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Survey Results

How important is backwards compatibility in an Operating System   [Edit]

Survey period: 2 Jun 2008 to 9 Jun 2008

We want new operating systems to be faster, better, stronger and safer, but we want our old apps too. What tradeoff is fair? (Suggested by Bill Shadish)

OptionVotes% 
Critical. Everything that ran on the old OS should run correctly on the new18917.66
Important. Everything should run correctly unless there is a security or other critical issue55351.68
Moderately Important. Most things should work correctly23622.06
Not very important. If old apps run correctly then good for it928.60



 
GeneralVirtual machines Pin
Douglas Troy4-Jun-08 6:45
Douglas Troy4-Jun-08 6:45 
GeneralRe: Virtual machines Pin
John M. Drescher4-Jun-08 8:13
John M. Drescher4-Jun-08 8:13 
GeneralRe: Virtual machines Pin
Rezak9-Jun-08 22:20
Rezak9-Jun-08 22:20 
GeneralRe: Virtual machines Pin
tanghe10-Jun-08 4:31
tanghe10-Jun-08 4:31 
GeneralBackward compat is a burden. Pin
nmarcel3-Jun-08 6:57
nmarcel3-Jun-08 6:57 
GeneralRe: Backward compat is a burden. Pin
Ware@Work3-Jun-08 7:17
Ware@Work3-Jun-08 7:17 
GeneralRe: Backward compat is a burden. Pin
1.21 Gigawatts3-Jun-08 22:08
1.21 Gigawatts3-Jun-08 22:08 
GeneralRe: Backward compat is a burden. Pin
User 1942896-Jun-08 2:53
User 1942896-Jun-08 2:53 
GeneralRe: Backward compat is a burden. Pin
ThatsAlok3-Jun-08 22:49
ThatsAlok3-Jun-08 22:49 
GeneralRe: Backward compat is a burden. Pin
theredhead4-Jun-08 1:51
theredhead4-Jun-08 1:51 

planned obsolescence is not good. I want to use my purchases as long as possible.

WarePhreak



Thats a moot point, just because a new OS comes out, doesn't mean you have to install it on your antique hardware. And just because you have a 2008 computer doesn't mean you should be able to run windows 95 on it either, that's why we have virtual machine technology (amongst other things)

I say stop keeping age old crap code in the OS just because someone might be using it. if they are using it now they're obviously using it on hardware that supports it (or already properly virtualized) so there is no need whatsoever to worry about it for more than maybe one generation of OS versions.

Keeping all that old code means you need heavier hardware everytime, we can never get a clean, lean OS with all the legacy support, nor proper security etc.

My vote goes to: Backwards compatibility is utterly unimportant.

Kris

/^([b]{2}|[^b]{2})$/

GeneralRe: Backward compat is a burden. Pin
Ware@Work4-Jun-08 3:04
Ware@Work4-Jun-08 3:04 
GeneralRe: Backward compat is a burden. Pin
theredhead4-Jun-08 3:42
theredhead4-Jun-08 3:42 
GeneralRe: Backward compat is a burden. Pin
ThatsAlok4-Jun-08 6:17
ThatsAlok4-Jun-08 6:17 
GeneralRe: Backward compat is a burden. PinPopular
Heywood4-Jun-08 5:54
Heywood4-Jun-08 5:54 
GeneralIt all depends on the public previews Pin
snorkie3-Jun-08 6:03
professionalsnorkie3-Jun-08 6:03 
QuestionScrolling Data grid [modified] Pin
EzhilarasiMSc2-Jun-08 19:30
EzhilarasiMSc2-Jun-08 19:30 
AnswerRe: Scrolling Data grid Pin
Cristian Amarie2-Jun-08 19:57
Cristian Amarie2-Jun-08 19:57 
AnswerRe: Scrolling Data grid Pin
Vasudevan Deepak Kumar3-Jun-08 19:09
Vasudevan Deepak Kumar3-Jun-08 19:09 
AnswerRe: Scrolling Data grid Pin
ScottM15-Jun-08 20:07
ScottM15-Jun-08 20:07 
JokeRe: Scrolling Data grid Pin
Vasudevan Deepak Kumar6-Jun-08 4:28
Vasudevan Deepak Kumar6-Jun-08 4:28 
GeneralIt depends... Pin
Cristian Amarie2-Jun-08 9:00
Cristian Amarie2-Jun-08 9:00 
RantThe OS should be upgraded ONLY when it outgrows the hardware Pin
Programmer Dor2-Jun-08 8:21
Programmer Dor2-Jun-08 8:21 
GeneralRe: The OS should be upgraded ONLY when it outgrows the hardware Pin
vobject2-Jun-08 20:30
vobject2-Jun-08 20:30 
GeneralRe: The OS should be upgraded ONLY when it outgrows the hardware Pin
theredhead4-Jun-08 3:49
theredhead4-Jun-08 3:49 
JokeCListCtrl's compatibility Pin
Vasudevan Deepak Kumar2-Jun-08 3:47
Vasudevan Deepak Kumar2-Jun-08 3:47 

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