Microsoft reccomendations | The Coffeehouse

rjdohnert
You will never know success until you know failure

If users cant upgrade but are still on older systems like Windows 2000, what does Microsoft reccomend that those customers do in terms of Web browser and media products?

Tyler Brown
Bullets change governments far surer than votes.

I'm assuming that they will strongly recommend that they upgrade because otherwise they will be succeptible to an increasing number of security vulnerabilities.

Really doesn't leave you with many options though...

rjdohnert
You will never know success until you know failure

So they have no other reccomendation except upgrade. Im surprised customers are standing for it.

PaoloM
Hypermediocrity

rjdohnert wrote:
So they have no other reccomendation except upgrade.

Uhm, I failed to read what Microsoft has to say about this. Care to quote any official position?

Besides, what's wrong with IE6?

rjdohnert wrote:
Im surprised customers are standing for it.

Sure you are.

Michael Griffiths
Fatalism.

A key advantage to Microsoft Windows is the richness of 3rd-party alternatives.

I see no benefit to using solely Microsoft technologies. Microsoft releases new programs in conjunction with new versions of their operating system, and they choose not to support earlier versions. This is because those programs are "part of the OS," and as such you purchase them when you purchase the OS itself. However, there is no reason to assume that you have purchased a new version of a program that is "part of the OS" on an unsupported operating system you purchased over half a decade ago.

Rowan
Look, no errors.

PaoloM wrote:

Besides, what's wrong with IE6?

BruceMorgan

rjdohnert wrote:
If users cant upgrade but are still on older systems like Windows 2000, what does Microsoft reccomend that those customers do in terms of Web browser and media products?

This is a fairly broad question.

If the OS in question is entirely out of support, then we don't make fixes for OS components like IE or WMP for it. I don't know if we (Microsoft) have an official recommendation, but I'd personally recommend upgrading. If you can't upgrade your OS, well, then there are plenty of 3rd party products to choose from and many of them work on older Microsoft OS products that are out of support.

If the OS is in extended support, then we'll continue to make security fixes and the like available for the OS and its components (including IE and WMP). We may or may not make available newer versions of various OS components or other products for that OS.

You can read all about our lifecycle policies here.

dotnetjunkie

It depends on what you mean by "can't upgrade". They have no money for it? Maybe then they have to review their infrastructure and budget / business plan? Maybe consolidate a few things etc...

DoomBringer
Doom!

What do you mean, can't upgrade? If the machine can run Win2k, I suppose XP and even Vista ought to run on it, albeit in the stripped down mode. I can't fathom using a machine that is so old and slow that I can't upgrade it to something newer, being big into games and all.

rjdohnert
You will never know success until you know failure

What if the person cant afford an upgrade. He cant afford Windows XP or Windows Vista and wants to be legit and doesnt want to pirate XP or Windows Vista and he doesnt like Linux. I know a few people like tHat.

DoomBringer wrote:
What do you mean, can't upgrade? If the machine can run Win2k, I suppose XP and even Vista ought to run on it, albeit in the stripped down mode. I can't fathom using a machine that is so old and slow that I can't upgrade it to something newer, being big into games and all.

rjdohnert
You will never know success until you know failure

On older versions of Windows can you say security risk?

Rowan wrote:

PaoloM wrote:
Besides, what's wrong with IE6?

dotnetjunkie

Everyone on the surface of this earth who owns a PC can afford a Windows XP Home license.
It costs less than 5 dollar cent a day.... (!)
That so damn cheap that even the poorest PC owner can afford it.

rjdohnert
You will never know success until you know failure

You are missing the point. What if they cant upgrade due to some reason. I am not looking for the answer on how much XP costs Im asking what would the recommendation be if user X cannot upgrade from Windows 2000/98 or even NT 4

dotnetjunkie wrote:
Everyone on the surface of this earth who owns a PC can afford a Windows XP Home license.
It costs less than 5 dollar cent a day.... (!)
That so damn cheap that even the poorest PC owner can afford it.

Jason Cox
Longtime C9 Lurker

rjdohnert wrote:
You are missing the point. What if they cant upgrade due to some reason. I am not looking for the answer on how much XP costs Im asking what would the recommendation be if user X cannot upgrade from Windows 2000/98 or even NT 4

dotnetjunkie wrote: Everyone on the surface of this earth who owns a PC can afford a Windows XP Home license.
It costs less than 5 dollar cent a day.... (!)
That so damn cheap that even the poorest PC owner can afford it.

They could always get a Dell Preffered Account and get one of the cheap Dell boxes for 300 bucks after rebates, you're looking at $10-$20 per month (before rebates, maybe $7-$15 after rebates). They can always ask a relative or friend for an old box for little or no cost, it's gotten to the point where I'm seeing people getting rid of their older XP boxes in favor of newer ones and they just give them away (and then a relative calls in with the 'new' PC and wants to get online and doesnt even know how to use the keyboard, ah, gotta love customers).

staceyw
Before C# there was darkness...

rjdohnert wrote:
You are missing the point. What if they cant upgrade due to some reason. I am not looking for the answer on how much XP costs Im asking what would the recommendation be if user X cannot upgrade from Windows 2000/98 or even NT 4

dotnetjunkie wrote: Everyone on the surface of this earth who owns a PC can afford a Windows XP Home license.
It costs less than 5 dollar cent a day.... (!)
That so damn cheap that even the poorest PC owner can afford it.

What do you mean by "can't" upgrade. The machine does not have the RAM/HD requirements? I mean I can't upgrade my original IBM PC XT either. I can't upgrade my truck to a Hummer. What is the real question here?

rjdohnert
You will never know success until you know failure

The question here Tigger is what is Microsofts recommendation for users who cannot upgrade? Now lets pretend the mother is broke, has no money, has no relatives getting rid of XP boxes. He has to either stick with Windows 2000 because he doesnt want to pirate the XP OS. Oh and he doesnt like Linux. Are there any applications that Microsoft specifically recommends for users like this.

staceyw wrote:

rjdohnert wrote: You are missing the point. What if they cant upgrade due to some reason. I am not looking for the answer on how much XP costs Im asking what would the recommendation be if user X cannot upgrade from Windows 2000/98 or even NT 4

dotnetjunkie wrote: Everyone on the surface of this earth who owns a PC can afford a Windows XP Home license.
It costs less than 5 dollar cent a day.... (!)
That so damn cheap that even the poorest PC owner can afford it.

What do you mean by "can't" upgrade. The machine does not have the RAM/HD requirements? I mean I can't upgrade my original IBM PC XT either. I can't upgrade my truck to a Hummer. What is the real question here?

Cybermagellan
Live for nothing, or die for everything

Sure "other applications the OS will support". Has Microsoft said if you can't upgrade it's OK, this is what you should use and you'll be happy? No, I don't think they have.

I'm going to play devils advocate here...

Intel® Celeron® D Processor 325 (2.53 GHz, 533 FSB)

Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition

17 inch E773 (16 inch viewable) Conventional CRT [Included in Price]

$299

I can donate enough plasma to get that...

AndyC

rjdohnert wrote:
The question here Tigger is what is Microsofts recommendation for users who cannot upgrade?

Microsoft TV ads wrote:
With a world of software and devices which run on Windows...

There is a lot of third-party apps out there, Microsoft don't object to you using them. I don't think it's their place to necessarily recommend specific solutions though.