[VRNews]

You have probably seen an article posted by Gizmodo listing 7 reasons to stick with Windows XP.
Well, there are certainly some reasons for sticking with Windows XP and the one that really makes sense is if your current system is too old to support Windows 7. You may not meet the minimum system requirements or your system may have an odd ball piece of hardware that is not supported.
However, if your system can pass Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor I suggest you bite the bullet and do the upgrade.
If you still have your doubts because the 7 points highlighted by Gizmodo are reason enough, here's my take on Gizmodo's points. You can find the Gizmodo article here.


Read More:
Editorial: 7 Reasons to NOT stick with Windows XP

[Ody Mamel]

I still use Windows 2000 for my home PC and MS will continue to support it until 2016.... not that it won't run without their backup.

[BaLtO]

Application migration will take a lot of time ...

[proyb2]

as a survey by some of the corporation for developers on the migration to W7, I could see XP is on par with 7, which is, there will be a wide gap for both platforms to be used in the market for years to come. In my prediction that it will become an addition platform to the OSes families:

XP, Mac, Linux, Solaris and 7

Most developers who are not working on .Net will not migrate but instead they will use W7 for compatibility testing

Most RIA developer will work just on web browser which has less impact on their work but XP is still a preferred choice since we are so used to the simpler desktop.

[porksandwich]

Just had to register to comment on how stupidly generic this list is.

1) Updating will be a huge pain. No pain no gain? What am I gaining with Windows 7? What you used as arguments could be used to justify reinstalling XP, and it would be quicker to reinstall XP because I wouldn't need to hunt down new drivers/versions of software/reasons for why XYZ now won't run on Win7 versus XP. So by upgrading to Win7 you gain the pain of figuring all this stuff out, do I gain anything else?

2) Software Investment

What if I lost my CD keys? Same problem I would have reinstalling XP. So you say Win7 Compat mode works better than Vistas. Does it work better than say, running it on XP to begin with? Why do I need to pay for Win 7 again?

3) Most of what you use your computer for doesn't need an upgrade.

How are you more productive on Win 7 besides having another operating system purchase under your belt? Does having two OS expenses make you more productive? Since you provide no examples, I say spend your money on a keyboard and mouse that you like, at least then you'll be more productive via input speeds and durations you can go without needing breaks.

4) It's expensive.

So I should buy Win 7 because I might get a freebie or win a lucky draw contest. Perhaps I should go out and buy a new car and a new house because they might give me a toaster or some other appliance in a lucky draw contest. If the best you can come up with is that I MIGHT WIN SOMETHING by buying Win 7. Win 7 must have some real shortcomings.

5) You can wait for SP1.

I find it hard to believe that any company would adopt Windows 7 before SP1 was is released. So if they are requiring you to know Win 7, then you are probably there to help them to roll over to Win 7 from Windows 2000/XP. You'd be better off knowing 2000/xp really well, and learning Win 7 as it pertains to their needs. But hey at least you tried to justify buying Win 7 with something kinda sorta remotely possible.

6) MS will keep support XP for awhile (supporting/XP support? doesn't read right)

The reason Win 7 will get all the attention is that it's new and will have more problems, like Vista did. And they have to support the hell out of it right away so the people who purchased it don't feel shafted by buying something that doesn't work as well for them as XP did because of a bug. But if you are truly concerned about security modifying behavior, firewalls, and a non-MS OS will be cheaper and more effective. Win 7 will just as likely be vulnerable to something as XP is, because that's historically how it's been for every Microsoft OS release.

7) You'll buy a new computer eventually.

Win 7 will be cheaper with a computer (whole/parts) purchase in most cases. So unless you keep your old PC around and want it running Windows 7 along side your new Win 7 box, there's no reason to buy Win 7 now. You will most likely be forced to purchase another copy of Win 7 with any pre-built machine you purchase, so buying it now will only cause the expense of Win 7 to go up since you are effectively buying it twice. And unless you need two copies, that's just stupid.

Windows XP, you paid for it, so why not use it until something better comes along?

