[mdlug] Win XP Replacement

[Ingles, Raymond]

> From: gib at juno.com

> Microsoft has indicated they will discontinue support for Widows XP.
> Does anyone know of a replacement for Windows XP? Our vendor's software runs only on Windows XP (not newer operating systems from Microsoft).

Your options:

0. Find replacement software that runs on a supported OS. By far the best option.

1. Keep a machine running XP. You won't get any security updates, so either (1) don't ever let it get on a network, nor allow anyone to attach media to it, or (2) audit it regularly to look for malware. Note: if malware gets on it, that can be used to stage an attack on *other* machines on the network. Do not underestimate the risk there.

2. See if the app will run under Wine.

3. See if the app will run on a Windows XP virtual machine (VMWare, KVM, even Bochs). Same caveats about network and media.

4. Hope ReactOS (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ReactOS ) gets mature enough to use.