Just go with it and try to work with support if/when an issue comes up. They've been fairly cordial with me trying to work through bugs on games for unsupported situations (with the stipulation that nothing was guaranteed to work).

If some people can't upgrade their system because of legacy hardware, I suggest them switching to Linux* which can run on legacy hardware far better than any Microsoft's OS. You can still run the vast majority of the games here without any problem via DOSBox, SCUMMVM and WINE.

*Linux Mint 13 (Maya) it's a good option for that

Yup, I do not anticipate that day either, quite the opposite in fact. :) If memory serves correct Windows 7 is supported until 2020 on record currently. There's a chance Microsoft could extend that as they have in the past with some of their other operating systems though, but I wont hold my breath on it. I'm definitely not going to change to Windows 8.x when the time comes and don't know much about Windows 10 nor have any interest in it - probably like many XP users don't have any interest in Windows 7+ right now. I was one of them and used XP up until about a month before Microsoft killed it. Having said that, I didn't fight the change at that point I embraced it as there was no other viable option, and it took me about a week to get 99% used to Windows 7 and be more or less happy with the end results ever since despite my pre-misgivings.

But, when the time comes in 2020 or whenever it is that it's time to say goodbye to Windows 7 because it goes end-of-life and thrown to the dogs of insecurity, I'll be moving on to something else... Being a Linux gearhead for 21 years now, hopefully I'll be able to get the same level of experience out of the current Linux desktop offerings at the time as I get out of Windows right now. Only reason I don't do it already is despite my love and usage of Linux when it comes to gaming Windows 7 gives me an experience that is superior for what I am expecting so I continue to use it while remaining hopeful the tides will change, and hopefully thanks to Steam/SteamOS/SteamMachines, GOG.com, and to the plethora of game developers out there now supporting Linux - the next upgrade for gaming in 5 years will be to a full on Linux setup. Crazy talk yes, but one can dream. :)

In addition to some of the thoughts I expressed above, I would have to agree with some of what you're saying here now which is that IMHO it is a more safe and secure thing to do to install a modern Linux distribution that is aimed towards gaming or at least gaming friendly and do as you suggest than to continue to run an obsolete insecure OS. It will not do everything that someone wants and it will have a learning curve, but can be rewarding and worth it in the end potentially if one has the time and enthusiasm to give it a shot and doesn't expect everything to be 1 or 2 mouse clicks. If I had not put together my new PC for Windows gaming in Feb 2013 I would almost certainly be running my main box on Linux at the moment even though it isn't my chosen platform for gaming. Reason being that I put security above all else so running obsolete OS is not something I'm personally willing to do. Linux is a winner in that situation in my eyes, although it may not be for everyone quite yet - but I do think it will get there and it is certainly worth getting familiar with if someone hasn't done so.

a lot of xp bashing is going on, supported by microsoft or not its still does what it needs to do for whoever uses it.
Also just because a game or program does not say xp supported, there is a good chance it will still ran on xp

Sure, nothing wrong with that, but there's definitely a difference between something possibly being able to work and something being supported. That's all the discussion is about really is the difference and why. :) Not really XP bashing though, it's just a statement of fact that Windows XP is officially no longer supported by Microsoft since April 8th, 2014 if my memory serves correct, and that an operating system that regularly receives security updates every single month for 14 years to patch security holes that is no longer getting security updates is going to start having security vulnerabilities that are not going to be patched approximately one month after support lifecycle ends. It's now 13 months since then and the security vulnerabilities in XP are well documented on any reputable security site. That's not really bashing, just stating the truth, and quite frankly many people may not be aware of such things so it's good to communicate that so that people can make a potentially more well informed decision if they weren't aware.

Every operating system has security vulnerabilities in it though, the difference is that the supported ones still get security updates and are less of a burden to offer product support for. People should use whatever they feel meets their current needs though, but it's a little unrealistic for them to have big expectations for an unsupported OS with very small percentage of market usage in steep decline to continue to get support or to expect new applications to support it. I don't expect everyone to agree with me on that either, especially don't expect people who are using XP to agree because they have strong reasons to not want what I suggest to be true or to accept it and that's fine as it's an uncomfortable thing to come to terms with in a situation like that - you feel boxed in and forced to do something you don't want to and nobody likes that including myself. But we sometimes have uncomfortable choices anyway.

