XP or not XP - that is the question.

[Myrealname]

Best, Better or Superior - which is really the best?

 

That's a question I hope to explore just a little in the eyes of the user and in doing so perhaps I might put to bed some archaic arguments that have waged over years. The thing about which OS is best - which is superior and what do those terms really mean?

 

There is some confusion that can easily occur when discussing what OS is best or whether one is better than the other. As far as the successful OS's are concerned (in other words the following comments do not apply to Windows ME, Vista, or v8.x) but apart from that what is the best OS?; it is really and truly a matter of personal preference.

 

One of the good OS's is not necessarily "better" than another. It might be regarded as superior for reasons related to its feature set. It depends what you want it for. If you want a blazing fast machine and you have at least a 3Ghz i7 processor then putting Windows XP on it will turn it into a very speedy beast indeed. So let's relate to speedy cars. It is true to say that all Aston Martins are nice, even though you may not want one, yet it does not mean they can all do over 200mph. In the UK the NHS which employs over a million people is using Windows XP very happily. The OS is rock solid and nothing in the NHS systems can get close to upsetting it. This is why the UK Govt do not have any plans to upgrade it when support is set to end in 2014. The reality of these kind of decisions is that Microsoft get their arm twisted to extend support for another period of time. XP has already past two support end dates and the next one to come up hopes in the eyes of Microsoft to see a few more million machines get upgraded thus whittling down the stragglers who are left and in such poor company that they won't be seen as credible when virtually every other big user has upgraded.

 

I guess also for people in their twenties and even thirties may not have had the pleasure of using a BBC Micro with a monitor for which the only choose of colours was white lettering, green lettering or a very cool amber lettering. The screen was otherwise all black. I think it is probably easy in one's 20s or 30s to see older systems that have been round for a higher percentage of that person's life as being of junk status. This is natural enough for most younger people are pushing for more of the cool and advanced features whereas I might for example be pre-occupied over whether Outlook XP and Windows XP are still running fast enough after microsoft has spent ten years bloating them up to enormouse proportions - just look what is in your Windows XP folder now and you will soon see the problem we face. XP is fast without all the bloatware. It is capable and provides me with a range of flawlessly supported functionalities everything from Dropbox to PageMaker even DELTA 5 and yet cope with intensive demands that make my Prescott extreme edition processor turn into a room heater.

 

So yes, guys you have an easier time than those of us who stick with what we know, but we are bolted to the floor by things that may not affect you, such as how many thousands of pounds of software do you have an investment in and which will not transfer over to Windows 7 Professional? That's a real issue if the money doesn't come quite so easily to be a little frivolous and max out the credit cards on everything from the newest machine, windows OS, to aqll the stuff you want on it. Notice how MS Office is graded so that each one is missing something you would really like and expect to have in Office but you can't have until you have the most current ultimate version.

 

As for IObit, this was a welcome discovery for me. I guess others are here because in the main they like it. I was just a little disappointed that after showing a friend how good it was by using one of my three licenses, upon removing the software from his computer to recover the license back into my pool, I was unable to do that which I thought was a little unfair. On top of that, considering the license was deducted and there didn't seem like much I could do about that, I tried to instal it again, but of course it wouldn't reactivate because, wait for it, I had already used all my licenses. With all that clever stuff that IObit is doing to provide us with smoothly functioning machines with their capable piece of software, I have to say as a product journalist of many years, I was surprised to find no direct wayto inform IObit of my troubles. As nice as the software is and as much as it might get you out of trouble, this is a rather week oversight.

 

The other week someone brought me two identical Apple 4S iPhones. Seemingly identical - same size memory - same apps - everything else apparently the same - aerial in the right place etc. But on my referer's instructions the point was that I should test running two apps of exactly the same version number, with the same apps installed yet one was almost 30% slower than the other. So what was it. My first suspicion was that it was some kind of rip off or been built up of substandard parts or been previously damaged and not well repairs. I considered every conceivable possibility. But something interesting popped up. I decided to do a history check from the day it was built. Turns out that this is an iPhone with a history even though it came in brand new sealed packaging that apple implies the product is new. Rather less than new at time of purchase. In fact nearly 10 months old at purchase date. So what do apple do? Anyone think they know the answer to that. Your stories about old apples, bad apples or rotten to the core will help me see how many of you can check that and tell me if you were affected.

 

As for the Beta of ASC 7. Anyone got any views on that. Is it worth dipping into just yet? Your experience would be most welcome.

 

Edit: Post moved from Feedback for ASC7 Beta

[enoskype]

Hi Myrealname?, welcome to IObit Forum! :-D

 

A nice post that I enjoyed reading.

 

I was surprised to find no direct wayto inform IObit of my troubles.

 

Your most direct way of contacting IObit could be sending an e-mail to the attention of Cicely at support@iobit.com .

 

I am sure, she is going to lead you to the correct info source in the company .

 

Cheers.

[peleus]

XP is still the best OS to me. All these features on Windows 8 is really unecessary. And would only add up to CPU usage.

 

Just too bad that manufacturers today ceased to provide drivers for XP already.

[CKCustom]

XP Sp3 Ends

 

I know now that XP will have its servers turned off April 14, 2014 :evil:

 

GOODBYE and Good Riddens

[Orange]

What I see

 

XP OS- Simple, fast, bleh

 

a not XP OS- (referring to windows 7)bloated with alot of features that I don't even need! I'm not into fancy, just something reliable, simple and less annoying security for some expert users...

[masterblaster]

XP OS- Simple, fast, bleh

 

a not XP OS- (referring to windows 7)bloated with alot of features that I don't even need! I'm not into fancy, just something reliable, simple and less annoying security for some expert users...

 

I sort of agree with you, especially for gaming.

I would like to see MS offer a stripped down version of their OS designed for gaming or other hardware intensive applications.

I think you will see MS playing catch up (again) once Valve releases their Steam gaming console for the PC running on Linux.

It will basically make the console compatible with the PC which will finally give developers the justification to begin making Linux builds of their games.

There will be no royalty charges either.

Steam also offers other non-game software.

I think this will give Linux the jump start it needs to finally become a viable home OS.

Then you will see MS pulling out all of the stops as it attempts to regain lost market share.

That's how I see it.

[WCBaller]

Interesting article that ended on a disappointed note of iphones and phones that I am not a slave over...much to the dismay of researching windows xp and its discontinuance by microsoft, I now am seeking resolve to the ASC Ultimate confusion of running scans for viruses and seeing my junk files folder stop short while cleaning it because microsoft and windows xp are now a defunct item as of april 14th. So what should I do when my virus scan hangs up for 15 minutes or more while debating why c:\windows\microsoft.net\frameworkv4.0.30319\locale.nlp has no parent and is listed as orphaned, when this scan is doing a legitimate effort to find malware and such..so windows xp is still on my computer and I am using it for as long as it offers some security with the other applications that offer security from prying eyes. So how do I go about getting my ultimate ASC to run without the hang ups because it does not recognize the updates yet to be implemented for windows xp and microsofts orphaned applications..sorry if this sounds boneheaded, but I had to stop my scan to get on with life ..Kind Regards Paul L.