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That's about the time I installed my Debian system that I am still using today. I updated it continuously over the years, but have never re-installed. I wouldn'

That's about the time I installed my Debian system that I am still using today. I updated it continuously over the years, but have never re-installed. I wouldn't say it is secure from all modern attacks, because no system is. But it was never obsoleted.

vbezhenar 9y ago
You can update Windows installations as well. People run Windows XP either because they like its interface or they don't want to risk upgrading. Linux doesn't help with either case. If I liked Debian 3.0, I don't have an easy option to run it with all modern security updates now. The only thing that Linux has is free as beer. Many people don't want to spend money on buying new Windows and Windows XP works for them just fine. Linux could certainly help here.
- kuschku 9y ago
  Actually, KDE 3 is still being supported. And it was released at the same time as the Windows XP Media Center Edition (which was EOL in 2014)
- TeMPOraL 9y ago
  Another reason people don't upgrade is because new versions obsolete old hardware. Windows XP can run fine on machines Windows 8 wouldn't even boot on, and even for me, throwing away a perfectly good piece of hardware just to upgrade to a newer OS is kind of shitty idea.
- gaius 9y ago
  The cost of the OS license is basically a rounding error in the TCO any serious computing environment. It's simply not relevant to this discussion. BTW an enterprise RHEL license cost more than a Windows license last time I checked...
- belorn 9y ago
  You are comparing upgrading a system with going to the store and buy a new operative system and saying its the same thing. Windows vista was not a Windows XP update, and in theory they could have nothing in common but the name and the publisher. There need to be a meaningful distinction between a software update for a product and a new product. For a operative system, hardware requirement and driver support is quite critical. As a small testament to this, I had a server which hardware initial had 3.0 Woody as the version and ran until 6.0 Squeeze, at which point the motherboard gave up.
- eikenberry 9y ago
  There is the big difference that I am in control of my UI. My UI hasn't changed in something like 15 years, other than tweaks I made and features added that I can use or not.

vbezhenar 9y ago

You can update Windows installations as well. People run Windows XP either because they like its interface or they don't want to risk upgrading. Linux doesn't help with either case. If I liked Debian 3.0, I don't have an easy option to run it with all modern security updates now. The only thing that Linux has is free as beer. Many people don't want to spend money on buying new Windows and Windows XP works for them just fine. Linux could certainly help here.

kuschku 9y ago
Actually, KDE 3 is still being supported. And it was released at the same time as the Windows XP Media Center Edition (which was EOL in 2014)
TeMPOraL 9y ago
Another reason people don't upgrade is because new versions obsolete old hardware. Windows XP can run fine on machines Windows 8 wouldn't even boot on, and even for me, throwing away a perfectly good piece of hardware just to upgrade to a newer OS is kind of shitty idea.
gaius 9y ago
The cost of the OS license is basically a rounding error in the TCO any serious computing environment. It's simply not relevant to this discussion. BTW an enterprise RHEL license cost more than a Windows license last time I checked...
belorn 9y ago
You are comparing upgrading a system with going to the store and buy a new operative system and saying its the same thing. Windows vista was not a Windows XP update, and in theory they could have nothing in common but the name and the publisher. There need to be a meaningful distinction between a software update for a product and a new product. For a operative system, hardware requirement and driver support is quite critical. As a small testament to this, I had a server which hardware initial had 3.0 Woody as the version and ran until 6.0 Squeeze, at which point the motherboard gave up.
eikenberry 9y ago
There is the big difference that I am in control of my UI. My UI hasn't changed in something like 15 years, other than tweaks I made and features added that I can use or not.