zdnet: How to extend XP forever and stay secure

[Noir Angel]

Point is, browbeating people into buying new hardware when they don't need it does not serve them at all. There are still ways to make older devices useful without making people waste buckets of money.

[gohpep]

Yes, which was precisely why I suggested using Linux if using a dated machine.

Then I'm not disagreeing with you.

[Dot Matrix]

Gahaha

 

Wow you should work in a pc shop or my former employers. There are some cheap bastards out there at home or accountants in the office who do not blink when their employes waste 30 minutes of their day waiting for computers to boot or apps to load if it can save him $800.

Most of that latency during boot up and log on comes from the server and network side. You could have the fastest processor, max out the RAM, and throw an SSD inside corproate machines, but if the network is slow, none of that will really help a slow boot time.

[gohpep]

It doesn't really matter if people are using Windows XP, as long as they know about the consequences and risks. If they're willing to operate the system under those risks, well good for them.

 

Oh, and I forgot an 'if all else fails option' (if you can't get a new PC, can't upgrade, and can't get Linux) on my flow chart a few posts back:

Install EMET, replace the Windows Firewall with something by Comodo, install Avast, and use Firefox.

[sinetheo]

Most of that latency during boot up and log on comes from the server and network side. You could have the fastest processor, max out the RAM, and throw an SSD inside corproate machines, but if the network is slow, none of that will really help a slow boot time.

 

 

It is from Windows Rot. These non 7 compatible apps write to the registry and fork it each time it is run. After 900 times it takes 10 minutes to do anything requiring a read from the registry is it is filled with references upon references upon references and errors etc. Windows 7 does not allow such garbage to run without UAC off which is why corporations do not want to upgrade as they love these bad apps

[Guest]

Yes, which was precisely why I suggested using Linux if using a dated machine.

 

Which will not fix anything. Users will still face the same problem the moment that Linux installation is outdated.

[zhangm Supervisor]

Thread cleaned. Please stay on topic.

[primexx]

It's quite simple to keep XP secure forever: never let it communicate with anything else.

[gohpep]

Which will not fix anything. Users will still face the same problem the moment that Linux installation is outdated.

All software gets outdated. That's what updating is for. For people who can't afford to upgrade to a newer Windows version (cost of software or hardware), they can use Linux and update Linux at no cost.

[Guest]

All software gets outdated. That's what updating is for. For people who can't afford to upgrade to a newer Windows version (cost of software or hardware), they can use Linux and update Linux at no cost.

 

But if the Linux distribution in question increases the system requirements, the same problem will be hit.

 

I'm not arguing that they should buy new systems and all the other problems, just saying that switching to Linux won't make the problems magically go away.

[gohpep]

But if the Linux distribution in question increases the system requirements, the same problem will be hit.

 

I'm not arguing that they should buy new systems and all the other problems, just saying that switching to Linux won't make the problems magically go away.

The LXDE and XFCE desktop environments are committed to low system requirements, and there are tons of distros specialized for older machines. Of course, no solution is perfect, and Linux tends to be less supported. If a developer loses interest, the project could rot over time if no one else picks it up.

[Dot Matrix]

It's quite simple to keep XP secure forever: never let it communicate with anything else.

But, as was brought up earlier, doing that raises more problems.

[gohpep]

But, as was brought up earlier, doing that raises more problems.

Yes, there are more problems with Windows XP than vulnerabilities.

[simplezz]

Which will not fix anything. Users will still face the same problem the moment that Linux installation is outdated.

No because 1. Linux updates are always free. 2. The system requirements don't increase with every version like Windows does. and 3. Linux package managers update all the software on the system, not just the OS. So you aren't left with vulnerable, unpatched third party apps.

[simplezz]

The LXDE and XFCE desktop environments are committed to low system requirements, and there are tons of distros specialized for older machines. Of course, no solution is perfect, and Linux tends to be less supported. If a developer loses interest, the project could rot over time if no one else picks it up.

I highly doubt XFCE or LXDE will rot anytime soon. They are very active projects with lots of users. Unless you're referring to other software?

[gohpep]

I highly doubt XFCE or LXDE will rot anytime soon. They are very active projects with lots of users. Unless you're referring to other software?

I was saying something hypothetical, some open source projects have been abandoned.

[simplezz]

But if the Linux distribution in question increases the system requirements, the same problem will be hit.

Rarely if ever do distros increase system requirements. There's a clear delineation between lightweight DE's like XFCE, LXDE, and Fluxbox, and heavier ones like Gnome 3, Unity, and KDE.

I'm not arguing that they should buy new systems and all the other problems, just saying that switching to Linux won't make the problems magically go away.

Actually going with Linux will make the problems go away. You never need to worry about getting updates or upgrading because it's completely free. System requirements for the lightweight DE's don't change over time. I'm running Xbian and Rasbian in a dual boot on my Raspberry PI 512mb, and it's very smooth, and the performance improves with every new version.

[Guest]

Rarely if ever do distros increase system requirements.

 

Ye, I get that. Was speaking from a hypothetical point of view.

[simplezz]

I was saying something hypothetical, some open source projects have been abandoned.

Fair enough.

[Guest]

Actually going with Linux will make the problems go away. You never need to worry about getting updates or upgrading because it's completely free.

 

Please, now you're just being silly. I rather avoid the FOSS crap, so I guess I'll stop discussing here.

[Noir Angel]

Which will not fix anything. Users will still face the same problem the moment that Linux installation is outdated.

 

Hmm wait, Isn't Linux one of those free things that can be updated for nothing? Oh yeah, it is. D'oh!

[Dot Matrix]

Hmm wait, Isn't Linux one of those free things that can be updated for nothing? Oh yeah, it is. D'oh!

Not always for nothing. Just like any OS, it'll eventually demand new hardware to keep it going.

[gohpep]

Not always for nothing. Just like any OS, it'll eventually demand new hardware to keep it going.

Not if it's specialized to be low on hardware.

[Dot Matrix]

Not if it's specialized to be low on hardware.

Those specialized distros are far from consumer friendly. Hell, they're hardly "enthusiast" friendly.

[Brandon H Supervisor]

Those specialized distros are far from consumer friendly. Hell, they're hardly "enthusiast" friendly.

not sure which DEs you're talking about but LXDE and XFCE work just fine