Which is precisely the problem. We're talking about HARDWARE.
"Now they might not update old versions for it, but they’re going to have to make SOME version do it."
No, actually they don't.
"Which, according to this link: https://www.chem.agilent.com/Library/usermanuals/Public/G2170-90235_Upgrade-to-B0403_ENG.pdf , they have done. Now if you don’t want to upgrade that’s on you. But software that works on the new OSes exist."
For some things. I can guarantee you that there is a large amount of hardware still out there, and still working for which the "software on new OS's option DOES NOT exist".
"So now the choice is yours, stay on the old software and the old OS or upgrade both."
No, actually it isn't. The lab that my wife works in has a number of GC's that are still labeled "Hewlett-Packard", whose control software WILL NOT RUN and IS NOT AVAILABLE for the newest OS's.
"You’ve got 3 options: hoard license and equipment to stay on XP machines with XP forever,get better equipment that can run VMs of XP forever buy new machines and put new OSes on them"
None of which are viable options for the GC's my wife uses.
"It isn’t a widespread problem."
And I'm telling you that it is. You're not a chemist, and have probably never been inside the doors of an independent laboratory in your life.
"If there was a large group unwilling to follow any of those 3 paths it would be profitable for MS to offer a 4th.
And yet that market is large enough that some PC hardware companies are beginning to build NEW PC's, with NEW HARDWARE, designed from the ground up to run (for example) Windows 98.
"There isn’t, so they didn’t.
Unless you work for Microsoft, I doubt that you can know if the option has ever crossed management's mind (which I very seriously doubt).
And the my whole point is that "they already did" (Windows 7 & XP VM).
This is like the "long tail effect", where the effect isn't huge in any one place, but when examined in the aggregate turns out to be a significant market segment. There are many other business categories with this same problem other than chem labs. I doubt whether anyone has ever thought to examine the effect.
No, we’re talking software, software that controls hardware but you’ve still got software that might or might not work on 7.
No actually they do, unless they want to go out of business. If your software doesn’t work on any current OSes you find yourself bleeding customers.
I’m sure there is a lot of old hardware out there, being run by old versions of their software, on old OSes. I happen to know there are people using versions of the software I work on older than I’ve been with the company (just shy of 12 years). It won’t work on any current OSes either, and it’s integrating with hardware that has very little chance of working in new machines, and even if you’ve got the then “new” hardware new OSes aren’t going to like it. But we don’t care about them, they haven’t given us money in a long time, if they give us money we’ll hook em up with the new stuff.
Then that lab has made the choice to stay with the old software and the old OS. They have old equipment that’s working for them, no reason for them to change anything. It’s a valid decision, and XP going EOL doesn’t really effect them, unless they have a machine meltdown. But if they’re smart they’ve done any number of things to make sure they can recreate a functioning XP machine.
They clearly HAVE done some version of option 1. If they still have an XP machine running that software then they’re good.
You just showed why MS doesn’t need to do anything. Somebody else is solving the “problem”.
MS isn’t a stupid company. They read reports, their business decisions are easy to back analyze. They’ve been phasing into this EOL for 6 years, even pushed back the window a couple of times. XP still had too much traction to it. Now it doesn’t anymore. I’m sure they’ve examined the effect, but it was no longer worth the money to them (because each extra version you support costs a lot of money) to keep the ancient beast alive. But you’re in luck, it’s worth the money to others, so the “problem” is solved and all your complaining is pointless.