The Life and Death of Microsoft Software

coondoggie writes "With Microsoft aiming to release Vista real soon now, they've been retiring older versions of the Windows OS. For IT outfits it's yet again time to evaluate what stays and what goes, and make plans for the future. Network World discusses the life cycle of Microsoft's software." From the article: "'Generally, it is a bad idea to run unsupported software, but there can be a business case to run it,' says Cary Shufelt, Windows infrastructure architect at Oregon State University, in Corvallis. The university still has some NT machines running in isolation in its labs. But Shufelt says there are security risks in allowing connections to legacy machines and that the university makes sure to minimize those risks. 'We don't allow [Windows] 9.x clients to connect to our Active Directory,' he says. 'But we try to stay current with technology so these issues don't typically come up.' Others say they also stay current to avoid headaches and fire drills."

Article Summary...

[Anonymous Coward]

Users may have custom software that does not work on new versions of Windows... could present IT challenges as Microsoft retires old products...

Nothing to see here... Move along...

All NT here

[Anonymous Coward]

The university still has some NT machines running in isolation in its labs.

All our Windows PCs run NT, from NT 4.0 to NT 5.2.

Joke

[ch-chuck]

I *knew* if I just type "microsoft life cycle humor" into google something would come up:

The Life Cycle of Software

      1. Programmer produces code he believes is bug-free.
      2. Product is tested. 20 bugs are found.
      3. Programmer fixes 10 of the bugs and explains to the testing department that the other 10 aren't really bugs.
      4. Testing department finds that five of the fixes didn't work and discovers 15 new bugs.
      5. See 3.
      6. See 4.
      7. See 5.
      8. See 6.
      9. See 7.
    10. See 8.
    11. Due to marketing pressure and an extremely pre-mature product announcement based on over-optimistic programming schedule, the product is released.
    12. Users find 137 new bugs.
    13. Original programmer, having cashed his royalty check, is nowhere to be found.
    14. Newly-assembled programming team fixes almost all of the 137 bugs, but introduce 456 new ones.
    15. Original programmer sends underpaid testing department a postcard from Fiji. Entire testing department quits.
    16. Company is bought in a hostile takeover by competitor using profits from their latest release, which had 783 bugs.
    17. New CEO is brought in by board of directors. He hires programmer to redo program from scratch.
    18. Programmer produces code he believes is bug-free.
    19. See step 2

Old versions of windows never die

[MECC]

They just slowly get virtualized....

You forgot:

[Anonymous Coward]

20. Profit.

Re:Joke

[AuMatar]

Pure fiction. What programmer gets a royalty check?

Re:The risk is not just direct

[Anonymous Coward]

MS application X wouldn't happen to be Internet Explorer, would it?

(I joke, but the IE situation is *almost* that sad, with it being very difficult to run more than one version at a time, and each version having its own special, quirky behaviour)

Re:Joke

[fishybell]

that is exactly why I left programming for new career as a linux sysadmin. ... oh wait.

Re:Joke

[OhThree]

Bad code, It'll never be released because of the infinite loop between line 3 and 5.

Re:The risk is not just direct

[caleb_is_a_dharmabum]

+1 car reference.

Wait a minute...

[pluther]

You mean, Microsoft used to support Windows?