Ask Leo! #596 – Lets Talk, Doing it Over, Searching without Search, Searching for Support, and more…

If technology "just worked" it wouldn't stay that way for very long. Developers, programmers, etc would always try to upgrade or make things "new and improved". In the process technology would again fail while new bugs and glitches were fixed. It's a never ending cycle based on competing businesses wanting to have the best product (and most sales) as well as consumers not being satisfied with something that "just works". Doesn't matter if it's computer/smartphone related, or motor vehicles, or washing machines, or anything else that undergoes a "modernizing" process on a regular basis.

I understand that people will always try to improve upon existing technology - it's the nature of the beast. With improvements comes problems. Without improvements comes stagnation.

Leo, I agree with you totally, but also think you should add reading and comprehension. I see many forums, yours included, where somebody either did not read what you wrote, or did not comprehend what you wrote. And it is evident in their posting.

"Now, to be clear, there are two distinct camps: non-native speakers, for whom English is a second language, and those who've grown up speaking English." - Sadly, it's very often the case that non-native speakers have a better command of English than native speakers. I'm not sure whether that's an indictment of our education systems, or....

"It's not fair." - I think it's absolutely fair. Having the ability to communicate clearly is an important skill.

In addition to it just being "time" to update from XP, it's also necessary simply because it's DANGEROUS to continue using it. Like the Chevy with no seatbelts, there is true risk to keeping XP going. What Google is saying by pulling XP support from Chrome is, they CANNOT PROTECT YOU from a constantly evolving online threat environment. It's not XP's "fault" any more than it's Apple's "fault" that it can't keep Quicktime safe anymore. Its time has simply passed, and it's DANGEROUS to keep using it. And it's not just Chrome on XP: Internet Explorer isn't being updated anymore either for XP.

What sort of dangers are there online? Turning your computer into a spambot or other attack machine (happens all the time). An exploit that allows it to see your password when you log into your bank, or your email provider, or other important place. And will your local police be able to chase down the criminals in Thirdworldistan? Nope. Will you get your stolen money back? Probably not. It's time to upgrade to something that IS being supported.