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'm not nostalgic for Windows 7.... I still run it! On all of our networked computers.
Life has many choices. Eternity has two. What's yours?
I plan to switch to it real soon now.
Some people are even now upgrading to Win 7
I wouldn't touch 8.x with a 3 metre resident of Warsaw
Some companies are still moving out of XP, and into Win7. Changing the entire digital infrastructure of a company is a costly affair (lots of non-productive hours by people, as well as purchasing new software, but lost time is far more important), and companies are not willing to do this quickly.
Microsoft will not be making themselves popular if they keep forcing enterprises to update their systems by dropping support and security updates (yes, 2020 sounds like it is far away, but it is only 5 years away, which is pretty soon in terms of investments).
The suitable replacement (supposedly) is Windows 10, which hasn't been released yet.
I feel like windows makes one-bad, one-good alternating OSs because they need to make the monster and then the savior. So like many others, I hope windows 10 does everyone a solid.
I'm an admin at a University and we STILL are finding XP machines out in the wild. I don't forsee us (or most businesses) moving up to 10 when it launches because everyone just moved to 7 after XP ended its extended life support. When 7 reaches the end of extended support, then we'll see if people flock to 11 or 12 or whatever's out by then.
which is why we just finished out our Vista roll-out last week!
The preceding post was not a Slashvertisement.
... Win7 = WinXP in corporate world now
Which is about 5 years longer than any version of Android older than 5.0 will get them.
Best Slashdot Co
IMHO, the best versions of Windows are (in order): 7, XP, and 95 OSR2. Note that each of these was a significant performance enhancement over both their respective predecessor and successor. Microsoft just can't let good enough be good enough; they always gotta screw up a winning formula. I do give them props for the longevity of XP; I coasted through Vista without ever touching it once.
Well Six years is not a long time for an operating system to exist considering how long XP was officially supported. We've already seen Microsoft quickly drop support for Windows 8 in liu of Windows 8.1 and I guess it will be end of life when Windows 10 is released. I'm already getting e-mails about the "new windows" which means invariably, incompatibilities, lack of hardware support including the fact that my printer won't work until I've gone through some convoluted setup and bodging on my own. Of course they'll have another great new version of Visual Studio that I'll have to fork out $$$ for as well as upgrade my Office suite for shits and giggles as well. I've liked 8/8.1, not initially sure, but I don't spend time in the Metro world that much and it's faster than 7 in a lot of areas.
Windows 7, we hardly knew you but I'm sure you'll be around for a long time at least with Newegg deals pushing new licenses for it.
Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
Your "first post" shipped late, much like many of the advertised features of Microsoft operating systems.
Got them moderator blues I blieve I walk out the do', With these mod-points I been gettin', I 'most never post no mo'
So while I'm still hearing people complaining about Windows 8, and how Windows 8.1 has barely added a start button, and at work we're preparing for the EOL of Windows 2003 ... is this the shortest MS has supported an OS yet?
It's, what, not even five years old?
When is Windows 10 due out now? Because I need to buy a new machine, and the OS better last as long as I expect the hardware to.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
Windows 7 like XP does what we need, with a familiar UI.
As an office we are going to skip 8/8.X - its not a bad OS, my parents adapted once I installed Start8 (yes I know there are free apps out there).
It is better to be the hammer than the anvil.
Sure, if we could disable all of the crud they piled on top, the core of Windows 8 is relatively good, as it's efficient and stable. But the crud on top is really, really irritating, and bloated, which is why Windows 7 looks so good in comparison. My PC that ran find in Win7 became almost unusable with Win8. I'm hoping someone writes an un-installer that rips our the crud, like there was for Vista.
Enable 3D printed prosthetics!
Our workplace made a decision a while back to stay on Windows 7 Professional as the "standard" for our Windows users. (We also support a number of Macs.)
In general, I think many corporate I.T. departments have a policy of upgrading every OTHER release of Windows. (For example, they stayed on XP and skipped Vista. Upgraded to 7 and will now wait for Windows 10.)
Even if you go back as far as Windows '98, it turned out to be wise to stay put on '98 (upgrading it to second edition where possible) and skipping Windows ME.
IMO, there's just no benefit to a Windows 8 migration. The arguments like "no new Direct X support for 7" is meaningless when the users just use 2D apps like MS Office and a bunch of web based apps. The new "tile" interface means more training is required, which is a real problem for us, with so many mobile workers scattered all over the country.
Meanwhile, Windows 10 is the one really bringing the "added value" we're after, with such things as an upgraded Windows "PowerShell" that will finally support software upgrades from packages (similar to Linux distros) from the command line.
