Posted on 11/10/2015 5:35:32 PM PST by dayglored
The browser will keep working, but users of unsupported operating systems won't get updates.
Windows XP will be getting even less secure next year, when Google stops updating Chrome for users of Microsoft's nearly geriatric operating system.
The company announced today that PCs running XP and Vista will be able to keep using Chrome after April 2016, but Google will cease providing updates to its browser, including security-focused patches. That same deal goes for Mac users running OS 10.6, 10.7 and 10.8.
Google said it was turning off the updates because the makers of all five OSs had stopped providing official support for them.
"Such older platforms are missing critical security updates and have a greater potential to be infected by viruses and malware," Chrome Director of Engineering Mark Pawliger said in a blog post announcing the decision.
Google said earlier this year that it planned to stop supporting old operating systems, and called out XP in particular as a problem. Microsoft's operating system, while more than a decade old, is still clinging to life on computers in homes and organizations large and small. Microsoft ended support for XP last year, but some organizations (including the U.S. Navy) haven't completely made the jump yet.
This is also especially bad news for people who want to keep old Macs with PowerPC processors running. Those computers are stuck on OS 10.6.8, because it's the last version of the OS that Apple put out which is compatible with those processors. That said, people still love their PowerBooks and Power Macs, and this change is likely going to hurt for those folks who want to keep browsing like it's 2005.
(Excerpt) Read more at computerworld.com ...
I wouldn’t let googleware run on my computer for anything.
Yeah, well, there is that....
There are a lot of us still running Snow Leopard or Lion because our old reliable hardware won't support anything newer.
Chrome and Firefox run really well in Linux. Linux runs really well on old computer hardware. I had an old Dell Inspiron 1545 laptop laying around that I bought in 2009. It came with Vista. I loaded Linux Mint on it recently (looks like Windows, runs much better). You can’t tell you are not running Windows when surfing the net in Chrome or Firefox.
Load up free MS Office clone LibreOffice, Chrome and Firefox and you are in business. All for free.
That’s nothing. I am running Ubuntu server on a Dell PC from 2002. It runs great, and uses nearly no memory or CPU at idle.
That's a really good idea... Maybe I'll take my old MacMini that won't support 10.8+ and put Linux on the metal... Great thought, thanks!
Would never have that Google crap to begin with.
Thanks to dayglored for the heads up.
The latest Apple/Mac/iOS Pings can be found by searching Keyword "ApplePingList" on FreeRepublic's Search.
If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me
Had I not updated my system... with a new MAC I would be in the boat with those no longer getting any updates.
Now..Im good for a few years
This article isn’t correct, OS X 10.5 was the last version to run the PowerPC chip. OS X 10.6 was only for Intel chips. In fact 10.6 was the last version to run Core Duo, it takes at least a Core 2 Duo to run 10.7 and up.
You're right. I suspect the author got confused because 10.6 was the last version with Rosetta, which allowed older PowerPC binaries to run on the machines with Intel processors.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.