BYE BYE XP.............. !!!!!

Let me clarify first that I am not making any official announcements of ending of XP (I guess though they have already declared the date for it). I am just writing the post because of all my feelings attached with this operating system with which I have almost spend my entire life so far. Recently I upgraded to windows 7. Now all of you must be using Windows 7 for guess 3 or 4 years so it’s no big deal for you but for some reasons I decided to stick to XP for a really long period and now I am giving up on it eventually.

Now, from where I should start? So many memories are associated with XP. I started working on XP as soon it was launched in market (or as soon it reached Ujjain) and I really enjoyed the change. Everything was so colorful, so bright, everything looked upgraded and new, it was like entering into a complete new dimension. While I started my computer journey with Windows 95, I have learnt most of it with Windows 98. 98 was so simple, basic and easy to use operating system, I always consider it like father of all new modern operating system or more like a switch from basic computing operating system to an entire new generation of operating system supporting multimedia, gaming and other cool stuff.

I still remember the big windows icon that flashed on opening 98. The simple yet elegant start menu and task bar. The simple screen and icons and everything was so simple and the beauty of using 98 always lied in its simplicity and that somehow increased the magnitude of delight on using XP. Everything was fresh and new, bright and cheerful; XP always resembled ‘youth’ as it was full of life and energy. The green start button; the use of ‘TURN OFF’ word instead of ‘SHUT DOWN COMPUTER’; the starting wallpaper showing clouds, mountains and greenery, every change was very positive and appealing to a young child just getting familiar with computers. Even after XP, I used 98 for a relatively large period of time (I finally quit it in 2006) and ever since there was a monopoly of XP in both my desktop and laptop.

Though I indeed switched to windows 7 when it was introduced, but the earlier versions were quite unstable and there was some display driver problem in my version and so I regressed back to XP. I guess I was the only person in my class using XP and many people indeed find it weird but guess other operating systems were never able to make such a profound impact on people’s life as XP did and recently I read somewhere that XP is still in great demand and majority of people still use it. Ironically, I am writing this article on my desktop which is still having XP and as its hardware constraint would never allow it to upgrade, I guess I will always remain in touch with XP. Also, in our college labs every pc is having XP so XP is something that we can never leave permanently for say some more years.

Nowadays most of the people have upgraded to Windows 8 and I guess I will also install it after 3 or 4 years. I am enjoying Windows 7 as of now though I was not very comfortable with it in the first half hour and there was always a tempt to insert the Windows XP Service Pack 2 CD again but some how I get over it.

Kids nowadays are beginning their childhood with computer so I guess they will never understand the thrill of switching from normal video game to a PC game, from Windows 98 to Windows XP, playing GTA Vice City or Age of Empire in your new upgraded operating system and see, feel and enjoy the changes from the old operating system. At times I still miss listening to songs on my 2 speaker in high volume as with laptop we use headphones most of the time. Life is changing from bulky to micro and though the change is convenient sometimes it’s not enjoyable. The upgrades in life will go on but the enjoyments they are going to provide will only decrease in magnitude as we are getting used to the comfort.