Microsoft Will Stop Supporting Windows 7 One Year From Today (Jan. 14, 2020)

[MULTIZ321]

Microsoft Will Stop Supporting Windows 7 One Year From Today
By Marrian Zhou/ Computers/ C/Net/ cnet.com

"If you still use Windows 7, it may be time to consider an upgrade.

Starting Jan. 14, 2020, exactly one year from Monday, Microsoft will no longer support Windows 7. That means no more updates or security fixes for the operating system.

"Changes and upgrades in technology are inevitable," said Brad Anderson, corporate vice president for Microsoft 365, in a blog. "And there's never been a better time to start putting in motion the things you need to do to shift your organization to a modern desktop with Microsoft 365."

Microsoft will continue to provide security updates for Windows 7 to business customers that pay for support, according to ZDNet, but not individual users....."


Richard

 

[MULTIZ321]

Microsoft Is Killing Windows 7, So You Should Switch to Netrunner 19.01 'Blackbird' Linux Distro Now!
By Brian Fagioli/ BetaNews/ betanews.com

"Windows 7 is an excellent operating system. It is a no-nonsense computing experience that just works. There are no ugly live tiles or forced updates. Conversely, Windows 10 is largely trash. Don't get me wrong, Microsoft's latest operating system isn't all bad, but it has many poor design choices, and the intrusive telemetry makes it feel like you are being spied on when using your own computer. Worst of all, it has proven to be very buggy -- it has been deleting important user files! That is scary stuff...

Many Windows users passed on both Windows 8.x and Windows 10, opting to stay on Windows 7. You know what? I don't blame them. Unfortunately, starting today, the Windows 7 death clock begins ticking away. You see, in exactly one year, Microsoft will end support for Windows 7. While the operating system will still function, it is foolish to use an unsupported OS. These folks will have to decide if they want to "upgrade" to Window 10 or opt for something entirely different. Today, Netrunner 19.01 "Blackbird" -- a Linux-based operating system that is reminiscent of Windows 7 -- is finally released. If you don't want to run Windows 10 on your PC, you should definitely give Blackbird a try before the Windows 7 support ends....."

Richard

 

[jimf41]

Did somebody say Apple?

 

[artringwald]

Updating from Windows 7 to Windows 10 is still free, although not as easy as it was 2 years ago.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/heres-how-you-can-still-get-a-free-windows-10-upgrade/

 

[Talent312]

With tweaking, you can make Win10 look+act like Win7.
I turned off the live tiles, but ignore them, anyway.
Otherwise, it's a vast improvement over the ill-fated Win8.
.

 

[bogey21]

I have always used laptops. Knowing this ridiculous move by Microsoft was in the works I bought a ChromeBook. Happy I did...

George

 

[artringwald]

With tweaking, you can make Win10 look+act like Win7.

Utilities like Start10 can even give you Win7 style start menus:

 

[Ironwood]

I have always used laptops. Knowing this ridiculous move by Microsoft was in the works I bought a ChromeBook. Happy I did...

George

George...would you let us know what make/model you bought? I have been shopping a new laptop and a new tablet, but what I'd like to have is out of budget. I hesitated on black Friday/cyber Monday and should have pounced. But I've looked at ChromeBooks at my local Staples and Costco in the past week but again hesitated out of concern they are too limiting. My computing needs would not betaxing of a laptop/chromebook, so maybe it would work for me.

 

[PigsDad]

Knowing this ridiculous move by Microsoft was in the works ...

So choosing to quit supporting 10+ year old software is "ridiculous"??? What would you think is a reasonable support life, George?

Kurt

 

[bogey21]

So choosing to quit supporting 10+ year old software is "ridiculous"??? What would you think is a reasonable support life, George?

I'm no computer guy but I think I have read that there are a lot of Windows7 users out there. If true, maybe a better way would have been for Microsoft to agree to support these users for an annual fee. That would give their customers a choice, pay the fee or upgrade. But at least they would have a choice...

George

 

[PigsDad]

I'm no computer guy but I think I have read that there are a lot of Windows7 users out there. If true, maybe a better way would have been for Microsoft to agree to support these users for an annual fee. That would give their customers a choice, pay the fee or upgrade. But at least they would have a choice...

There are service contracts that Microsoft sells; I'm sure if you had enough $$$ they will continue to provide you support. I work in the HW/SW support service industry, and if there is enough money on the table, these special support contracts happen all the time.

