I've been a spectator of the OS wars since the monster IBM and its pet monster Microsoft used the unreasoning influence given them by their lemming customer base to kill CPM, Commodore OS and pretty much all the other (TI, HDOS) fledgling OSes for the PC. Subsequently Microsoft was able to backstab IBM and establish essentially a monopoly position with Apple OS picking up the scraps.
For a while, there was actually some competition to give customers better products at better prices, but as Microsoft crushed their competition (and the US Justice(sic) Department) we were left with the sole choice of buying their crap again and yet again every few months. I've never liked paying more than once for a significant capital good unless the 'upgrade' actually provided better performance. As far as I can tell, in the basic applications: Powerpoint, Access, Excel and Word, no such improvement has been possible once feature creep pegged out and their programmers were reduced to simply moving the controls around in order to justify their paychecks. My move has been to buy obsolete OS licenses as part of obsolete computers and re-install them on faster machines giving primo performance because the newer machines are designed in conjunction with obese operating systems. (Possibly apocryphal quote from Intel designer, "If we didn't bring your system to its knees every few years, why would you buy a new one?) For a while, I also held Microsoft stock to play on the non-customer side of the game.
As a side benefit, there are very few virus programmers still interested in W98 or XP.
There have been a couple of new applications for the desktop: Microsoft crushed Netscape to steal the browser market in the '90s and Google has gotten rich selling their customers information to other ginormous companies, but by and large the only changes have been in menu arrangement. This provides a benefit to newcomers because they aren't saddled with knowing how to use a piece of software that, as everybody can plainly see, is obsolete and inferior
Hence they can be every bit as expert as operators who've spent years becoming adept. It gives HR people an endless supply of cheap labor rather than having to pay for experience.
I'm not sure where streaming (that is monetizing in a small way the intellectual property of content producers who would otherwise have it stolen by bit-torrent thieves) is going to end up, but I expect it to fail similarly to open air broadcast media: old re-runs and reality shows that don't cost much to produce.
But I'm not bitter.
So I voted for XP. It is the last OS from Microsoft where I have full CDs are available for re-installs. It is where I got off the treadmill and I don't stay current.
I have XP on half a dozen machines on my home network and have never paid more than $30 for a desktop with OS or $40 for a laptop. Several of these machines are dual boot Linux because Microsoft has armies of programmers whose job it is to defeat my non-payment for use of their software and I want an alternative. It is also because I have adapted LinuxCNC to run a CNC mill I own and to hack a Cricut stencil cutter (from another evil, customer hating company, Craft Edge.)
For a while, there was actually some competition to give customers better products at better prices, but as Microsoft crushed their competition (and the US Justice(sic) Department) we were left with the sole choice of buying their crap again and yet again every few months. I've never liked paying more than once for a significant capital good unless the 'upgrade' actually provided better performance. As far as I can tell, in the basic applications: Powerpoint, Access, Excel and Word, no such improvement has been possible once feature creep pegged out and their programmers were reduced to simply moving the controls around in order to justify their paychecks. My move has been to buy obsolete OS licenses as part of obsolete computers and re-install them on faster machines giving primo performance because the newer machines are designed in conjunction with obese operating systems. (Possibly apocryphal quote from Intel designer, "If we didn't bring your system to its knees every few years, why would you buy a new one?) For a while, I also held Microsoft stock to play on the non-customer side of the game.
As a side benefit, there are very few virus programmers still interested in W98 or XP.
There have been a couple of new applications for the desktop: Microsoft crushed Netscape to steal the browser market in the '90s and Google has gotten rich selling their customers information to other ginormous companies, but by and large the only changes have been in menu arrangement. This provides a benefit to newcomers because they aren't saddled with knowing how to use a piece of software that, as everybody can plainly see, is obsolete and inferior
Hence they can be every bit as expert as operators who've spent years becoming adept. It gives HR people an endless supply of cheap labor rather than having to pay for experience.I'm not sure where streaming (that is monetizing in a small way the intellectual property of content producers who would otherwise have it stolen by bit-torrent thieves) is going to end up, but I expect it to fail similarly to open air broadcast media: old re-runs and reality shows that don't cost much to produce.
But I'm not bitter.
So I voted for XP. It is the last OS from Microsoft where I have full CDs are available for re-installs. It is where I got off the treadmill and I don't stay current.
I have XP on half a dozen machines on my home network and have never paid more than $30 for a desktop with OS or $40 for a laptop. Several of these machines are dual boot Linux because Microsoft has armies of programmers whose job it is to defeat my non-payment for use of their software and I want an alternative. It is also because I have adapted LinuxCNC to run a CNC mill I own and to hack a Cricut stencil cutter (from another evil, customer hating company, Craft Edge.)
So how, exactly, does God know that She's NOT a brain in a vat? 