[proyb2]

Agree only on #7 but most of us have a good spec to run W7 which will lasted for the next few years, merely additional to memory and harddisk is on most buyer's wishlist. Whoever play games or running Adobe CS4 on old computer?

Microsoft has done little to simplify the user interface such as taskbar which I like it so much to have it emulate on XP to improve my productivity by 2x, yes, we don't spent so much time on using Microsoft feature to get things done which is good to allow other developer come out with interesting ideas.

The important part is user interaction and satisfication, I don't find W7 changes much from Vista and XP, it just a version or a new brand which we know everyone like novelty and once the hype cool down, we can gauge if it practical for long term use.

For security concern, W7 is doing great to reduce malware and trojan.

For touchscreen, we still dislike the use of our fingers playing on the screen especially women or men with long fingernails and if constantly touching would only cause our finger to feel sore or blister. My finger already feel blister on one of the notebook's touchpad.

Microsoft just have to do their part in improving their security and desktop experience and this will continue to enhance people lives. Comparing to Mac OS X, there a long way to go but I would take it as an opportunity to fill in the gap by developing software.

We spent most of our time on TV, applications, facebook and favourtie website. So the summary, we only want our thing to get done. For others, they spent their luxury time experiment on gaming with the DX11 and OC.

It's a different market out there.

[s1kb45trd]

nice ADvertorial. gee, i'm so convinced now, i must own W7 immediately. you got me.

i fully agree with porksandwich's comment. i'm not sure what kind of audience vr-zone attracts, but this is kind of insulting to be honest.

[pyu]

Windows 7 is actually very good. If you plan to get new hardware, make sure its Windows 7 is pre-installed, and not Vista or XP.

If you plan to stay with your seven year old PC, I suggest you upgrade only when you move to new hardware.

[bozo]

In my opinion, Windows 7 is a good OS to consider if you're building a fresh machine, or purchasing a netbook. I suppose the main argument behind XP is that new computers should not have XP put in them, but rather Windows 7.

Microsoft has done little to simplify the user interface such as taskbar which I like it so much to have it emulate on XP to improve my productivity by 2x, yes, we don't spent so much time on using Microsoft feature to get things done which is good to allow other developer come out with interesting ideas.

Same argument with macs - random features, etc. I've found Windows 7 a lot better in terms of desktop management (automatic splitting of the widescreen, having the projector function work properly (invaluable with a laptop!)). Sure, there may be X and Y app which can perform the same tasks, but what advantages are there then, having to install your own stuff.

With regards to not getting used to the interface, that argument is commonplace everytime something new and fancy is introduced, but with gradual use, it becomes second nature. Microsoft is not new to HCI design and I'm sure many user studies have been done before the system was launched. If you do want productivity, use powershell and vim then.

[LiM]

New OS always got problem no matter how well they test it, stick to your current system and wait for sp1 or sp2 unless you got nothing to do other than helping microsoft to debug their usually buggy new OS. Another plus point to hold back migration to new OS is you will get it cheaper later.

[proyb2]

Originally Posted by LiM

New OS always got problem no matter how well they test it, stick to your current system and wait for sp1 or sp2 unless you got nothing to do other than helping microsoft to debug their usually buggy new OS. Another plus point to hold back migration to new OS is you will get it cheaper later.

agreed, but this is actually quite a common sense since we all read reviews and price definitely come down since their parent say so.

[proyb2]

Originally Posted by bozo

With regards to not getting used to the interface, that argument is commonplace everytime something new and fancy is introduced, but with gradual use, it becomes second nature. Microsoft is not new to HCI design and I'm sure many user studies have been done before the system was launched. If you do want productivity, use powershell and vim then.

Win 95 and Mac was a revolutionary platform. To addon, productivity comes from within application or web browser, not desktop. We only need 3 areas to locate our shortcuts: Menu, Desktop and Remote

[cschua76]

yeah, no one will risk themselves in upgrading now, its expensive, risky and might even bring more downtime especially for Big Enterprise or even SBE. It always good to wait for sp1 or sp2 or if u have purchase a new PC then go for win7, otherwise don't and about Gizmodo, u won't be surprise if they are paid to promote it ;p

[pclinux]

This editorial is dumb. I want my 5 mins back!