Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft Ends Mainstream Support For Windows 7
jones_supa writes The mainstream support of Microsoft Windows 7 [ended Monday]. The operating system leaving mainstream support means no more platform updates, no new features, and end of free support. Windows 7 will now enter extended support, which means that security updates will keep coming, and support will be offered for charge. The final end of support for Windows 7 will be reached January 14, 2020.
Is anyone nostalgic for Windows 7?
I plan to switch to it real soon now.
Same here. With Windows XP still hanging on and Windows 8 needlessly messing with the UI, I doubt we'll see Windows 7 going anywhere anytime soon.
"What the American public doesn't know is what makes them the American public." -Ray Zalinsky (Tommy Boy)
You can try 10 Technical Preview. It is Windows 8.1 with Metro condensed to a start menu. It still has some full-screen hijacking apps and tons of bloat from Bing and the "App" Store. This might be ok for some people but it sounds like Microsoft is going down the wrong road for those of us that like a clean, controlled, and predictable system. Linux may be the answer for many if it has the right program support, but it's possible that 7 is the last sane OS from Microsoft.
I had a university as a client last year and they had at least one Windows 3.1 system still in operation in a research capacity. XP is still all over the place.
Windows 8.1 is ok.....
It's just the UI and stupid metro (modern wtv) stupid start menu crap that annoys me.
Also it seems to be a little shizo...some settings are in classic menus...some in modern....
But in terms of stability, performance, it's actually as good as windows 7.
I'm not a huge fan of Windows; but, If I need it for something, Windows 7 is the version I install - in a virtual machine. It does seem pretty solid, and 8's UI gets in the way far too much (says this Mac user).
#DeleteChrome
More and more, I'm finding myself working at places where I really don't have to use a Windows UI if I don't want to. Right now I'm typing this on my corporate-issued MacBook Pro, and only rarely do I bother logging onto a Windows server (vSphere client, and even then only out of habit since the web-client works pretty much as well).
Just an aside: I'm no fan of MS, even though I have to work in a Windows environment; however, when dealing with MS Servers, I have found that the recent versions of the Microsoft RDC Client for OS X is actually even more capable, just as fast (or maybe even faster), and a WHOLE lot better-mannered than even the Windows native RDC Client.
If you run OS X, but need to "Remote-In" to Windows Servers/Workstations, check it out. It's free, and quite pleasant.
And now I have to go wash my hands for typing something complimentary about Windows...
It is definitely much easier to use Windows in the business than Macs, from an IT perspective. There isn't even a comparison. The tools for managing Windows boxes are solid, and provides very simple integration and administration.
If you don't want amateur sysadmins in your Windows boxes, then you don't give them administrator access on their machines.
Windows is also considerably more stable than it used to be. There is no substantial difference in reliability between a Mac and a Win 7 box. Hell, I've been using the an install of Vista, of all things, on a box for at least five years without any difficulty.
As far as security goes, as far as I can tell, the only major difference is that with Windows, you have more malware that has been written for it, but in terms of real security, it is no worse, and it is actually considerably better than a Mac if you consider the fact that an IT department can enforce restrictions on installing software and ensuring patching much more easily with a Windows box.
I've supported both in IT before, and it isn't even close. Which is not to say Windows is perfect or even the best box for the job. There are many developers who love Macs for good reason.. That does not translate, however, into ease of management. For all that Apple is decent at maintaining upgrades on their consumer devices, their business support is crap and getting worse.
Macs are not business machines, they're consumer machines that have to be shoehorned in and managed like special snowflakes.