5 ms·

My last computer retired - 1 month ago. It was more than 5 years old, running Windows XP. XP is still very popular and I would expect it to still be supported

My last computer retired - 1 month ago. It was more than 5 years old, running Windows XP. XP is still very popular and I would expect it to still be supported and it's 12 years old. Where did you get your 7 year magic number from?

pssdbt 13y ago
The 10.4-10.8 is in reference to OS X, and ~7 years is the amount of time between 10.4 (April 29, 2005) and 10.8 (July 25, 2012).
GlennS 13y ago
Microsoft products receive 5 years mainstream support and 10 years extended support. XP is currently supported for organisations who purchased extended support, but only because there was extraordinary demand for it. It ends in just under 6 months from now. Unless you're a large organisation paying a lot of money, you aren't likely to get 5 years of support for a particular version of most products. http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/?LN=en-gb&C2=1173 http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/?LN=en-gb&C2=1173 http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/endofsupport.aspx http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/endofsupport.aspx
- desas 13y ago
  There's a difference between end of support and end of backwards compatibility.
ameoba 13y ago
You can't talk about Windows XP like it's a single, fixed point in the release cycle. XP was released in 2001, giving you your 12 year number, but there were also major service packs released in 2002(SP1), 2004(SP2) & 2008(SP3). The last release of XP was only 5 years ago - more recently than OS X 10.4 Of the new software that still claims XP compatibility, much of it requires SP3.
- NicoJuicy 13y ago
  SP 3 is free (Service Packs) and it's just because the .Net framework requires SP3. So actually, XP = XP SP3.
  - ameoba 13y ago
    Yes, it's free but that doesn't mean it's painless. Going to SP2 and SP3 broke backwards compatibility with some drivers and software. It increased the RAM/CPU requirements for running the OS comfortably. They weren't just harmless stacks of collected bug fixes.

pssdbt 13y ago

The 10.4-10.8 is in reference to OS X, and ~7 years is the amount of time between 10.4 (April 29, 2005) and 10.8 (July 25, 2012).

GlennS 13y ago

Microsoft products receive 5 years mainstream support and 10 years extended support. XP is currently supported for organisations who purchased extended support, but only because there was extraordinary demand for it. It ends in just under 6 months from now. Unless you're a large organisation paying a lot of money, you aren't likely to get 5 years of support for a particular version of most products. http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/?LN=en-gb&C2=1173 http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/?LN=en-gb&C2=1173 http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/endofsupport.aspx http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/endofsupport.aspx

desas 13y ago
There's a difference between end of support and end of backwards compatibility.

ameoba 13y ago

You can't talk about Windows XP like it's a single, fixed point in the release cycle. XP was released in 2001, giving you your 12 year number, but there were also major service packs released in 2002(SP1), 2004(SP2) & 2008(SP3). The last release of XP was only 5 years ago - more recently than OS X 10.4 Of the new software that still claims XP compatibility, much of it requires SP3.

NicoJuicy 13y ago
SP 3 is free (Service Packs) and it's just because the .Net framework requires SP3. So actually, XP = XP SP3.
- ameoba 13y ago
  Yes, it's free but that doesn't mean it's painless. Going to SP2 and SP3 broke backwards compatibility with some drivers and software. It increased the RAM/CPU requirements for running the OS comfortably. They weren't just harmless stacks of collected bug fixes.