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A "Dear John" letter to Windows XP 

Jul 15, 2010 09:39 AM

My penchant for dramatic writing is known by just about anyone who's read my retelling of the UserGroup challenge from this year's Vision conference.  I decided out of mostly boredom to do another one for Windows XP and 7 hopefully people enjoy it.
 


My dearest Windows XP,



I hesitate now to write this letter as we have spent so much time together.  However I must say that this hesitation will do very little to accomplish the purpose behind this letter.  I have begun to use a different operating system.  Please forgive my bluntness if it harms you, for that is not my intention. 

Our time together has been both wonderful and strained.  When you first arrived I remember my initial trepidation with accepting you.  I’d spent a horrible time working with Windows NT and your predecessor 2000 had dropped in to rescue me from that situation.  I saw very little reason to transition and your newer look had a tendency to scare people.  You persisted and worked with others to make them feel more comfortable by adapting to what they were used to seeing.

Then there was the fear of Service Pack 2 and your built-in firewall.  I wasn’t afraid then.  Instead I took the time to understand that you were just trying to protect us.  We worked patiently through those fears other people had and made sure that again you could meet the needs of everyone else. 
You’ve always been there for us and when some tried to replace you with Vista you stayed strong and showed yourself unafraid of the competition.  Through that challenge and others you stayed constant and were always there for us. 

Yet you have not also been without limitations.  You know how precious local memory is in an engineering firm, and while I appreciate that you had a 64bit version that would help us, you must know that very expensive hardware had to be purchased.

It is for this reason we first looked to Windows 7.  I’ll admit after the disaster that was Vista I was afraid to leave your good graces and safety, however there was a need.  I’ve since spent over three months using Windows 7 and it has been wonderful.  I’ve not been directly confronted with any of the compatibility issues I so feared in leaving you and the performance seems to be nearly that of yours. 

Please realize that does not mean I wish to cast you out fully.  I understand that still we are in an engineering firm and surely there will be applications that refuse to work with Windows 7.  You will still have a place here, but perhaps not as prominent of one.  I pray you do not see this as us casting you aside, but instead as an opportunity to retire with the grace and stability that you have always provided for us. 

I thank you and wish you all of the best,
-Matt
 

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Comments

Aug 05, 2010 10:23 AM

That was lovely. 
I sympathize completely.

Larry

Jul 21, 2010 10:30 AM

We all know that you're just a softy Ian.  It's okay you can let it out.

Jul 16, 2010 05:05 PM

I'm touched.. and am close to tears... sniff.. 

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