So I have been using XP on my desktop for 7 years or more. Yesterday when I
switched it on it told me that I may be using pirated software and that I
should load some of their software to tell me more.
Actually I recall running many tests for genuine advantage for legal software that never had a problem.
I duly downloaded it again only to find that
the distribution used to install on my machine had been blocked by Microsoft (so
it was a legal copy until they blocked it – for making too many copies, I guess,)
and click to learn more. I did say I had it for 7 years, right?
Is it not possible it was one of the legal copies made with this copy when it was legal?
Anyway I clicked and it eventually
told me that XP support is being dropped and I could not buy a legal version,
even if I wanted to, but that I should test my machine to see if I could run
Version 7.
I downloaded the software to test
my machine and it gave me a list of over 100 different problems – including a
hardware management system incompatibility. Some of the solutions were free,
but most needed a paid upgrade and of course the hardware problem.
This is now my dilemma. So I can’t
get a legal copy and I can’t get an upgrade and even if tried a later version,
paid for all the upgrades, the hardware would not support it.
So why only now 7 years later do they suddenly decide that I may have an illegal copy and this by some arbitrary of their own making. I can think of a few.
Perhaps they want to force me to buy an upgrade - well that was a waste of time.
Perhaps they suddenly found a loop hole in their own supplied software - so how is this my problem?
Why not offer me Vista? Perhaps they know better, but it surely will run on my hardware?
Oh I know. They would like me to try Linux to see if that runs on my hardware. What a good idea. I think I will do that.
