First I have to say I am not going to tell yous all to get a life like the other person did. I am just asking why. I am 13 and saw Windows 95 when I was 9. Used it at 10. I have installed 3.11 before because I find it is a bit faster and boots up alot quicker. However I soon became fustrated that Office 4.2 didn't have decent DTP options. That includes Publisher. So I soon formatted and upgraded to 98. So my question is , what has keeped you on this OS this long. I can understand if thats as far as the PC will go. Thanks for yout time, Lee

well some of us still have older machines and you need older software for older machines to make things run smooth and windows 3.1 is more stable than 9x also 3.xx is really all some people need so did that answer your qeustion

Lee, you asked a legitimate question and you were polite. You deserve a decent answer. Computers and software have always been expensive to buy new. That old 486 you see for sale in the second-hand store probably cost $1500-2000 just a few years ago. PageMaker version 4.0, which is now a relic, retailed for $800 in Canada when it first shipped. So older folks who dropped a ton of cash a while back may be reluctant to do it all over again, especially if their machines still serve their needs. For others, students and people on a shoestring budget, a used computer with windows 3x is a way to write a term paper or access the internet without having to go to the library to use a public terminal. This self-help forum is almost the last refuge for technical info, since universities, ISPs and software manufacturers everywhere have declared windows 3x obsolete and are refusing to provide technical assistance. And really, isn't that what the internet was supposed to be all about - the free flow of information?

I work for a US company here in the UK. We have an installed user base of over 4500 Windows for Workgroups 3.11 with Office 4.3, Publisher 2.0 & Internet Explorer 3.03a Worldwide. This is a MAJOR investment in PC's and Software. The point is it is a stable platform, Many PC's are late model 486 100's with Penitiums now coming in as replacements as needed. I am the IT Manager for the North of England Site. My masters in the USA say 'WE STAY WITH WfWG' and I agree. Why change what works for us? And yes we do have Windows 95/98 installed on some machines, but the main work platform is WfWG 3.11

In 1994, I bought my first computer, a 33-MHz, IBM PS/1 along with an HP 520 B/W printer. The total cost was around $1,500.00. No, not just $1,500; but one thousand and five hundred hard earned dollars. That meant that I had one thousand and five hundred less dollars to spend on rent, food, clothing, or any other thing I might have wanted or needed. I figured at the time--and had every reason to believe this--that my new computer would last me for at least five, maybe ten years or more, and it would pay for itself. (After all, what more could I want? It had the capability to display all types of graphics--in color!. It had 4 MB of RAM. It had two floppy drives. It came--pre-loaded-- with Windows 3.1, with a comprehensive MSWorks suite, and tons of other software on its huge 256 MB hard drive. It even had a built-in 9,400 KBS modem that would allow me, at some point, to join an e-mail service such as CompuServe.) Because I worked (and still work) as a freelance writer for a number of aviation related magazines, I especially liked the fact that I would be able to send my stories to my editors on floppy disks. No more faxing!!! No more FedExing!!! And, once I got onto the Internet, I would be able to send the stories to them via e-mail. Then, about two months after I bought the PS 1, I discovered that the new computers--just coming out--had double the speed, double the RAM, and double the hard drive size. The new built-in modems could send and receive information at the lightening speed of 14 KBS--and they were needed because new services such as AOL were putting graphic images on their web sites! I also found out that the new software that was coming out would not work on my system unless I spent a substantial amount of money--about $500.00--to upgrade my computer! (Keep in mind, I still owed $1,200 to my charge card company for my new, but now out of date computer!) I decided then and there that I would be swept up in this game of “planned obsolescence” that the computer manufacturers and software designers seemed to be playing. A game which required me to constantly spend, spend, spend, just to have an “up to date” computer that would run “up to date” software. Instead, I used my IBM PS/1-- as is--for about six years. I would still be using it now if it were not for the fact that it started to show signs of wearing out. I guess this is a rather long-winded response to your question, and only hints at why people still use old computers that run Windows 3.1. Perhaps it’s hard to explain to someone, like yourself, who grew up with the constantly evolving technology of computers and software and all the other technologies that are now in a state of flux--technologies that are out of date the minute they hit the streets. When I was 13 years old--30 years ago--telephones had been around for 70 years, virtually unchanged, and would remain unchanged for 20 more years. Stereos, TVs, radios--and all other appliances we commonly used--had been perfected years before. When we spent $1,500 for something like a stereo 30 years ago, we knew we had a right to expect that we would be able to use it for many, many years. Perhaps we still feel that way.

I use Windows 3.1 because it is my perogative & it is nobodys business what anyone else uses. Look kid, and everyone else with this same, lame, stupid, question. Why does it bother you or concern you. I could care less what you or anyone else uses because it's your choice. So why do you people come hear time & time again with the same old s---. I will use what I want & you use what works for you. So shut up & get lost!

Lee this question has been answered many a time. I know you read the post someone else wrote about why dont we get a new OS because you quoted it in your remarks. The question was answered & had responses which I know you read. Polite or not, why would you ask the same question when you already know the answer?