Quote:
Originally Posted by Ripplinger
After hearing rumors of Windows 10 being subscription based with either a monthly or yearly fee, this is surprising news (in a good way). It almost makes me consider upgrading my 2 XP machines to Windows 7 now. Except for so many things I absolutely hate about Windows 7 and that those 2 XP machines are so rock-solid stable without any problems at all makes me think why bother.
I don't think it's resistance to change or disinterest as much as if it's not broke, don't change it, especially to something that will continually annoy you daily. There wasn't this resistance to upgrading Windows from 3 to 3.11 to 95 and then to 98. I guess I'll try Windows 10 while it's free, but with a full working cloned drive of the Windows 7 installation on my main PC in case I hate it so I can just switch back easily.
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Let me put it this way:
Say you bought a car in 2001. At first you got regular oil checkups, etc. Then you thought "Why bother? It runs fine and is rock-solid".
Now it's years later. That car might still run fine, but there are serious problems developing that you won't know about until too late. It needs more than regular maintenance now. It needs brake replacement, etc. Same thing with your PC - eventually, it needs an OS upgrade.
Or let me try another way - you put on a coat when you go into freezing cold, and flush the toilet when you're done right? Upgrading the OS is the same kind of health-and-safety issue.
Yes, upgrades can suck as much as flossing regularly. And yes, it's tempting to skip it just like people skip flossing. But it's not just your PC that's the issue. It's that your old, out-dated PC is very probably part of a botnet that is being used to commit crimes and harm others. Unless it's not connected to the internet in any way - no WiFi, no land line - this is a very real possibility. There were hundreds of data breaches this year. Millions of people lost money and had to deal with identity theft. Major companies got taken offline repeatedly. Botnets and hijacked computers are significant part of the problem, and the vast majority are of them are made of old computers with old OSes like XP.
Old OSes like XP aren't safe anymore. They are fundamentally incapable of being safe now. I will be happy to discuss technical details if you want, but the inescapable point is this: Internet-connected computers that run XP are dangerous to their owners and make the internet less safe for everyone else.
There are free alternatives to Windows if money is the issue. There are many different options with different interfaces or designs if workflow is the issue. But whatever the issue is, it needs to stop outweighing basic health and safety.