I'm still on XP, mainly because the box it's running on is almost 10 years old and running a single-core processor. I have other priorities for my money than building a new box just so I can run a newer OS. Not that I wouldn't like a faster, multi-core processor, mind you, but I just can't justify the expense when I have other things I'd rather spend the money on before that. Have to build it myself, too, no pre-built computers, and nothing non-upgradable like a NUC, either. I suppose Win 7 would run on this box OK, but I also don't want to have to go through all the hassle of upgrading and then having to re-install everything I've got installed right now. It works fine the way it is, it does everything I need it to do, and frankly I spend more time outside the house doing active things than I used to spend inside staring at a monitor and have benefitted thereby.
Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
Using Windows in health care was a really stupid idea in my opinion. Not your stupid idea, mind you. A stupid idea on the part of all the software developers who chose to target it. What you really need is a good and secure core OS with very few features, which you can upgrade forever without breaking compatibility. Then you need packages on top of that core to provide all the user-facing features like the desktop environment, which shouldn't ever need to be updated (since they should be relying on the core OS for security). All the healthcare-specific applications shouldn't ever need to be rebuilt or updated (except for security updates). None of this 10-year support window requiring a large expensive rollout of new software when it runs out. No need to waste developer time on updating existing applications for new APIs when you could be developing the next great thing instead. So why isn't the whole healthcare infrastructure built on Linux?
I sometimes ask revealing, often ignorant-seeming questions. Maybe they're harder to answer than you think.
This is ridiculous. Win7 is all I sell on new PCs at my shop. Nobody wants 8.1. No business with a brain rolled it out. They damn well better extend support past 2020 as well because our business just got rid of XP needlessly on single purpose desktops.
Is anyone nostalgic for Windows 7?
You mean the current version of Windows?
This page accidentally left blank
Welcome to IT.
Leave you dignity and expertise at the door. Do everything as cheap as possible in the short term.
You are a cost to the company, with nothing of value to contribute to the core business, be glad we took pity on your and gave you a job.
Sounds familiar?
Finally
Only Security patches from here on out.. not Mucky Muck.. "Feature Enhancements" or "Rubble" updates or "Video Card drivers"
Golden Edition
We should all be good for the next Thirteen years or so
You know your new OS is awful when people "upgrade" to the previous version.
In Soviet Russia, dot slashes YOU!
We just started preliminary testing of 8.1, which I foresee having many problems. Rollout and compatibility aside (which will be huge issues no doubt), there is the fact that a great deal of "normal" users can barely function in a Windows 7 environment. Windows 8.1 will be like giving an iPhone to a caveman in many cases. Help desk is going to love that transition I am thinking...
"Good luck with pushing 8 to the corporate world... it's about as adoptable as an angry badger with syphilis."
Don't you just hate it when people are excessively positive about Microsoft?
I have noticed a trend. There are several engineering software packages that I use that simply will not run under Windows 8. The vendors have basically said use Windows 7 (or even XP) or move to Linux. This obviously does not affect most users, but it is interesting.
I have used the UI for Windows 8 for a couple of years now. It works, but I do not like it. I think it is rather poorly designed.
So other than the fact that it will not run the programs I need and I do not like the UI, I guess it is a pretty good operating system.
Er... yes they can.
And if they do not want to make money is not the same as if they want to lose the money they have.
Releasing things anything near recent versions of Windows or Office will destroy all their future sales overnight.
Besides, they already offer the source, and developers will be around to make patches for it. Just not for free, not under open licences, and not from Microsoft. When you tell people that, they tend to think that a migration to a supported OS is probably better for them.
That said, 7 is supported for several years yet, just not mainstream support. XP has ONLY JUST just come out of extended support itself and that was long overdue. 7 will be in extended support for ages yet. And by then, Windows 8 will be old, Windows 10 will be available generally and Windows 11 will be on the horizon anyway.
Sorry, I'm not a proprietary software fan, but suggesting that MS just destroy their biggest revenue stream overnight so that you can get a security patch either while it's still being security-patched or MANY years after it was released, is just ridiculous.
Microsoft no longer care what version you use. All their big customers have annual renewals nowadays anyway. The consumer market is tiny and mostly get their Windows via their OEM anyway. Nobody "buys" a box at a store with Windows disks in it any more.
If they don't care what version you use, they have no need to keep dragging on old software past what they've already promised.
I just realized that my OEM license won't transfer to my new computer and I couldn't easily find a copy of Windows 7, so for the first time I just decided to go without. I have Windows 8 on a laptop and there's no way I'd ever buy a copy of that, if it didn't come preloaded. It's just awful.
This marks the end of the dual-boot era for me. It's Linux all the way now. Great job Microsoft!
Windows 8.1 is just ridiculous. It hardly meets the needs of business at all, too many problems. That silly touch interface is just insane.
Microsoft is trying hard to jam Windows 8.1 and soon Windows 10 down our throats, but XP was clearly the most powerful OS that MS has made, and Windows 7 is a barely usable but certainly much less convenient OS than XP.
Which completely explains why there are so many computers in the world still running and being used productively with XP.
Hundreds of millions of them.
.
XP will go down in history as the best OS made. Ever.
Win2k was better.