productivity. With maybe some amount of trying to squeeze more time out of old computers. I can empathise with the first point but not the second.

Productivity isnt a function of just the OS, its also hardware and user skill related. I feel like he could be just as productive on either flavour of 22H2 as Windows 7.

Re: My long goodbye to Windows XP (2022)

#112

Post by nextos »

javchz wrote: post #74
extr0pian wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The author said that their experiences with Linux was slow (Debian and Lubuntu were examples) and had no intention of using Linux because of these experiences. Personally, I don't know what they're talking about, but I've always had a smoother/faster (albeit a bit clunky/glitchy sometimes) with Linux than Windows. Even when I dual booted Win7 and Ubuntu, Linux was always faster. Currently, I'm using XFCE w/ Arch on a…

I would bet on GPU driver issues. Some cards without the right driver can force CPU rendering making it extremely slow

Maybe the OP just needed to enable e.g. Nouveau with the appropriate kernel module parameters?

I am regularly using a 14 year-old MacBook on plain X and it is surprisingly fast.

Re: My long goodbye to Windows XP (2022)

#113

Post by wkat4242 »

ptero wrote: post #14
thriftwy wrote: post #2

None of Microsoft's operating systems were as good as Windows XP and at least one (8) was a complete disaster, the shock waves from that catastrophe still rumbling around. By failing to reproduce that success, Microsoft has ceded most of the moral market share to Apple. Though, as a Linux user, every time I see a Mac desktop I can't resist noticing how often would it lock up and display that rotating "busy" mouse cur…

For me, the big change came with Windows 2000. It had user benefits from 9x in a stable package. That was the first version that I can play games on and also leave it running for months, just like a Linux box.

The funny thing though is that Windows 2000 was never meant for consumers playing games.

They would have to put up with Windows ME, at least in Microsoft's eyes. Which was the first version you could play games on and leave it running for hours between crashes, lol.

I also used Win 2k Pro and it was an amazing leap coming from 98, yes. My laptop came with ME but it sucked so bad I changed it after a week.

Re: My long goodbye to Windows XP (2022)

#114

Post by wkat4242 »

goosedragons wrote: post #51
ptero wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is ancient memory for me, but it definitely didn't feel this way. Some plausible options are: (1) Win2k Home was much cheaper than Win2k Pro. Possibly an upgrade version was cheaper still. (2) I had a bootleg version (3) I started working for real money in 1999 so didn't care that much (4) An OEM CD came with the computer hardware kit.

There was no such thing as Windows 2000 Home. That would have been 98 or ME at the time. XP is were they consolidated the two.

They had actually planned one but withdrew this at the last moment, replacing it by ME which was a hastily scrambled version of 98 with a 2000 look on it. And extremely unstable, at least at launch.

I still wonder how they would have thought this was better in any kind of way. A windows 2000 home release could not possibly have had as many problems as ME.

Re: My long goodbye to Windows XP (2022)

#115

Post by wkat4242 »

Dwedit wrote: post #62
lmm wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> None of Microsoft's operating systems were as good as Windows XP Huh? XP added nothing to 2000 except useless bling.

Direct3D 9.0c

It was also supported on Win2k. For D3D 10 you have a point though.

Re: My long goodbye to Windows XP (2022)

#116

Post by wkat4242 »

masswerk wrote: post #101
thriftwy wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have missed Windows ME between XP and 98, which was so awful people don't remember it anymore. For a revolutionary product, Windows 95 wasn't that bad.

Some things about Win95 are lost to nostalgia, as well. Like broken drivers, esp. in concert with up-to-date office, which came with issues of its own, like broken export formats. (It took more than a year for serious support for Postscript printers, etc.) Win95 became only somewhat functional with Windows 95B. (This one, however, started the IE integration.)

And broken USB support. Even with OSR3 it didn't quite work with many devices.

Re: My long goodbye to Windows XP (2022)

#117

Post by wkat4242 »

seiferteric wrote: post #13
p1necone wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And then there's 11 which doesn't really feel like a new version at all to me. I use 10 at work and 11 at home and after changing the taskbar settings to put the start button back on the left I don't even notice switching.

For all the rightful hate 11 gets for ads and tracking crap, once you turn it off it feels... fine. I even don't mind the UI look and really like the new window management, but I don't use windows for anything serious anymore, only gaming so maybe there are other issues.

You can't turn off the tracking crap, this is really the biggest problem IMO.

Same here by the way, I don't use it for anything but gaming and work for the tracking reason.

Re: My long goodbye to Windows XP (2022)

#118

Post by badsectoracula »

branon wrote: post #57

This is not a sensible or technically sound thing to do. It is purely irrational. Win7 is already stuck on Chrome 110/111(?). You are not gaining much by doing this, and are assuming significant risk. Even if specific portions can be quantified away, it's the unknown unknowns that should scare you. Try a Linux distro again maybe? With some non-default themes and Wine, it really should make a better WinXP than WinXP.…

> This is not a sensible or technically sound thing to do. It is purely irrational.

It is not purely irrational, in fact it is spelled right out in the article why the author does so: he finds the Windows XP interface much better as a user than any other OS.

I can't say i fully agree personally, but the core of the problem and really the reason i don't see any of this as irrational is that people do get used to the interfaces of the OSes and programs they use and updates pretty much always tend to come with changes to those interfaces that are seen as degradation.

Though i do disagree with his assessment of Linux: while perhaps whatever he tried was slower than Windows XP (i remember reading that Lubuntu doesn't focus on low end systems anymore), Linux can be much faster. And also it is the only mainstream OS where you can have the latest and greatest underlying kernel and libraries without being forced to change your desktop interface (though depending on your choices, some DE can take more works than others).

Re: My long goodbye to Windows XP (2022)

#119

Post by pentagrama »

I'm the only one that feels a weird mix of advance technical ability but also technical naeivity? I loved reading this.

It remembered me when I installed Ubuntu on my mom's 2009 laptop because Windows 10 was unbearable slow, and it worked much better.

Also the title remembered me the movie The Long Goodbye, what a movie, love Altman.

Re: My long goodbye to Windows XP (2022)

#120

Post by skissane »

wkat4242 wrote: post #103
skissane wrote: post #86

Earlier 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…

The problem with the newer options is that they are not paid strictly with money anymore. Windows 10/11 use a ton of telemetry you can't turn off. I use them anyway but only for gaming to limit my exposure. > Many vendors of on-promise proprietary software do the same-databases, middleware, ERP suites, etc-most of them have a special program for customers who want to stay on really old versions You can't really compa…

> The problem with the newer options is that they are not paid strictly with money anymore. Windows 10/11 use a ton of telemetry you can't turn off.

Enterprise, Server and Education licenses support "Diagnostic Data Off" telemetry level. I think they'll sell Server to anyone, and even though Enterprise is only sold to "businesses", it doesn't cost much to set up a corporation, and now you are a business customer.

Not saying I'm a fan of Microsoft's telemetry policies–but it is not like people are forced to buy Windows, especially nowadays, there are other options: macOS, Linux, Chromebooks. Don't have to worry about telemetry on my Linux box, and Apple is a much more privacy-friendly company than Microsoft. If people don't like Microsoft's policies, they can vote with their feet.

> You can't really compare enterprise class software with something that is sold directly to consumers.

Microsoft no longer supports Windows 7 for consumers, only for certain enterprise use cases. So in the context in which it is still supported, it is enterprise class software, and other enterprise class software is a valid comparison.

Post reply on HN