Windows 7 extended support ends one year from today

[douglas9]

Windows 7 only has one year left to live, at least as far as official support goes. Microsoft is set to end free support for the operating system on January 14, 2020, exactly one year from today. Business customers can extend the availability of security updates for up to three years, but this support has to be paid for on a per-device basis, with the price increasing every year.

Originally made available in October of 2009, Windows 7 went on to become one of the most popular versions of the company's OS, and its successor, Windows 8, barely managed to make a dent in its market share. Even today, the nearly 10-year-old software is one of the most used Windows releases. It was only earlier this month that Windows 10, after more than three years since its release, managed to overtake it, according to data from NetMarketShare.

The planned date for the end of extended support is actually longer than what was originally promised. Possibly because of its tremendous popularity, Microsoft decided to provide support for some more time back in 2012, even as its successor was set to debut soon after.

Mainstream support for Windows 7 ended back in 2015, meaning the operating system hasn't received any feature changes since then. However, the Chromium-based version of Edge is set to support it, which should be good news for those who don't want to upgrade yet.

Microsoft made a significant push for users to install Windows 10 when it initially launched, offering a free upgrade path for Windows 7 and 8.1 users, but many users have stuck with the older version of the OS for a number of reasons including privacy concerns and forceful update settings. Now, with only one year left of security updates, it may be a good time to consider an upgrade.


n/t

https://www.neowin.net/news/windows-7-extended-support-ends-one-year-from-today

[kimbutgar]

1. Funny I still have a computer with windows xp that runs fine

Of course, I’m careful to not go to non conventional sites. And I have another laptop and computer with windows 7 that run great.

[Galileo126]

3. Me too!

I still have Win XP on my desktop, and works just fine. My newer laptop is running Win 10, but it's not as "fun" as the ol' XP.

[yonder]

4. This 7pro user has been wondering when they were going to pull the plug. Sad to hear.

I do freelance CADD work on a big old XP desktop and it works just fine - smooth, fast and uncluttered - though it doesn't get to talk directly with the outside world anymore.

[SWBTATTReg]

2. No. I will not be bullied off of my version that I paid good money for, being that newer ...

versions of windows have pretty well been absolute crap. Seems like once Windows 7 came out, Microsoft software went WAY DOWN in quality and performance (I have several other CPUs, Vista being the absolutely worst software package EVER that I should have got my money back on).

Windows 7 is amazing. In the years that I have had this version, no significant issues. None!

[hermetic]

5. Windows 10

is the worst system ever inflicted on computer users and I can back that statement up with an ever-growing list of things MS keeps destroying every month with their "updates." This month it's Notepad, of all things.

[SWBTATTReg]

6. You have my sorrow and such to be subject to such crap...and it's funny, we paid for this crap!

I used to religiously update w/ MS updates, but no longer. As a matter of fact, I sent them a tirade against the constant and numerous updates that I had to apply all of the time. I got pissed off. It reminded me of the time that I dealt in IBM platforms, and the updates were constant and never ending. We all got tired of that too. Because of that (the constant IBM updates), I lost respect for all things IBM-related, and I'm getting pretty close to doing so on MS platforms.

Ridiculous. Take care of yourself!!

[Aussie105]

7. Windows 7 is ok.

I've still got one computer on Windows 7 because it 'just works' as a dedicated TV watching/recording and video playback device.

A lot of businesses run their own software on top of Windows 7, and aren't going to change any day soon.