Philip Thomas

Woking

I.T. and Project manager with more than 44 years in the industry

Well, sod them. I am off to an Apple Mac and if necessary will pay for my files to be converted. How dare they impose on us what OS we can use. XP has proved to be exceedingly stable (except when Microsoft launched Service Pack 2 which totally messed up my computer and lost all my files).
Does the name Microsoft reflect the brain power of the decision makers in that company? Windows 3.1 was the very best O.S. they ever produced.
I would like to say it surprises me that they have done this, but it doesn't. XP is perfectly fit for purpose and did not need to be withdrawn. My prime gripe is the stupid growth in the size of files brought on by the new O.S. Back in Windows 1.1 (yes, I am an old fart) a complete letter written in the predecessor to Word occupied about 1K of storage. Now, if I type "Dear" not only do I get that stupid paper-clip asking if it can help me write a letter (and it cannot) but if I save just the word "Dear" it occupies 20kb. Why? Will the new Vista use even more and more storage space as new versions proliferate? Join me in the exodus to Apple Mac. they are far better machines and even look better and anyway, Microsoft needs to learn another lesson as we all decamp.