Members of the ISP-Tech list find vastly different rates of Windows XP adoption across the United States. You might expect, for example, that a retirement home would lag behind, but you would be wrong. . .

[January 8, 2002]

On the ISP-Tech list in December, PF warned,

"The 'fix' that Microsoft has released for Windows XP is only one of many flaws. We've tested over 1500 third-party software programs, and fewer than two thirds of them work on XP. We're suggesting that all our customers remain on a reliable OS like 98SE. Is anyone else doing the same?"

A number of respondents suggested that there's nothing wrong with XP, and nothing special about 98SE:

[VB laughed] "I've found exactly one piece of software that wouldn't run under XP. You might not be able to run software that's three or four revisions behind, but that's about it-and I don't think there's anything so great about 98SE."

[RG agreed] "Windows 98SE is about four years old now; I think it's time to give up the ghost. It was nice in its day, but its incessant blue screening was enough to make even the mildest computer user want to toss their box out the window."

PF contended that it's all about keeping your users happy and comfortable:

"The perception of the public is that XP is not safe, and not ready for market. The initial reaction of the first XP users in our area was, 'It's so different; so complicated.' The security issues, even with downloadable fixes, were the last straw. The public just doesn't want XP: they can't get older programs to work right, and they're scared of the security issues."

Others argued that such fears aren't worth worrying about:

[RJ warned] "The general public will eventually be forced to make the change to XP, and whether it's now or later is irrelevant. If everyone wanted to stay comfortable and easy, do you think we would be where we are today? That mentality breeds sloth and stagnation, two things that we need no more of in our society."

[TB added] "XP can be set in Classic Mode, and they will have the look and feel of older Windows. Microsoft isn't entirely stupid."

CT noted that, for some users, XP is a godsend:

"I'm currently the IT manager for a retirement community. Many of our residents received computers for Christmas, and all of them had XP on them. I've had a far easier time working with these people on XP than on 98SE, and we're talking about people in their 80s and 90s.

People generally like the user interface, they like the new Start menu, and they like the stability. Out of all the systems we've used, XP has been the easiest for them to understand. Does XP need work? Sure. Does it require more work than Windows 98? No.

If you aren't willing to work with XP, you're going to find yourself with lots of people with new machines running XP that you can't support. And they'll gladly go elsewhere."

—End