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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



 
GeneralRe: Product Lifecycle should go hand-in-hand with the OS LifeCycle Pin
RichardM11-Jun-08 22:02
RichardM11-Jun-08 22:02 
GeneralRe: Product Lifecycle should go hand-in-hand with the OS LifeCycle Pin
Paul Watson2-Jun-08 0:24
sitebuilderPaul Watson2-Jun-08 0:24 
GeneralRe: Product Lifecycle should go hand-in-hand with the OS LifeCycle Pin
Paul Watson2-Jun-08 0:26
sitebuilderPaul Watson2-Jun-08 0:26 
GeneralBackwards compatibility is a bane Pin
Ennis Ray Lynch, Jr.1-Jun-08 18:26
Ennis Ray Lynch, Jr.1-Jun-08 18:26 
GeneralRe: Backwards compatibility is a bane Pin
Vasudevan Deepak Kumar1-Jun-08 18:35
Vasudevan Deepak Kumar1-Jun-08 18:35 
GeneralI use a fixed upgrade path/policy Pin
Ennis Ray Lynch, Jr.1-Jun-08 18:54
Ennis Ray Lynch, Jr.1-Jun-08 18:54 
GeneralRe: Backwards compatibility is a bane Pin
Viral Upadhyay1-Jun-08 19:15
Viral Upadhyay1-Jun-08 19:15 
AnswerRe: Backwards compatibility is a bane Pin
micmanos1-Jun-08 20:22
micmanos1-Jun-08 20:22 
I had the exact same thought about this matter but then Vista came along and i was seriously starting to reconsider. I'm not the Anti-Vista person but i think that breaking down compatibility hurts both the free & the commercial software community as well. Undoubtably it's good for the software business to purge and clean the dust since it keeps the market going but the implications on the end users are far too great in both organization, management, stability, trainning, ... etc.

Please don't get me wrong here, i'm not saying that compatibility should be all the way back to 8bit ... Poke tongue | ;-P

I'm just saying that a crucial computer component like the OS should never go off the market simply because it's OLD. Upgrading may be a forbidden word for many due to the extra work that may be required, so it's my humble opinion that such decisions should never be enforced in the name of 'software expiration' but should always have the consensus of the clients.

Greetings ... Smile | :)
GeneralRe: Backwards compatibility is a bane Pin
RichardM11-Jun-08 22:10
RichardM11-Jun-08 22:10 
GeneralRe: Backwards compatibility is a bane Pin
micmanos2-Jun-08 0:54
micmanos2-Jun-08 0:54 
GeneralRe: Backwards compatibility is a bane Pin
Geoff Gariepy2-Jun-08 3:14
Geoff Gariepy2-Jun-08 3:14 
GeneralSofa Pin
Xaero61391-Jun-08 18:03
Xaero61391-Jun-08 18:03 
GeneralRe: Sofa Pin
Vasudevan Deepak Kumar1-Jun-08 18:36
Vasudevan Deepak Kumar1-Jun-08 18:36 
GeneralRe: Sofa Pin
Eduard Alexandru1-Jun-08 20:00
Eduard Alexandru1-Jun-08 20:00 
GeneralRe: Sofa Pin
Ravi Bhavnani2-Jun-08 1:59
professionalRavi Bhavnani2-Jun-08 1:59 
GeneralRe: Sofa Pin
Bijesh2-Jun-08 2:29
Bijesh2-Jun-08 2:29 
GeneralRe: Sofa Pin
Ravi Bhavnani2-Jun-08 3:49
professionalRavi Bhavnani2-Jun-08 3:49 
GeneralRe: Sofa Pin
Eduard Alexandru2-Jun-08 10:13
Eduard Alexandru2-Jun-08 10:13 
GeneralRe: Sofa Pin
Ravi Bhavnani2-Jun-08 10:17
professionalRavi Bhavnani2-Jun-08 10:17 
GeneralRe: Sofa Pin
Eduard Alexandru2-Jun-08 21:32
Eduard Alexandru2-Jun-08 21:32 

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