Microsoft will end support for XP on April 7th next year, after that date there will be no more updates.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/04/08/windows_xp_one_year_to_live/
Am not sure how old the Tosh laptop was but I find Ubuntu is getting a bit ressource hungry these days, I dual boot a number of machines with Ubuntu but the slower ones can take an age to boot. My difficulty in switching older users to Linux is what to do when it goes wrong, they don't want to see a terminal looks like. If Linux updated in the same way as Windows then it would be easier. Or do we just say that Linux systems don't need updating ?
I did see a Linux variant once that looked identical to XP but I presume that was an illegal lookalike, shame because it would have been an easy solution for some folk
Steve
PS With XP being so old, how many loopholes can there be left for the bug writers to find ?
PPS No news from my siser, is she struggling with Win8 or opening the box ?
Oh, I don't think I can agree with Linux having a steeper learning curve than Windows 8 Steve ;-). I have seen many people struggle with Windows 8, and then switch it into desktop mode. They would have been better off with Windows 7. I do agree with the hardware point, but Linux will run on virtually anything, and I installed Ubuntu 12.10 onto a really old Toshiba laptop last evening.
The owner had given up on the machine ever functioning properly again with all the problems it had. Once installed it ran fine, and even with 1GB of RAM, worked well and response was good.
I think give Linux a try before dismissing it, many people use it and are happy, it just depends on your use case. As the article pointed out, Linux Mint , offers a very Windows XP type interface and would help a lot of people migrate.
I most certainly would not recommend staying with a completely unsupported OS , no matter who made it. That could be a very , very expensive mistake.
Most people running XP will not have machines capable of running Win8 or even Win7. With Linux having a steeper learning curve than Windows 8, I don't really see that any of those options are any better than telling people to stick with XP and take the risk. At least until their PC (or they) pass on.
Will be interesting to see how my computer savvy (older) sister gets on with her new Win8 laptop that Dell should have delivered today,
Here is a great article on the options available to people looking to move away from Windows XP, sooner rather than later.
I think the watch word is not to just jump to Windows 8, as without a touch screen, it really makes no sense on laptop/desktop. If you must have Windows, then their new ARM based version RT could be useful, but you will pay a premium for a device where you can get better from Apple and Android.
Hopes this helps your decisions.
Regards
Nick
It is not really possible to update to the new/latest windows 8 with an old computer even though people think you can. It would be wise to thoroughly check which system you can update to before purchasing. There are some good reviews around from people that have tried the upgrade and run into problems.
I imagine this is a marketing ploy and MS will face a load of criticsim because it will affect a huge amount of computers especially third World ones. So my advice would be to wait because XP is good.
Good find Steve.
I have been advising people to get off XP for years. The IE browser problem alone is worth the effort.
It is also a good time for people to reflect on what they use their computers for, and if they can switch to a tablet and smartphone instead of investing in a device that is far less portable and flexible. Good quality lightweight notebooks are very expensive , no matter who you buy them from , so unless you need that power why waste your money.
It will be interesting to see how many people are still using XP in 2015, as there will be some ;-)