For over the last 25+ years I've been around swap meets and have heard, "I wouldn't run Windows xyz." What can I say? They're happy with MS-DOS, Linux, Red Hat or whatever. Let's forget about that conversation. To each his own.
Several years ago MS got a new executive that made what is probably the best corporate decision ever. The decision saved MS millions and at the same time made MS users totally enamored with MS. Competitors on the other hand said openly that the executive was an (improper adjective) idiot.
The decision was to upgrade all Windows versions to Windows-10. Individual users were free, while corporate users encountered a modest fee. The decision was brilliant and reduced MS support costs significantly. If you think about it, big bad MS says to the world, "We're dropping support on your version of Windows." Users are delighted or don't give a damn.
When looking out from the MS viewpoint, the most problematic, buggy and vulnerable to infections were individual systems. These can be made secure and kept secure. This reduces the bad press that MS would get when a new vulnerability was discovered in down versions.
When looking from the viewpoint into MS, there were teams (yes plural teams) maintaining down versions of Windows. Think, a manager and 10 or 12 people. That is an unnecessary expense. There are two problems or issues maintaining down versions. First the programmers don't want to work on old software. They are always bidding on jobs in other departments. Second tracing through someone else's code is a nightmare at best. If you have ever had to do it and encountered spaghetti code, you understand and why programmers tend to drink.
In another life, I spent three weeks trying to understand one particular instruction of assembler code. Finally I asked the manufacturer (LM Ericson) of the system / operating system, why. The response I got back was that they had been looking for that bug for over 5 years. Believe me what I say that trying to understand someone else's code is a nightmare. On top of that, telephony systems in those days were shear agony.
I don't know if it is still policy, but I upgraded both the desk top and lap top for free. The best computing decisions I ever made. I know that on second Tuesdays a new release is ready. And, yes I update both systems every month.
There was a comment that I heard while in an "Access" class at a Community College. One of the students, still in her teens and a single mom with a 3 year old. She was still living at home, drawing assistance from the state, on food stamps with tuition being paid for by the state. She had a computer that was at best a double hand-me-down. During a break, people were bashing Bill Gates for something that was current at the time. She said something that changed my perspective about Uncle Bill and Microsoft.
She said, "Bill Gates made it possible for people like me to have a computer." That statement was like getting hit by a train. I realized that MS is not the bad guy that so many try to make them out to be.
My advice here is to upgrade to W-10. If it isn't free anymore, try going to a Microsoft store and ask for a URL for the free upgrade. You can try a sob story like, "My dad died and he never upgraded." "Would you upgrade it for me?" "It was my brother's machine and I doubt that he even knew how to turn it on."
There are few things that are better than sliced bread but Windows-10 is one of them.
Several years ago MS got a new executive that made what is probably the best corporate decision ever. The decision saved MS millions and at the same time made MS users totally enamored with MS. Competitors on the other hand said openly that the executive was an (improper adjective) idiot.
The decision was to upgrade all Windows versions to Windows-10. Individual users were free, while corporate users encountered a modest fee. The decision was brilliant and reduced MS support costs significantly. If you think about it, big bad MS says to the world, "We're dropping support on your version of Windows." Users are delighted or don't give a damn.
When looking out from the MS viewpoint, the most problematic, buggy and vulnerable to infections were individual systems. These can be made secure and kept secure. This reduces the bad press that MS would get when a new vulnerability was discovered in down versions.
When looking from the viewpoint into MS, there were teams (yes plural teams) maintaining down versions of Windows. Think, a manager and 10 or 12 people. That is an unnecessary expense. There are two problems or issues maintaining down versions. First the programmers don't want to work on old software. They are always bidding on jobs in other departments. Second tracing through someone else's code is a nightmare at best. If you have ever had to do it and encountered spaghetti code, you understand and why programmers tend to drink.
In another life, I spent three weeks trying to understand one particular instruction of assembler code. Finally I asked the manufacturer (LM Ericson) of the system / operating system, why. The response I got back was that they had been looking for that bug for over 5 years. Believe me what I say that trying to understand someone else's code is a nightmare. On top of that, telephony systems in those days were shear agony.
I don't know if it is still policy, but I upgraded both the desk top and lap top for free. The best computing decisions I ever made. I know that on second Tuesdays a new release is ready. And, yes I update both systems every month.
There was a comment that I heard while in an "Access" class at a Community College. One of the students, still in her teens and a single mom with a 3 year old. She was still living at home, drawing assistance from the state, on food stamps with tuition being paid for by the state. She had a computer that was at best a double hand-me-down. During a break, people were bashing Bill Gates for something that was current at the time. She said something that changed my perspective about Uncle Bill and Microsoft.
She said, "Bill Gates made it possible for people like me to have a computer." That statement was like getting hit by a train. I realized that MS is not the bad guy that so many try to make them out to be.
My advice here is to upgrade to W-10. If it isn't free anymore, try going to a Microsoft store and ask for a URL for the free upgrade. You can try a sob story like, "My dad died and he never upgraded." "Would you upgrade it for me?" "It was my brother's machine and I doubt that he even knew how to turn it on."
There are few things that are better than sliced bread but Windows-10 is one of them.