Windows XP support for FT Analyzer to end in Nov 2014

Here is a statement from Alexander, reposted from another discussion.


FT Analyzer will no longer be supported on Windows XP as of November 2014 (perhaps sooner if I'm forced in that direction). So that is 6 months after Microsoft stops supporting XP.

I know that this will disappoint some but I program for enjoyment I cannot deliberately put myself through annoyance and pain of fighting against Microsoft's decision just to keep a dead Operating System alive. You have now got one years notice at least.

 

I was going to post that as a separate thing Tim I just got too tired.

 

I've changed the title, a bit to be clearer that its not FT Analyzer that will stop it is windows XP support.

To be clear Microsoft are withdrawing support for the tools that FTAnalyzer is built on. The newer version of the tools won't run on Windows XP so I face a dilemma, either upgrade to the newer tools and stop supporting Windows XP or keep with the old tools and be unable to support newer users on Windows 8.1.

Neither is a great option so I've decided to give a whole year's pre-warning that I'll not be able to continue supporting XP for very long after official Microsoft support ends on April 8th 2014. It sounds like it will be extra work making sure things still work on XP.

Now that said I've been reading about possible options to add settings to make it look like its on .Net 4.0 the framework that XP uses, however how/if that works I'm unsure about.

 

You've made a statement, and I think its the correct one to make.

My suggestion would be however, at the point you stop the XP supported app, you keep the last version available for any XP users. Yes it won't be updated with any new features, but there will be a known working version for existing and any new XP users.

 

One of the problems in the meantime is that the .Net 4.0 runtime files are no longer available from the Microsoft website so any new users that wish to use the program and have XP will be unable to do so due to a lack of the .Net 4.0 runtime files.

I'm investigating where they might be available. However part of the issue with providing them is it feeling like an untrusted source. There may be licensing implications too.

 

So, XP needs .net 4.0,
Win 7 needs .net x.x?
Win 8 needs .net 4.5?

Hopefully Win 7 is good with 4.5?

 

The matrix is :
XP pre-dates .Net, but can run .Net 1.0 through to .Net 4.0, (note only .Net 2.0 SP2 and above is supported)
Vista came with .Net 3.0 and can run anything up to .Net 4.5.1
Win 7 came with .Net 3.5 and can run anything up to .Net 4.5.1
Win 8 came with .Net 4.5 and can run anything up to .Net 4.5.1
Win 8.1 came with .Net 4.5.1 and can run anything up to .Net 4.5.1

When .Net 5.0 comes out (probably 2015) it is likely that Vista support will be dropped.

I've managed to find a location on the Microsoft support site where new users can download the .Net 4.0 client profile so I've updated the documentation on the front page to suit.

 

Thanks Alexander, so Win 7 has some mileage left in it then.

 

Given the visceral hatred of Win 8 expressed by many particularly in a corporate environment I think Win 7 is likely to go the way of XP ie: last far far longer than Microsoft would otherwise like it to. I suspect at least another 5 years probably nearer 8-10.

 

XP is still currently safe to use connected to the internet as you will always get the patches up to and including Apr 8 2014. It is when May 13th comes around that potential issues arise. May 13th is patch Tuesday so around 6pm UK time there will be a batch of fixes out for Microsoft products and for the first time those fixes will not be for XP.

The problem is that if any of those security fixes address issues that are also present in XP then you immediately have a point of weakness on XP that hackers can target. They can target that flaw knowing that Microsoft will never fix it. How long it takes hackers to write something will depend on how big an issue the security holes are. I'd expect at some point in the next 12 months for a pretty significant flaw will come to light and Microsoft will be under a lot of pressure to issue a fix. Especially since a very large number of XP machines are still in the public sector in local and national government offices both in UK and US. It will be interesting to see how Microsoft react to such public political pressure.

 

I heard the same thing. If they do patches for the governments, why wouldn't they then release it publicly?

 

Yes the thing that isn't clear in most coverage is what has ended is the period of extended support. Paid support is still available but the cost is prohibitive for ordinary users.

 

Its a fair point.