Legacy Applications getting harder to support

Is it just me or is there a disconnect between what OS and Software vendors sometimes do to alienate their customers.

Example: I have a client who uses a certain major vendor’s application in his business that only runs on Windows XP. Hey this is 2011! They have been promising to have a pending update to Vista then 7 compatibility for nearly 4 years now, but still nothing. The laptop in use to run this app is getting old. You can’t get a new one with XP of course, and the choices for hardware that will even run it are rapidly drying up. After a bunch of research I recommended an XPS L702x from Dell, since by all indications a full compliment of drivers for XP were available for this hardware. OOPS! Well for everything but the NVidia Display adapter, but even with all of the right drivers XP runs like a DOG! ARGGH.

Many More Windows Updates!!!

About a year ago, I reviewed the update history on my main office PC. It was placed in service in June 2006 and runs XP Pro. I occasionally check the update history just to… Oh I don’t know, boredom, curiosity. A year ago after 40 months in service the answer is 380. If it had been older the number would have been even more since this one was commissioned after the release of SP1!

Today just 1 year later the count is 520 (512 successful, 6 failed, 2 skipped?).

UPDATE (10/18/2010): That was before the most recent “Update Tuesday” October 12th. The count is now up to 536!!!

Wow! 380 Updates!!!

I just reviewed the update history on my main office PC.  It was placed in service in June 2006 and runs XP Pro.  I wanted to check the update history after the most recent flurry of “security” updates.  So I got curious to see how many it has had in total in the 3+ years it has been in service.  There’s the answer 380.  If it had been older the number would have been even more since this one was commissioned after the release of SP1!