XP despite it's ups and downs did serve me well from 2001-2014 which is pretty amazing all things considered. But I place flowers on its grave now and may it finally RIP. :)

Voted :D

This is out of my league. Can you please explain what all of these, Apple ][ OS , MESS, and MAME are or mean?

Apple 2 series (first computer I owned)
MESS (Multi Emulator Super System)
MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator)

it is supported. You only need to apply small registry fix.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/registry-hack-enables-continued-updates-for-windows-xp/

With this fix Windows XP will continue to receive updated until April 9, 2019.

Wow. So much computer history. A lot of data to process. >.>

No, it's not supported. That is a hack for another product and if one reads the entire article here is an official statement from Microsoft (the horse's official mouth) on the matter:

"[UPDATE:] Late Monday we received a statement from a Microsoft spokesperson:

We recently became aware of a hack that purportedly aims to provide security updates to Windows XP customers. The security updates that could be installed are intended for Windows Embedded and Windows Server 2003 customers and do not fully protect Windows XP customers. Windows XP customers also run a significant risk of functionality issues with their machines if they install these updates, as they are not tested against Windows XP. The best way for Windows XP customers to protect their systems is to upgrade to a more modern operating system, like Windows 7 or Windows 8.1.
"

So it is very much not supported by Microsoft, and even if it was reliable - a company basing their support policies on an unofficial hack to an MS operating system is not a reliable thing to support either. It may improve the protection of a system somewhat, or it may cause problems either way there are no guarantees. I wouldn't rely on it with any confidence.

Microsoft Statements are known to be BullShit very often. They just want you to pay more money for OS upgrade.
Solution that i have mentioned before still woks, and works good.

Regardless, it is Microsoft that decides whether their products are supported or not and their official statement on this matter is that Windows XP is not supported as of April 2014, that is the official vendor statement and that is what stands. That is what any sensible company that develops software is going to use as the deciding factor on whether or not a given operating system is officially supported - the official statement from the actual vendor that created the operating system.

People may find hacks like this but they are in no way official nor supported by Microsoft directly from their own words no matter how someone wants to twist the words to mean otherwise. Yes, you may be able to obtain an update for a piece of software that may work on XP from this hack, and yes it may work - but that in no way makes it a supported method of updating the OS or obtaining technical support from Microsoft, and it does not make it a reliable thing that companies developing software can trust.

Makes no difference if someone wants to paint it as some excuse for Microsoft to force people to upgrade or not. Whether people believe such a conspiracy theory or not and whether it is true or not makes no difference, Microsoft says "it is unsupported" and therefore - it is unsupported. Use this hack on your XP system, call Microsoft technical support with an issue and you're going to be told your system is unsupported and to go pound sand and upgrade to Windows 7 or newer - whether one likes that or not. It's just a fact.

Choosing to ignore a fact does not make the fact cease to exist. That may be unpleasant but it is the truth and it is what it is.

That's fine, if it seems to give benefits then by all means use it, but the word "supported" is not the correct word to describe this experience. Call it whatever you want, but calling it "supported" is just a false claim be even the most broad definition of the term support in the context of what we're talking about here.

That's a completely arrogant statement. So people in poorer countries just shouldn't have fun, and should just be working non-stop for money? They should just be working all the time and have no downtime? And we're not talking about the absolutely poorest countries in the world here, the fact is the vast majority of the world's population lives in countries much poorer than where you or I live. And not only do almost all of them have at least one computer at home (typically an older model), but they do play games on them.

I think you and others in this thread are being both selfish and arrogant. I don't use XP anymore (though I'd still install it and use it in the present day if I had an old computer that worked better with it), but I'm not inconsiderate toward the millions of people who do.

And they're not worrying about whether an old game works on their machine... they do work (after all, old hardware tends to match up well with old software). The issue here is whether GOG's stuff works on their machine. I like GOG's response though, they won't purposely hinder XP in any way, and somewhat support it (unofficially).

IIRC, Microsoft themselves stopped Windows XP support a year ago.

I believe people should use a newer Windows or another OS (GNU/Linux, BSD, Mac OS) instead, at least for security needs.