For years and years it was XP. Oh, it completely crashed and burned 3 or 4 times forcing me to reinstall the whole deal again, but it was okay. It was my friend, my companion. Then it died, one last time, and I abandoned my old friend, who had betrayed me one time too many.
I decided to try the new 64 bit Windows 7. How pretty it looked, access to DX10 and DX11, and while some of my software was upset by the 64-bit switch, Windows 7 whispered "compatibility mode" and my software settled.
But the unruly hardware, it would not cooperate with the new OS. It saw the sparkles. It saw the extended bit depth. And it stopped. It demanded chauffeurs to drive it to work, but lo, there were no drivers available. Companies responsible for the hardware's well-being had never released drivers willing to work with the new operating system environment. I had thought that only software could become abandonware, but my ancient hardware boards were left behind, their extinction a testament to the cruelty of the world.
And so it was that despite all the lovely additions of 7, I find myself longing for the comfort of the traitor, my friend, XP.
