Keep XP support

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oceanprimate
Posts: 1
Joined: August 31st, 2017, 4:00 am

Keep XP support

Post by oceanprimate »

Hi, I just installed SeaMonkey in a Virtualbox setup, running 32-bit Windows XP SP3 (TinyXP12 with unofficial SP4 actually) and just wanted to say that I would never had tried SeaMonkey if it wasn't for the fact that it is currently the only up-to-date browser you can install under XP.

I love SeaMonkey btw, I will probably switch to it from Firefox on all my machines from here on. The interface is much better for sure, don't know why the Firefox guys insist on making the UI weirder and weirder. Netscape 2 had a great UI back in the day, and still does.

Anyway, I just registered here to post this to cheer for XP support and ask/suggest that you guys try to keep it. Don't underestimate the impact of the long tail. There are many people who run XP still because it is still the only truly lightweight Windows that is still very usable.

I'm a programmer btw and might start contributing to SeaMonkey some time in the future when I'm less busy. In the mean time I'll try to shake out a few coins and donate.

By the way, if XP support will become impossible, consider making sure MinGW/Cygwin stays as a target for the Linux version, that way you can still support XP and other older operating systems.
frg
Posts: 1361
Joined: December 15th, 2015, 1:20 pm

Re: Keep XP support

Post by frg »

Not possible. Mozilla dropped XP support for Fx 53 and we had to follow. The 2.49.x releases from the ESR52 line will be the last ones which support XP. It is not compiler related. I backported some fixes and even VS2017 can be used to compile 2.49.x. But many projects like libicu dropped XP support too and so its impossible to maintain XP builds beyond 2.49.x.

> I'm a programmer btw and might start contributing to SeaMonkey some time in the future when I'm less busy. In the mean time I'll try to shake out a few coins and donate.

Help is very welcome. Drop me a note if you are stuck or need help setting up a dev environment.

FRG
4td8s
Posts: 784
Joined: June 24th, 2009, 1:07 pm

Re: Keep XP support

Post by 4td8s »

oceanprimate wrote:Netscape 2 had a great UI back in the day, and still does.
the only versions of Netscape that really had great UI was the 4.x versions. any major version of Netscape before 4.0 wasn't great.

well XP can't be supported forever by many apps anyway. although Microsoft dropped support for the consumer versions of XP in April 2017, MS will end support for XP WEPOS 2009 in April 2019
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James
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Joined: June 18th, 2003, 3:07 pm
Location: Made in Canada

Re: Keep XP support

Post by James »

4td8s wrote:although Microsoft dropped support for the consumer versions of XP in April 2017, MS will end support for XP WEPOS 2009 in April 2019
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/hel ... fact-sheet
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows ... xp-support

Windows XP support from Microsoft ended April 8, 2014 and not 2017 as it was Windows Vista that became EOL back on April 11, 2017.

There have been some updates for ATM's and cashiers still using WinXP but not for regular WinXP.

The Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 was a hack to get the security fixes meant for the Windows Embedded for Point of Service devices.
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James
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Location: Made in Canada

Re: Keep XP support

Post by James »

oceanprimate wrote:...it is currently the only up-to-date browser you can install under XP.
Well no as Firefox 52 ESR which will get security and allowed stability fixes until 52.8.0esr in May 2018 still works on Windows XP and Vista. https://www.mozilla.org/firefox/organizations/all/

As said if the SeaMonkey community can do so with building and servers the SeaMonkey 2.49.x will be based on Gecko 52 ESR so it will be updated the same.
LordOfTheBored
Posts: 307
Joined: December 7th, 2005, 8:36 pm

Re: Keep XP support

Post by LordOfTheBored »

James wrote:
Windows XP support from Microsoft ended April 8, 2014 and not 2017 as it was Windows Vista that became EOL back on April 11, 2017.

There have been some updates for ATM's and cashiers still using WinXP but not for regular WinXP.
Aaaaactually, that's not entirely true. It was definitely retired officially in 2014, but mainline XP was most recently updated just last June, in what I can only assume was a clever gambit to get their associated rant about government-sponsored malware into the news.

https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/msr ... e-release/
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JodyThornton
Posts: 153
Joined: August 12th, 2004, 5:59 pm
Location: Richmond Hill, Ontario (Canada)
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Re: Keep XP support

Post by JodyThornton »

LordOfTheBored wrote:
James wrote:
Windows XP support from Microsoft ended April 8, 2014 and not 2017 as it was Windows Vista that became EOL back on April 11, 2017.

There have been some updates for ATM's and cashiers still using WinXP but not for regular WinXP.
Aaaaactually, that's not entirely true. It was definitely retired officially in 2014, but mainline XP was most recently updated just last June, in what I can only assume was a clever gambit to get their associated rant about government-sponsored malware into the news.

https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/msr ... e-release/
That was a special "mandatory" update, not really part of the EOL process. That update was quite exceptional.
Cheers,
Jody Thornton
(Richmond Hill, Ontario)
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