So I ask again, why is choosing to quit supporting 10+ year old software "ridiculous"? I doubt you along with 99.999% of Windows 7 users were ever willing to pay for support; I'm sure everyone is expecting free support.

Kurt

 

[Talent312]

Market shares as of December 2018, per StatCounter*:
Win10... 52.36
Win 7.... 35.63
Win 8.1... 6.95
WinXP .... 2.33
Win 8 ..... 2.03
Others .... 0.70
*http://gs.statcounter.com/windows-version-market-share/desktop/worldwide
.

 

[bobpark56]

Ha! I'm one of the 2-percenters...still using Windows XP Pro. It's running on my Macs under Parallels and doing everything I want it to do. Not clear yet there is any reason to change.

 

[bogey21]

So I ask again, why is choosing to quit supporting 10+ year old software "ridiculous"? I doubt you along with 99.999% of Windows 7 users were ever willing to pay for support; I'm sure everyone is expecting free support.

I'm a simple man so let me say it another way. I think it is outrageous that Microsoft abandon the 40.3% of Windows users (Aug 2018 numbers) who are using Windows7. But I guess I shouldn't really care as I switched to a ChromeBook about 6 months ago...

George

 

[1st Class]

I have always used laptops. Knowing this ridiculous move by Microsoft was in the works I bought a ChromeBook. Happy I did...

George

I use a ChromeBook too along with an ancient Windows XP laptop and external HD. I use the ChromeBook exclusively for internet searches and keep the XP for everything else. I also have no printer since the one I'd like is a laser printer that's apparently price fixed. When it drops into my budget range I may pick it up. When I need printing, I pay .10/pp at the library. I don't need to have all the latest bells and whistles; I just need it to be functional. Works for me.

 

[1st Class]

George, I think you'll be happy with your ChromeBook. I've had mine for about 4 years now and it's worked like a charm!

 

[Bailey#1]

I am still using Windows 95 on one of my computers ( granted I only use this computer to print labels) but it still works. My 1996 Compaq presario seen a lot of other computers come and go in its day.

 

[JudyH]

I bought a new laptop with windows 10 home. I hate it. I changed and hid all the garbage so it looks like 7. When I tried to actually delete bloat I messed up everything and had to reset it back.

My desktop has 7 and it has all my photo editing programs. I will probably pay someone to come in and upgrade it so I can be sure it all works. I am not a happy camper.

 

[artringwald]

As long as I stay out of Tile World, I like Windows 10 in many ways. One thing I don't like about it is that it forces updates. More than once, a friend or relative had hardware malfunctions after a forced update. I was able to help them fix the problems, usually by using the Device Manage to delete the malfunctioning device and then rebooting. Microsoft doesn't do a very good job of testing their updates on the wide variety of hardware configurations running Windows 10.

 

[Steve Fatula]

Been on Mac (or Linux) for about as long as it has existed, I am one of the few who does not have or never had a Windows license, legal or not. However, they cannot possibly support it forever as it would take a ton of resources to keep Win7 safe and alive in the modern world of computing with little revenue. The code is archaic undoubtedly (coding methodologies), and hard to maintain almost certainly. Most who worked on it are probably not around any more or have been re-assigned. I would agree with their decision. I am amazed they supported it this long, though, they may have felt some guilt and pushback from Win8. But Win10 has improved things (well what wouldn't over 8?). So, I think it is time.

Lately, I find I use desktops rarely anyway, other types of devices do so many things now!

But keep in mind, people use all sorts of old operating systems that are no longer "supported". Heck, I still run an Apple 2e emulator for a few ancient games, retro games have become somewhat popular.

 

[MULTIZ321]

I Like Windows 7: Why Should I Pay to Move to Windows 10?
By David Gewirtz/ DIY-IT/ ZDNet/ zdnet.com

"With Windows 7 security upgrades about to go poof in less than a year, there are still some Windows 7 diehards who refuse to upgrade. Here we explain that free Windows 10 upgrades are still available, counter some upgrade objections, and provide a great list of resources for upgrading your machines to Windows 10.

I'm still getting used to living in a small town. This time, it's the neighbors. I've lived in much bigger cities where I never even met my neighbors during my entire residence there. Here, the neighbors are more sociable, sometimes bringing cookies or fudge, sometimes complaining about Windows, and sometimes offering tips on my power tool posture when fixing my porch.

It's kind of delightful, in a "How did this happen to me?" kind of way.

