Will xp be usable in 5 years?

I wouldn't mind getting some more info on that myself...I'd love to know what 9x/NT4/2K users do for their banking, since most if not all compatible browsers for those OSes are now having issues with a lot of sites (not just banking ones).

 

The only thing that will be a challenge I see with continuing with XP is that some browsers, apps like Skype and tax preparation software no longer work with XP.

 

The main problem users of 'outdated' software have, is no support by current hardware. You buy the latest and greatest inkjet printer, only to find out it has no support, no drivers, no nothing for Windows XP. Same thing for when you need to replace a graphics card or motherboard. Users of Windows 98 & Win 2000 have solved this by buying such spare parts before they are needed, in effect banking or stockpiling them for future use. For my custom-build in progress, I have three motherboards, two graphics cards, two sound cards, two monitors, etc. set aside for future use, and chosen specifically to run XP Pro. These 'legacy' parts were (when I started collecting) quite cheap, as all the 'tards wanted to get rid of their old stuff, and buy the 'latest'n'greatest'n'biggest'n'bestest'. Not so anymore, as the prices are now continuously rising, so the time to stockpile the essentials is now. Just figure out what you will need to keep XP going for as long as you want, then buy it now, instead of waiting a year from now, when it will be twice as hard to find, and twice as expensive!

Same for software. Support for XP is steadily being dropped. Emsisoft used to offer premier antimalware/antivirus for XP....no longer. One cannot even find their old versions to download anywhere. Now is the time to 'bank' XP compatible software as well. Figure out what you are most likely to need, download from safe sites, burn to DVD, and archive for the future.

 

This is an excellent point, and I'm hoping to be able to stockpile as much as I possibly can as far as XP-compatible hardware/software is concerned. Thank you for your insights!

 

Yes this is true for any outdated OS. Very good post.

 

I tried this link and got a "Your connection is not secure" warning from Firefox.

 

Same thing for me on Centaury 52.9.0 and MyPal 28.0.1.

 

I am not very knowledgeable about this. Could you give me some general ideas about what hardware I need to buy for future use?

 

In general, Janice, I would recommend stockpiling Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge-era hardware, because those were the last Intel microarchitectures which officially supported Windows XP.

 

I think the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 9xx series were the last to support XP, correct?

 

That is true. I believe the last GeForce card to officially support XP is the GTX960.

 

Would be better that it supported the 10xx series

 

I agree. The GTX960 actually isn't bad, though--by XP standards, it may even be overkill!