[DesScorp]

“Keep XP. It is the best Microsoft OS.”

The problem with that is twofold.

1 - Security issues: not only is Microsoft not going to release security patches anymore, security vendors.... anti-virus makers, etc... are going to stop supporting the platform this year.

2 - Functionality issues: Websites are already dropping support for IE 8, and Google has made it clear Chrome will soon drop support for XP. So then it becomes a question of how long Firefox support will last. And with damn near everything web-centric now, if a vendor doesn’t support your OS, that means that your computer becomes increasingly useless without Internet capabilities (like Flash for YouTube, etc).

[nhwingut]

1 - Security issues: not only is Microsoft not going to release security patches anymore, security vendors.... anti-virus makers, etc... are going to stop supporting the platform this year.

2 - Functionality issues: Websites are already dropping support for IE 8, and Google has made it clear Chrome will soon drop support for XP. So then it becomes a question of how long Firefox support will last. And with damn near everything web-centric now, if a vendor doesn’t support your OS, that means that your computer becomes increasingly useless without Internet capabilities (like Flash for YouTube, etc).

He already has the latest service pack (SP3) so as long as he keeps his anti virus protection up to date (most AV vendors are committed to XP through 2016), turns on the local firewall, and uses Firefox (no expire date yet) or Chrome (expires 2015), and uses a web based email, he'll be fine. He's only surfing and some email. Not exactly a production system. The system as is, should suffice for another couple of years. IMO.