Old versions of the Windows OS are still in use in many places today:
Still booting after all these years: The people stuck using ancient Windows computers
As technology marches on, some people get trapped using decades-old software and devices. Here’s a look inside the strange, stubborn world of obsolete Windows machines.
By Thomas Germain, BBC - May 16, 2025
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250516-the-people-stuck-using-ancient-windows-computers
Earlier this year I was on my way to a checkup at a doctor’s office in New York City. As I rode up to the 14th floor, my eyes were drawn to a screen built into the side of the lift. Staring back was a glimpse into the history of computing. There, in a gleaming hospital full of state-of-the-art machines, was an error message from an operating system released almost a quarter of a century ago. The elevator was running Windows XP.
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Since its launch in 1975, Microsoft has penetrated digital infrastructure so completely that much of our world still relies on aged, sometimes obsolete Windows software and computers, chugging along and gathering dust long after they first booted up. For people stuck using these machines, the ghosts of Windows’ past are an ever-present feature of daily life. ….