Posted on 06/29/2011 5:46:08 AM PDT by upchuck
Microsoft's past operating system woes might have some people living in the past
While many computer lovers eagerly await the arrival of Windows 8 and Mac OS X Lion, a massive segment of users takes a decidedly slower approach when it comes to embracing new operating systems. According to an uber-detailed infographic by blog Manolution, 40.7% of users still run Windows XP on their computers.
XP, which was released way back in October 2001, has since been succeeded by both the not-so-well-received Windows Vista, as well as Windows 7. In that same time frame, a half-dozen new versions of Apple's Mac OS X have seen the light of day. And yet, Windows XP is holding on strong. By comparison, 36.5% of users are up-to-date with Windows 7, while a measly 7.1% have stuck with Windows Vista.
There is likely a multitude of reasons why so many have stood by XP all these years. Many who adopted Vista early on actually went back to XP after the new operating system's many flaws began coming to light, and it's likely that some have seen fit to skip upgrading to Windows 7 for fear of a similar ordeal. Not to mention that after a decade of familiarity, it can be mighty hard to let go, even when the future is so bright.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
For me, Microsoft has yet to release an operating system that offers me a compelling reason to upgrade.
Well said. I feel same.
“eagerly await” Windows 8?
Maybe they might add a feature where I can STOP randomly docking my windows against the wall or corner when I dont want it to...
That should be worth another $200 upgrade
Then they can remove a lot of features the OTHER software used to have
And add space stealing ‘ribbons’ acros the top of everything so that half the laptop screen is taken up by a list of oommands I never use and can’t find the ones I do use anymore
I still have 5 or so computers running XP. I would like to upgrade the newest and fastest ones to 64-bit Windows 7 Professional to take advantage of the advanced memory capacity when I edit video.
Aside from that, there’s little in Windows 7 that I find appealing, and some of the more restrictive permissions/policies are outright annoying.
Let’s make that a troika.
XP on the desktop and laptop and I refuse to upgrade till I absolutely have to, although a couple of people have Windows 8 and they love it. Hell, it was 2006 before I upgraded from Win 98.
Hey, I was still on W2K until a year or so ago and doing just fine with that.
Windows 7 that is.
The only reason I have Windows 7 on this PC is that it’s a new PC I bought in February. My old laptop still has XP, and the netbook I bought for my wife over a year ago (Windows 7) was already out) also has XP. Even your average person who bought a PC with Vista on it still runs Vista. It’s only the geeks who would back-peddle. No average Joe would spend the money on an operating system when their use of a computer is limited to surfing, email, and the normal stuff.
I’m still on Windows 3.1.
We have tried every version since XP and always ended up going back. Windows 7 had the best chance of replacing XP until we found that I couldn’t print anything. I haven’t even looked at 8, I’ll just assume it sucks like all of the other upgrades.
I used XP for one hell of a long time. I had access to a friend’s laptop running Vista....and it sucked HUGELY.
Late last year I got a new ThinkPad with Windows 7 Professional, however, and I absolutely love it. Rock solid. Outstanding.
Upgrade to Windows 7 with confidence, you holdouts. :)
I finally upgraded from XP to Windows 7 late last year but only after I snagged a legitimate Windows 7 Pro license on eBay for $20.00.
I hate myself for not picking up a few more licenses...
If whatever OS you have is still working - can you print a shopping list? can you log on to FR? - why change it?
I use it on many of my machines because they are older P4s with only 500Mb of RAM.
XP accesses all of the same websites, runs all of the accessories, and all the the applications that you can need today. And it is dirt cheap to boot.
I dont do gaming so I dont “need” anything current, although I do use Win7 on my machine because it can handle it, and it makes things, like network administration or using multiple monitors much easier to deal with.
I have files I transferred from an old hard drive to our new PC that uses Win 7 pro that I still can’t seem to find. Unless Win 8 is not as cumbersome, it might be time to look at alternative operating systems for our next PC.
We have three computers running on Windows 7. Son says he prefers it to XP. Better with drivers, etc.
I agree wholeheartedly with you Mr. K. But, double click the ribbon header and it’ll collapse.
My problem with Microsoft’s OS line is that they’re just like our government. Supposed to be tiny, quiet, and handle a limited set of responsibilities, but instead is so damn large that it takes minutes to do most tasks instead of seconds, and I have to have a monster computer just to keep it running.
I still have XP on my home machine, work laptop, and work desktop.
No matter how you cut it, 7 is an excellent OS - handling apps better and faster than any other OS MS has produced.
And it’s handling of kludge drivers is excellent.
The only reason not to move to 7 is if there’s a legacy app that won’t run in XP Mode.
Unfortunately, I have just such an app on my work network and can’t upgrade my domain until the software vendor pulls their head out of their butt.
“We have tried every version since XP and always ended up going back. Windows 7 had the best chance of replacing XP until we found that I couldn’t print anything. I haven’t even looked at 8, I’ll just assume it sucks like all of the other upgrades.”
Why does it seem like everyone thinks every update to Windows is terrible, like it is a badge of honor to say so?
People used to think XP was lousy too in 2002, and now they swear by it.
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