My parents bought their first Beta VCR in the mid eighties and used it until I moved out later that decade. Because every movie I owned was in the proprietary format I picked up a used Beta and schlepped it from apartment to apartment with every move. In its day, Beta was far superior to other technologies.
Roommates used to give me grief for not having VHS, and when DVD entered the market my ex-wife and I still used my Beta. Manufacturers stopped providing new tapes and Sony stopped supporting my deck, but I stayed true and persevered a failed technology. When I finally upgraded to VHS I counted close to 200 Beta tapes and six machines that ended up in the recycle yard.
Current users of Microsoft’s Windows XP may be in the same dilemma I was. Just about every media outlet has warned of the imminent demise of XP on April 8. I’ve been dealing with people fearing the end of civilization because Microsoft is discontinuing support for XP. Many are rushing to upgrade to new computers.
Though we’re in the final days of support, there’s no reason to spend money unnecessarily. Most of those I’ve talked with fear their computer will no longer work and result in a meltdown come April 9. Fear not, Windows XP computers will still function perfectly fine for most users and early April won’t be the new apocalypse.
We already know support for XP will end; most people don’t know exactly what that means. Updates which keep the computer secure will no longer be available from Microsoft. Microsoft will, however, allow installations and authentication of XP after the 8’th. In case of catastrophic failure Windows XP computers can still be legally reloaded without security updates.
Third party software vendors will stop supporting XP at some point in the future. Nobody but the specific publisher can answer exactly when they will stop creating new titles for XP. From past experience I would predict most will stop in about a year.
Continuing use of XP after the 8th exposes users to a higher risk of becoming infected with viruses and security breaches. Security updates repair flaws and correct issues which have been reported to Microsoft. Most XP users won’t have any issues remaining status quo.
Those who will run into issues are medical offices and others who rely on updates to be in compliance with their governing organizations. For these businesses Windows 7 provides a reasonable alternative because it has the look and feel of XP with continued Microsoft support. Potential downsides to a forced upgrade include software incompatibility with a new operating system.
For the rest of us, Windows XP will still provide a reasonable way to surf the web, edit pictures, and create documents. Those of us XP users who wanted to stay up-to-date have needed a third party browser anyways since XP stopped updating Explorer at version 8. I see no reason why businesses like mine will discontinue support for XP anytime soon.
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” seems to be the consensus among my peers. Just because Microsoft is discontinuing support doesn’t mean XP is going by the wayside just yet. I know of many businesses, including mine, that still run their business on XP. Upgrading for me at this time would mean a significant investment in new hardware and software. I kept my old Beta machines much past their prime and to this day have a functioning Beta connected to a Windows 98 computer.
(Jeromy Patriquin is the President of Laptop & Computer Repair, Inc. located at 509 Main St. in Gardner. You can text him directly at (978) 413-2840 or visit www.LocalComputerWiz.com.)