3 ms·
Where do you draw the line? 1 year? 10 years? 100 years? Some argue that MS was too soon to stop XP support, as it is still being widely used. Even MSDOS is sti
by wereHamster 12y ago
Where do you draw the line? 1 year? 10 years? 100 years? Some argue that MS was too soon to stop XP support, as it is still being widely used. Even MSDOS is still being used by some companies.
> Enterprise customers need time to validate corporate applications with a new OS version.
Isn't it strange that most of the apps I have installed had a new version at the iOS8 launch date or a day later, but 'enterprise' developers need years to 'validate' a new OS version?
- Dylan16807 12y agoI'd say take the 90th percentile lifetime of the hardware, double it, that's how long an operating system should be supported. The doubling to account for people that aren't buying on day one. So around the 10 year number. Depends on the kind of computer.
- wereHamster 12y agoEmbedded, low-power, passively cooled i386 (or compatible) have a pretty long lifetime, 30 years at least. So MSDOS, which is an operating system which can run on those should be supported for 60 years?
- Dylan16807 12y agoIf it's embedded you look at the lifetime of the entire unit. If the machine lasts 30 years then yes, you should be supporting the whole thing. Maybe not 2x, maybe closer to (lifetime + years between OS releases + 2 year margin). And when I say 'support' in the context of embedded code I don't mean much. It doesn't need new features. It should generally not be on a public network and doesn't need much in the way of bugfixes. Just keep it running. After a few years it's likely you won't need to patch it again ever. But if it needs a patch, make one. When I picture someone installing a new operating system on the lathe they've had for 20 years my eyes are wide in horror.