Because Shiny Things Are Fun - The New New Windows v Linux Thread

Mozilla is just making it more easier to move firefox users to google chrome.

What is next Mozilla? Firefox will not play videos unless you have a nVidia/ATI graphics GPU card

Originally Posted by cwizardone Mozilla has said that not only will the next version of Firefox, 53, not run on CPUs older than the Intel P4 or AMD Opteron, it will not run on win-XP or vista. Being the cynic I am, I wonder how much mickeysoft paid mozilla to do that? BTW, if your older CPU supports SSE2, then it can, supposedly, run Firefox-53.

There's no need to invoke M$ sponsorship here. Older CPUs lack instructions which are taken fro granted on newer ones and to compile for older CPUs means to make an application which runs slower on modern hardware. While I do feel for those who are forced to use older hardware because they cannot afford to buy newer I think they are likely a distinct minority since most machines being given away and sold for next to nothing nowadays are 64-bit capable.
Similarly, supporting Windows XP would be ridiculous -- anybody who didn't think to save up a few dollars a year, or switch to Linux, from when M$ advised that XP was due to run out of support deserves all they get. It's really not as if XP support was cancelled overnight with no warning -- people had a decade to come up with an upgrade plan.
M$ have done many bad things but retiring XP after years of warnings is not one of them. Similarly Mozilla have had their share of controversy like supporting DRM video content but, again, dropping support for an OS which people should have dumped over 5 years ago and processors that are well over a decade old isn't one of them.

Xp runs just fine and is all many people really need, if they want to run ms-windows. Were it possible to overcome the 3.2 gig memory limitation, I would run it as it runs all my hardware better than the most recent versions of Linux, specifically, my HP flatbed scanner which is used daily for business purposes.
Acutally, I do run it, XP, in VirtualBox on a Slackware desktop so the scanner can be used to obtain the best results.
Any version of ms-windows since XP brings little new to the party, except, maybe, better security, but win10 made a complete joke out of that, didn't it.

Originally Posted by cwizardone Xp runs just fine and is all many people really need, if they want to run ms-windows. Were it possible to overcome the 3.2 gig memory limitation, I would run it as it runs all my hardware better than the most recent versions of Linux, specifically, my HP flatbed scanner which is used daily for business purposes. Acutally, I do run it, XP, in VirtualBox on a Slackware desktop so the scanner can be used to obtain the best results. Any version of ms-windows since XP brings little new to the party, except, maybe, better security, but win10 made a complete joke out of that, didn't it.

No, XP is absolutely not what people need because it's obsolete and has been for years now. Going back around 15 years people knew it would be obsolete so there is absolutely no excuse to be using XP -- there has been time to put a few dollars a month away to do things like buy Linux compatible scanners if that is what you need.
M$ keeping people working on XP would be a ludicrous waste of money in the same way that Mozilla have decided that developing for ancient hardware and OS versions used by some hold-outs who like to be awkward is a waste of time.
If you want to run XP and/or a decades old CPU there's nothing stopping you and that's your choice but you can't expect the rest of the world to spend time and money supporting you.

Obsolete in what way?
What is so new and different in win-10 that warrants dumping perfectly good equipment and software?
Sorry, I just don't get that kind of thinking. I guess it would be like buying a new car every time a new model is released, to drive the same ten miles to and from the supermarket. Well, win-10 will now tell mickeysoft what market you drove to, how long you were there and what items you purchased.

Originally Posted by cwizardone Obsolete in what way? What is so new and different in win-10 that warrants dumping perfectly good equipment and software? Sorry, I just don't get that kind of thinking. I guess it would be like buying a new car every time a new model is released, to drive the same ten miles to and from the supermarket. Well, win-10 will now tell mickeysoft what market you drove to, how long you were there and what items you purchased.

So you drive a Model T Ford every day?
Windows XP is obsolete because the makers stopped spending money to produce software updates for it and software makers stopped spending time and money producing software for it. Most people knew this was happening back in around 2003 but, it seems, some didn't bother to make any plans.

Just 2 cents here. Being a moderator and a distro team member on a ditro that tries to keep old gear running.

I approve a lot of 3rd world members who do not have access to free 64 bit give aways and a non sse2 laptop or desktop is their daily driver that they have access to.

I see no countries mailing these users countries raspberry pi's or zeros for free with power supplies and monitors and a sd card. Guatemala comes to mind besides other Latin American countries with bad economic conditions for the regular dude.

