XPost: alt.comp.os.windows-xp, alt.windows7.general   
   From: bbaka@comcast.net   
      
   On 06/14/2010 07:37 PM, JC wrote:   
   > First allow me to apologize as I am no USENET guru. Typically when I decide   
   > to make a post in hopes some kind soul(s) will give some input/feedback   
   > towards my interests/concerns I am clueless which group to post to. But I   
   > will say I generally get a positive reponse where ever I post.   
   >   
   > For the past five or so years I have used 2000 on my home machines. They   
   > actually still use 98 on the clients where I work (which is  medical   
   > laboratory) with an antiquated Novell network o/s and Oracle DBMS on the   
   > server. This is primarily due to the fact that I have very antiquated tools   
   > (Visual Cafe for my IDE with SDK 1.1); my app will only run on 98 machines.   
   > Anyway, that is neither here nor there.   
   >   
   > My question is about Windows XP vs 7. I am at a point where I would like to   
   > upgrade my home machines to XP. Even though I've been using 2000 for so long   
   > (and very satisfied with it) I do have some XP experience/knowledge. Problem   
   > is that one of the used machines I just purchased has XP on it because that   
   > is what was on it when I got it. Seems like it is not possible to purchase   
   > XP nowadays. It is all Windows 7.   
   >   
   > A few friends here and there have had me come and look at their Windows 7   
   > machines. They think because I have a degree in CompSci/Math that I know   
   > everything there is to know about computers. I cannot make them understand I   
   > am a GUI programmer, database programmer, amateur DBA, and data analyst. I   
   > keep telling them I am not a technician but they will not believe me. The   
   > handful of times I've played around with a Windows 7 machine so far I've   
   > found it very counterintuitive and confusing. I do not like it at all! Not   
   > knowing much about XP anytime I've worked on an XP machine I've typically   
   > had little if any problems.   
   >   
   > So the question I guess: Is XP a thing of the past? Can I no longer get XP   
   > (it definitely is not in stores)? If I wanted to migrate the clients to XP   
   > at work would that not be possible?   
   >   
   > Many Thanks,   
   > -JC   
   >   
   >   
   I can only add a small bit to this. I have both XP and 7 running on a   
   machine I use mostly in linux mode, and the XP has been happy on it's   
   own hard drive for years now. I played with the 7 and every time I want   
   to do something it asks me for my password, and no matter what I try to   
   do about the explorer screen I get icons instead of the details list I   
   have on XP. 7 will probably want hardware upgrades but did have a driver   
   for my HP scanner, so there is at least some support built in.   
   So far, I still like the XP better, but maybe over time I will warm to   
   the 7. My vote for now would be to stick with the XP or get brave and   
   try Linux, Ubuntu in my case. There is also the possibility you could   
   get a virtual machine like Sun's Virtualbox and run windows as a guest   
   system under either Linux or XP. There is also VMware server for free if   
   you are only considering it for personal use. It is a bit more work to   
   set up, but you may like the versatility. XP should be available on   
   Ebay, maybe even some new in box, since everyone seems to be biting the   
   7 bait.   
   Good luck,   
   Bill Baka   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)