yeah I was wondering if they had to use the whole fist when I tried windows 8

SystemD makes sense as it is event based. Solaris and MacOSX have moved beyond init and it makes sense.

How do you setup initd on a Macbook where it is on one network, falls asleep, then wakes up on another? Scenarios such as this and others such as detecting when an apache server gets compromised you can set a chain of commands to do things based on events.

Yes it is different and unix admins hate changes that require years worth of scripts to go obsolete.

But initd is from a different era where a typical server ran 3 or 4 daemons and maybe had a few dozen unix command line options if you were lucky. That is long gone today.

Such as ...?

FYI I am typing this on a Windows 7 system I have at home. I use more yes I use VMware workstation with my 16 gigs of ram to simulate domains and do testing and lab work to sharpen my IT skills. But I am not typical. So I am not a 50 year old who hates change at all and wanted to clear that up first.

Security wise excluded XP works for business except in niche cases I see and it is very very expensive to switch and gpos, app certification, and many other steps are needed for something that is not required does not make sense.

I do not know of any use a typical office worker could not do on a Windows 3.11 486? The only except is poorly written javascript ajax websites but that is considered off task on the job anyway.

XP works for 1/3 of the users on the internet. Windows hit the maturity point with XP and now there is no reason to ever change. As the years go by when 2019 hits and Windows 7 goes EOL anyone needing more than 16 gigs of ram and a non raid SSD will be even a much smaller niche. Again no need to change unless MS wants more money.

Yes you like technology and some newer graphical effects and kernel features are cool. But HR does not utilize 4 cpu cores to write a report, check email, and go to taleo to screen an applicant. This is a new age and yes post PC era. Phones need upgrading hell of a lot more than desktops as the benefits go down each new release.

LOL comparing an OS to a rectal examination. Only on Slashdot.

At work we use i5's which are brand new with 8 gigs of ram and put XP on them.

When the time is right we will re-image them. We are still upgrading Pentium IV's.

You are right. I can't tell the difference between a reception typing a letter in word 2003 on a p4 vs an i5. She can work just as fast and albeit slower on Windows 7/office 2010 as she may not be familiar with the ribbon yet.

People at work use older IE so that issue of 20 tabs is mute as Chrome is a pig and not a good example of a well written app.

Excel will work just as fast on a pIV unless the finance guru runs a custom VBA application running calculus in excel that number crunches (very rare I may add unless it is a niche app). But for light excel pie charts a 386 can display things as fast for 95% of spreadsheet work as computers today are very very very fast.

A typical office latchkey can do office work fine with 512 megs of ram on XP. Yes it will boot slowly and he will have to come in 5 minutes early. But only the engineers, developers, and servers need anything more for light office work.

You can edit photos fine with 512 megs of ram if you use Adobe CS2 which is free and what XP users would be using. IE 8 runs fine with 512 megs of ram too. So why change if people can still get work done just as well?

Sure a new $600 computer sounds trivial for a user but when you are complex you have +20 GPOs (some are not win 7 compatible), apps, fussy apps, OU changes, and many many other issues it gets expensive and a pain in the butt requiring consultants, +20 temps, and production impacts as bugs arise.

XP is not just a toy. It is the pillar upon all business processes and software rest upon. Quite a big under taking.

Or bad IT worker test.

Do not be surprised when management views you as incompetent when you suggest to spend millions to replace a perfectly good working platform that just works and generates hundreds of millions of dollars all because it isn't new?!

ATMs generate trillions in revenue for the banks! They are mission critical and work just fine. Why take risk with no ROI??!

If it aint broke DONT FIX IT. XP works and does the job as well as Windows 7. Sure you can name some kernel features to me and the cost accountants yada yada but our response will always be "How does this help raise the shareprice or boast productivity?" Can the receptionist type faster? Can our accountants put numbers faster? The answer is NO!

So it sounds like IT is doing the right thing with sticking with XP until MS forces us to change. Yes it is 13 years old but so are many pieces of equipment in a business. If they work you keep them. Windows needs to give us a productivity boast. If not the old os stays. Simple as that.

100% true and why corps love XP. 90% of staff run fine off a pentuimIV so the cost accountants will find a better use of the money

Well things cost money. Yes we pay for them. That is life as you would be pissed of one person paid you for something and I took it for free and gave your work away to others right?

That amount wont cover the cost for a whole year. It is the combined total.

Software never ages. It can run forever.

However, yes updates do come into play depending on use. Citigroup has a 45 year old mainframe app to do its processing. There is no need to upgrade and the punchcards will lost many decades ago so it can never be updated.

Please

Yes I was for people keeping XP too if there was no reason to upgrade.

However software does need updating. Look at the openssl heartbeat bug? Linux and apache have many that Slashdot mysteriously never report and lazy unix admins never upgrade which are constantly hacked! Java has issues. .NET has issues. Windows has issues. Solaris has issues. Nuclear reactor software written in freaking cobol for Digital's pre-VMS OS is still being updated today and run on PDP-11's in Europe.

Sometimes things change like standards, new hardware, new currency rules, timezone changes in law, etc.

Let me flip this?

What can you do on a nice shiny new i5core Dell box that your XP system can not?

Can you type faster? Can you think faster? Do webpages load up faster? Do pie charts in excel pop up quicker?

Where are the productivity enhancements to pay for this investment?? ... I am waiting. That's right there is none. So it is not an asset. It is a cost center and an expense. This is why XP is still around.

It works and the cost is already set. Instead of blowing millions like my employer is upgrading how about the millions be used to raise the share price higher? Isn't that the goal of business? Or hire new salespeople? Or buy new factories? Or upgrade trucks to lower costs? All those bring in more revenue than the cost so therefore they are a profit center and an asset.

Look you like technology like many of us and that is great. But at some point it is trivial eye candy. If security wasn't an issue no one would bother upgrading except enthusiasts.

Do you really want your personal information on a vulnerable system where a Russian hacker can make a killing selling your identity? Do you still back that up in such a case?