[labnetwork] Software End of Life Ramifications

[Mark Heiden]

With the death of windows XP most equipment vendors have been forced to stop supporting their own software that runs tools on that platform. Since some of us cannot afford to upgrade our entire enterprise with typically new PC's with vendor specific interface hardware and software is there a method to share obsolete applications without the fear of repercussions from the vendors? I understand the need for licensing new supported software, but once a company washes it's hands of a product and offers no support other than to sell you a newer version can owners that paid once already share copies to keep running for a while?

For example, if we had a failed Window XP PC on a Dektak 8 and needed to reload the software and drivers to run our perfectly good Dektak could someone share a copy of that software?

Just curious.


Mark Heiden
NanoFab Cleanroom Manager
Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering
University of California, Riverside
951-827-2551



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