In any case, one neighbor came over to say "Hi" when I took Pixel pup outside, and then a guy from down the street who was walking by also decided to meander over for a visit. Neighbor One had asked my plans for the day, and I explained I was about to go in and start testing a review product using a Windows 10 VPN.

That got him started on a rant about Microsoft, Windows, Amazon, Jeff Bezos' peccadillos, the President, whether Tilly is getting too much screen time on Star Trek, and then all the way back to Windows 7. He doesn't want to upgrade to Windows 10.

This comment seemed to light a fire inside Neighbor Two, who resented Windows 10 "being shoved down our throats." That's a direct quote. It turns out that the crux of the objection was, "I like Windows 7, why should I pay to move to Windows 10?"....."

Richard

 

[artringwald]

I Like Windows 7: Why Should I Pay to Move to Windows 10?
By David Gewirtz/ DIY-IT/ ZDNet/ zdnet.com

"With Windows 7 security upgrades about to go poof in less than a year, there are still some Windows 7 diehards who refuse to upgrade. Here we explain that free Windows 10 upgrades are still available, counter some upgrade objections, and provide a great list of resources for upgrading your machines to Windows 10.

I'm still getting used to living in a small town. This time, it's the neighbors. I've lived in much bigger cities where I never even met my neighbors during my entire residence there. Here, the neighbors are more sociable, sometimes bringing cookies or fudge, sometimes complaining about Windows, and sometimes offering tips on my power tool posture when fixing my porch.

It's kind of delightful, in a "How did this happen to me?" kind of way.

In any case, one neighbor came over to say "Hi" when I took Pixel pup outside, and then a guy from down the street who was walking by also decided to meander over for a visit. Neighbor One had asked my plans for the day, and I explained I was about to go in and start testing a review product using a Windows 10 VPN.

That got him started on a rant about Microsoft, Windows, Amazon, Jeff Bezos' peccadillos, the President, whether Tilly is getting too much screen time on Star Trek, and then all the way back to Windows 7. He doesn't want to upgrade to Windows 10.

This comment seemed to light a fire inside Neighbor Two, who resented Windows 10 "being shoved down our throats." That's a direct quote. It turns out that the crux of the objection was, "I like Windows 7, why should I pay to move to Windows 10?"....."

Richard

I think the most import point in the article is this:

There's one key feature that makes Windows 10 a must-do upgrade: Security. Windows 10 has far better intrinsic security features than Windows 7. This makes sense, because when Microsoft introduced Windows 10, it had six years more experience fighting off cyberattacks than it had when Windows 7 was introduced.

 

[Ralph Sir Edward]

You could always have two machines and a KMV switcher. . . . A "dirty" machine for the Internet, and a "sterile" machine for everything else. And the "sterile" machine can run any OS you want.

The hardware I run are Intel NUC computers. Plural. 4.25 inch x 4.25 inch x 2 inch, per box. (with a Bluray/DVD reader sitting between them for media reading.)

Master OSes are Mint Linux. The "sterile" machine has no Internet connection, (unless I deliberately hook in a wired connection for a download), and I use that for music playing (ripped CDs), video watching (Blu-Ray/DVD drive), and any other non-internet uses. I also run Virtual Box on it, with guest OSes of XP PRO service pack 2, and Windows 7. (Windows 7 is a stub, as I have no Win 7 specific software). Linux and VBox don't handle I/O very well, so the guests don't read USB ports, but I can load USB stuff to a common folder on Linux that is read by the guest OS.

No problem. And no "big brother" looking over my shoulder. . .(trying to read my marketing preferences)

 

[Bucky]

Because I really don’t use them often and really don’t care, I upgraded our laptop and two desktops to Windows 10. But, just last week I finally upgraded one of my desktops to a refurbished HP i7. Dropped an SSD into it and cannot believe how fast the thing is. May start using it more often now.

Our basic go to now are our iPads. We can do everything we need to on them. We’ve got every app that we may need on them.

 

[artringwald]

Because I really don’t use them often and really don’t care, I upgraded our laptop and two desktops to Windows 10. But, just last week I finally upgraded one of my desktops to a refurbished HP i7. Dropped an SSD into it and cannot believe how fast the thing is. May start using it more often now.

Our basic go to now are our iPads. We can do everything we need to on them. We’ve got every app that we may need on them.

The best update I every made was replacing the boot drive with an SSD. I'd never buy a new computer without one, desktop or laptop.