Where does that leave us?
I hafta upgrade my puter.
Where do I go? Windows 6? Windows 7? I hear 8 is not so good.
IF any of you are computer literate, enough to advise others, what do I buy?
Please write the specs for a computer for the rest of us.
I usually stay behind a little, so I don't get the cutting edge bugs.
Which Operating system do I use?
Can I take Carson 2009 with me?
A bit o help for those of us with other things to do would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Nate
go back to mechanical calculators
i should get a set of Napier's Bones made
Your computer will still work
XP is not going to die. Your software will still work.
What will change is that MS will quit issuing updates that mainly protect from external attacks. Good anti-virus will help. The main thing is to only go online with that computer to sites you know to be safe, watch out for bad emails, etc.
The opposite of the problem is that when you update computers many of your old programs will no longer work, you may not be able to get drivers for printers, plotters, etc.
Hard choices to make.
I haven't tried Win8.1 yet so really can comment on it. But Win8 is a dog - even with a touch screen.
Win7 is pretty good, most XP users seem to like it. If you have old hardware you might want to try the 32bit version, as it can work with the XP drivers you already have. The biggest problem seems to be finding a copy as Micro$oft no longer want to sell it to you.
They say Win9 will be out later this year, or you could go for Linux or one of the other flavours of Unix.
But me, I'm sticking with XP
You can still buy Win 7. Buy.com has it. They also have laptops and desktops preloaded with Win 7.
With Win 7 you can download "Virtual XP" which will still run most of your older xp programs. It works well and saves you a couple bucks at the same time.
According to my "geek" ...
one problem you will have with Virtual XP is that if you go online or use email through Virtual XP you will be subject to attacks just like an XP machine because Virtual XP will not receive updates. So while it is pretty good, you will be open to vulnerabilities depending on how you use it.
According to my "geek" ...
Just checked and it says my AVG is updated and ccleaner also updates for me?
According to my "geek" ...
You should have a seperate antivirus for xp mode. So you need one for Win 7 and one installed on xp mode. Having a anti virus program installed just on Win 7 won't protect you while you're in XP mode.
I think Dave is talking about windows updates for security fixes.
Nate,
I am in the same boat. My desktop is my workhorse, and I have no problems with it, other than it is 6.5 years old. I am getting concerned about hard drive failure.
I am thinking seriously about installing a second hard drive, and mirroring the hard drive to the second drive, and keeping the same operating system. I would probably then just get a good Windows 7 laptop for the office stuff, emails, etc., and keep this desktop off of the internet.
My current laptop is a Vista machine. It is pretty good for my CAD stuff, but I am starting to see it slow down considerably on some website that run scripts, and have a lot of graphics. It only has 2GB of RAM, and that is all it can support.
I have some decisions to make computer wise. I don't want to upgrade plotters, or any printers, as they all work just fine.
Darn technology!!!
I switched from XP pro to Win 7 pro and didn't really feel any impact.
Granted the Win.7 was loaded onto a new computer. But so far it's my favorite windows system. With that said, as I get older, I care less and less how the system works and feel very little need to customize things.
Support is ending for the XP.
That means that there will no new fixes for the XP from Microsoft.
It affects me because Microsoft Security Essentials is a key to my internet protection.
I am shopping for a manufacture refurbished machine with Win 7Pro 64bit for online use and to connect wireless to a smartTV for some armchair surfing.
Can get that for less than $400
> I hafta upgrade my puter.
You don't necessarily need a new computer. You could just go on using your XP. Or, you could just upgrade the operating system on your old computer.
Consider this - I still have the laptop I was using in 2006 as my primary work computer. It's a Pentium, XP, and it was, and is, plenty fast. It's not my primary any more, but it still works fine. And I'm not really doing anything today I wasn't doing in 2006.
So do I really need an I7 screamer with umpteen Gb of Ram and Terrabytes of HD space?
An I3 with 4 Gb of Ram and a 500Gb HD would cost $500 and would an upgrade over that 2006 Pentium.
Windows 8 is fine. Many people don't think it's much of an upgrade over 7. It's main purpose was to add touch screen support, and there is some whining about the new interface, but there is nothing really wrong with it.
Windows 9 is scheduled to be released in about a year, but they haven't even decided what to put in it yet. So you know it's not going to be a big leap in technology.
It's only a problem if you think it is.
NATE W 8 is also being scrapped!
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/industries/technology/article3974439.ece
RADU
NATE W 8 is also being scrapped!
Since Radu's link wants a sign up to read the whole article, a link to the full article without sign up is below.
And the lack of popularity with Win 8 is reminiscent of Windows Millennium which was a spectacular failure.
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=95901998
I think April 14 is when XP will no longer be supported, so you have a little more time yet. Hate to see it go. As far as I'm concerned, it was the best Windows system. A lot easier to do things than with Windows 7. Granted, there some nice features with Windows 7, but XP was the best.
For what it is worth, I have a new laptop that is Windows 8.1.
I run three versions of Carlson Civil Suite, all of the programming tools for Pacific Crest, Ashtech, CHC, Vegas Pro, Delphi (three versions), Quickbooks, Gimp, Flash tools, all the Ashtech desktop products including GNSS Solutions, TopCon Tools, SPSO, ... All the regular stuff. I have no problems.
Took me a couple of hours to figure out where stuff moved to, but most stuff is easier to manage now.
I did purchase a new serial port (USB to Serial) from Amazon Prime, it was $7 and I bought a couple of cables to connect the hdmi hole to two styles of external monitors. I also can't figure out how to make my flatbed scanner work. I might pop for a new one at some point.
Got a touch screen but can't stand a fingerprint on the screen, so I don't use it.
I bought the latest versions of all the Microsoft Office products too. Love them. Actually, some of the new stuff in word I don't know how I lived without it. I could not go back to a previous version.
In my office I now personally have a two XP machines, two Windows 7 machines (one 32 and one 64 bit), two Windows 8 machines (32 and 64 bit). I use the new laptop the most, is a screamer with 16 gb of memory.
So I would add that it may not be a big deal to loose XP. I think I am close to ready.
M
NATE W 8 is also being scrapped!
I like to refer to 8 as Vista 2.
I'm still on 7 and will wait to upgrade to 9. I usually tend to skip a version anyway. The funny thing about Microsoft is that they screw up 50% of their releases but redeem themselves somehow in the other 50%.
2000 was great.
Me was total crap.
XP was very nice.
Vista was a huge mistake.
7 is the best Windows ever.
8 is stupid.
Based on that record, one could surmise that 9 will be quite lovely.
Thanks for the replies, everyone!
N
I just built one for the house for about $550. Didn't go with the Intel processor. Went with the latest AMD.
It is for the house, but I can remote log into my office PC and run all my work stuff. Just slow b/c I am cheep when it come to internet connection at the house (figure the slower the connection, the less time the kids will spend on it).
