[Discuss] Android Exploits Found in the Wild

[richard.pieri at gmail.com (Richard Pieri)]

Bill Bogstad wrote:
> He probably can't run Windows 8 on his IBM PC AT either even though he
> could probably run Windows 1.0.  At what point should it bother or not
> bother someone that they can't keep upgrading?

That's a good question. Per IRS regulations, computers have a life of 5 
years before their value depreciates to nothing. Microsoft actively 
supports Windows for ~5-8 years based on the Windows 2000 and Windows XP 
support cycles. Apple's hardware support for OS X runs along a similar 
5-6 year cycle.

Let's take a look at the minimum requirements for some of the games that 
I play frequently. Guild Wars 2 wants a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo. XCOM: Enemy 
Unknown has the same minimum requirement. Civ V wants a 1.8GHz Core 2 
Duo. The oldest of these supported CPUs were first available mid-2006 
and these are on the trailing edge.

Five to six years seems a good time to stop bothering unless you have a 
specific need to keep a specific box running. This is all on 
consumer-grade kit. Servers are in a different category as they're 
frequently under long-term maintenance contracts. You pay through the 
nose for support but if something breaks then the vendor will fix it 
including bugs in old operating system versions.

-- 
Rich P.