Some folks loose sight of this fact of life in their comfy cozy lives. While I see it on a every day occurrence.

My contrib to this thread. Windows 10 is being sued in Civil court.

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/microsoft...072655313.html

The automatic upgrade killed some of my machines at work!... thousands of dollars later all is well...

Originally Posted by 273 So you drive a Model T Ford every day? Windows XP is obsolete because the makers stopped spending money to produce software updates for it and software makers stopped spending time and money producing software for it. Most people knew this was happening back in around 2003 but, it seems, some didn't bother to make any plans.

Let's not forget, no more security updates either. Any security problems that come along won't be fixed because it is no longer updated. Heck, even worse, no one may even know about the security problem except for the hackers. So, basically, no one makes wheels for that car anymore and driving without wheels makes for a bumpy ride where the dash board gets cleaned off a lot. ROFL

Originally Posted by rokytnji Just 2 cents here. Being a moderator and a distro team member on a ditro that tries to keep old gear running. I approve a lot of 3rd world members who do not have access to free 64 bit give aways and a non sse2 laptop or desktop is their daily driver that they have access to. I see no countries mailing these users countries raspberry pi's or zeros for free with power supplies and monitors and a sd card. Guatemala comes to mind besides other Latin American countries with bad economic conditions for the regular dude. Some folks loose sight of this fact of life in their comfy cozy lives. While I see it on a every day occurrence. My contrib to this thread. Windows 10 is being sued in Civil court. https://www.yahoo.com/tech/microsoft...072655313.html

Considering the number of machines being replaced which are 64 bit I think that the contributors are only giving 10 year old kit away when they have far better kit they could give.
I do realise, and did mention, that some people are stuck with old kit for financial reasons but I'm not convinced that keeping XP in support or, even, updating Firefox helps them -- I'd say that society failed them not some developers.

Originally Posted by dave@burn-it.co.uk They (microsoft windows) certainly overstepped the line with their efforts with 10 and have actually admitted that it was a big mistake to do so.

can you show us please? that sounds like a good read.

Originally Posted by 273 While I do feel for those who are forced to use older hardware because they cannot afford to buy newer I think they are likely a distinct minority since most machines being given away and sold for next to nothing nowadays are 64-bit capable.

this may hold true for the so-called western world, but in some countries people will still happily shell out real money for something10+ years old, so much more likely to be 32bit.

Originally Posted by ondoho this may hold true for the so-called western world, but in some countries people will still happily shell out real money for something10+ years old, so much more likely to be 32bit.

The issue there is not M$ or Mozilla -- it's that the regime in that country failed and charities are sending them rubbish.
Both XP and the 32 bit architecture have been declared obsolete for at least 10* years so giving them away isn't charity it's just sending rubbish to people who can't choose better.
It's not M$ or Mozilla's fault that some people think that sending rubbish to other people is "charity" and, as I mentioned, there ought to be a good number of 64 bit machines out there which could be donated if people want to.

*Yes, I am aware that XP received an update more recently but its retirement has been obvious for at least a decade.

http://mogaznews.com/en/collection/309432.html

This is just the first of many hits found when you use Google.


XP has been receiving updates if you know how to get them. I haven't looked in the last couple of months, but I certainly have been getting the up till recently.

Originally Posted by 273 The issue there is not M$ or Mozilla -- it's that the regime in that country failed and charities are sending them rubbish.

so you are assuming that "non-western" countries wouldn't have any computers at all, if it wasn't for the "charity" of "western" countries?

Originally Posted by dave@burn-it.co.uk http://mogaznews.com/en/collection/309432.html This is just the first of many hits found when you use Google.

thanks, but this just opens to an empty space, surrounded by menus and ads, noscript or not.
on ALL my browsers :-(

Originally Posted by ondoho so you are assuming that "non-western" countries wouldn't have any computers at all, if it wasn't for the "charity" of "western" countries?

No, I'm responding to the idea people reliant upon charity will have old machines.
Those who can afford to buy their own will have had access to new and second hand 64 bit machines for a good long time so are lumped in with people everywhere who saw things becoming obsolete but didn't plan an upgrade path.
My overall point being that there aren't many excuses for anyone having an OS that's been under notice of obsolescence for a decade or hardware that's been superseded for about the same amount of time.