Careful guys, Windows 10 is now being forced on users.

[SID297]

At this time I see no reason to move my older machines to 10. They are rock solid on 7. However, I do look forward to picking up a new one with 10 on it.

I have an old netbook, which I like to write articles with, that's still on XP. The older OS is much easier on its weaker hardware.

 

[DHG1078]

Anybody that runs a website that uses security certificates, will need to be running on TLS 1.2 or SHA-256 encryption by July 2015. So any encrypted site you visit, which is places like Amazon, Facebook, YouTube, any website you purchase things from etc.

The effect is this, the old checksums for TLS and SSL are out of date and can more easily be compromised and as a result mandating a higher level encryption is necessary to safe guard information and maintain privacy.

The big problems is that there's a lot of devices and software out there that was never designed to support TLS 1.2 or SHA-256 encryption standards. Android for instance doesn't support TLS 1.2 until OS 5. For Mac users it's probably worse and will require a mandetory update to their operating system so that they can use a Safari browser post Safari 7 which doesn't support TLS 1.2.

When that switch is flipped if you have a device, web browser or OS architecture that doesn't support modern encryption, you're going to find that doing anything online will be difficult.

These are some of the reasons Microsoft is likely forcing updates, they don't want to have to dick around with an operating system that is almost 7 years old at this point. Fortunate for Windows 7 users is that the checksums aren't embedded in Windows but instead in the browser of your choice. Since most people keep their browser's updated and companies like Google and Mozilla still support the platform, the TLS update should be fairly transparent. But the point is there that at some point you have to upgrade.

EDIT: I skimmed through our PCI mandates and posted the page here. It looks like the standard enforcement date was pushed back late last year. to possibly in 2018, which gives a lot of extra time. You can read about why this is happening however in the link below.

http://blog.pcisecuritystandards.org/migrating-from-ssl-and-early-tls

Thanks for the info!

At this time I see no reason to move my older machines to 10. They are rock solid on 7. However, I do look forward to picking up a new one with 10 on it.

I have an old netbook, which I like to write articles with, that's still on XP. The older OS is much easier on its weaker hardware.

I won't be updating my old laptops to windows 10 either, but my wife seems to like the new one with windows 10. I also have a computer at work running XP. I only use it to run an old autocad software along with some custom programs written into it. I still like it though, and because it isn't connected to the internet and hasn't been updated in forever it still runs smooth and surprisingly fast.

 

[DHG1078]

double post

 

[BlueSnake01]

When is the deadline to “upgrade” for free? Looks like there are still mix feelings of it. Win 7 has been rock solid for me and love the graphics over it but if Win 10 is “better” then I might jump on it. Heard the earlier stages were still buggy.

I mostly use my PC for simple web usage, rarely play games on it now even though it has the hardware for it, and mainly used as a Plex Server.

 

[Troponin]

If they give me a free disc, I'll give it a shot. Problem is, I build and maintain my own computers, and not having a disc to reinstall is a deal breaker for me.

 

[Torch10th]

If they give me a free disc, I'll give it a shot. Problem is, I build and maintain my own computers, and not having a disc to reinstall is a deal breaker for me.

You can make a USB or disc based boot with the download. There's instructions all over the web on how to do that, and they are even provided during installation if you are choosing to do a complete format of the machine at the time.

 

[Blk04L]

Man, that would suck. Our plotters work with 7, but not with 8.

Doubt it would work on 10 if 8 can't connect.

 

[CobraBob]

I think a concern is all the rumors with Win10 coming along with lots of big brother inside. Many rumors that it was free so gov't/Microsoft can spy on citizens. When was the last time a new operating system was free?

Apple? I've had 3 different Apple OSs on my MacBook Pro Retina and all were free. So not surprising that MS would follow suit. I think a bigger concern is that there are a ton of diehard Windows XP users out there. Users who really don't want Windows 7, 8 or 10. JMO.

 

[bglf83]

Apple? I've had 3 different Apple OSs on my MacBook Pro Retina and all were free. So not surprising that MS would follow suit. I think a bigger concern is that there are a ton of diehard Windows XP users out there. Users who really don't want Windows 7, 8 or 10. JMO.

When they charge double the price of Windows hardware, I would hope free proprietary software updates are provided.

 

[CobraBob]

When they charge double the price of Windows hardware, I would hope free proprietary software updates are provided.

You're reaching a bit. That's a broad statement since we all know there are dozens of Windows machines on the market, each with varying quality/configurations. Apple's hardware list is quite narrow. To qualify your statement you're going to have to compare an Apple computer with a Windows machine with the same configuration (and level of quality). No way is it going to be double the cost of the Windows equivalent.

 

[Torch10th]

You're reaching a bit. That's a broad statement since we all know there are dozens of Windows machines on the market, each with varying quality/configurations. Apple's hardware list is quite narrow. To qualify your statement you're going to have to compare an Apple computer with a Windows machine with the same configuration (and level of quality). No way is it going to be double the cost of the Windows equivalent.

This

I've long since stopped buying apple computers because of their forced obsolescence spiral, but CobraBob is absolutely correct here. You can't compare a $300.00 Toshiba laptop to a MacBook. It's like comparing a Civic to a Corvette.