Only "mainstream" support for Windows 7 ended. That only means no new features. No one cares about new features. Extended support is still ongoing though meaning you will get security updates and updates for reliability.
I was originally going to wait and see how Windows 10 worked out before upgrading. I heard a few bad things, but things I could deal with by control settings and registry, and because I could get pro edition free. But over time Microsoft has gotten worse, and more information has come out. Even Pro edition is required to accept all updates (not just security updates); Microsoft has been cheating and tricking people into installing their advertisements, "accidentally" downloading copies, adding worse features (no ability to set group policy to disable the store), and so forth. It's not as bad as everyone said it was going to be, it's worse.
Ok, sure, ask people to upgrade, let them know about Windows 10. But do it ONCE. Instead they're acting like someone offering you a free cheese sample at the grocery store but who keeps following you around the store and pleading "just one bite, do it now, you know you'll be forced to eat the cheese at the checkout line so why wait, oh I shoved a piece in your bag when you weren't looking".
Oh, also essentially brand new since you can still buy newly manufactured PCs with Windows 8.1 pre-installed (through October). For example, they were still selling PCs with XP preinstalled in 2010. So you could say its only 7 years old instead of 14, depending upon when you bought it.
Essentially brand new because it's only 3 years old. Barely 1/3 into it's expected life span (based upon end of life support). Even a 3 year old car is considered new, though not brand new. Anyone replacing a car in 3 years is too fashion conscience most likely. Replacing an OS in only 3 years is something silly, like getting a new iphone just because there is one. Windows 7 has been in productive service (not limping along) for 6 years. XP is still in service many places and is perfectly fine for many things, and it's been around for 14 years. They stick around because they get patched and have updates and service packs. Now Microsoft decides no, they'll make sure you upgrade or die by not updating the older systems.
Why replace the OS when it's perfectly fine, has no problems, runs all the software you want to run on it, and will be supported until 2023?
Who cares if Microsoft needs money or not? If I said I needed money would you send me some? Probably not, so why play lapdog to Microsoft? If they can't get people to adopt Windows 10 without begging and cheating and won't revamp their strategy then they deserve to go bankrupt.
And that's part of the problem Windows 8 is NEW! And yet support expires so incredibly quickly? A grand total of 5 years. I computer will last longer than that. Is Windows a supported operating system that cares about customers, or just a phone app wannabe? It's a shitty move by a shitty company to push their shitty OS, and people still manage to praise them for their mediocrity. Best reason to upgrade always seems to be "you'll have to get it done sooner or later so why not now" which is the sort of reason you get when you debate having your wisdom teeth pulled.
And who the hell wants DX12 games? Does it have useful features or was it invented solely to lock people into an unwanted operating system? If game makers require DX12 then they know in advance that they're cutting out the majority of their market who are still on DX9/10 and perfectly happy with that.
Four. If they can't manage four operating systems at once then they should stop lying when they say that they can have long term support for four operating systems at once. Maybe that's why the current OS is (temporarily) free, so that they can say "you got it free so stop bothering us" when people are asking support for it.
Because people paid for those operating systems and expect full support for them for the listed amount of time. Give me a break, Windows 8.1 is essentially brand new and Windows 10 has no features worth mentioning that differentiate it from a Windows 8.1 service pack. Should they list their support as "supported until 2023 or until we change our mind"?
Third definition of "legitimate" in Merriam-Webster is "fair or reasonable", and Microsoft is neither. They are certainly not doing any of this out of a concern for the needs or desires of their customers.
It costs time and money to do this, so it is in the Windows 7&8 users's best interest to refuse to switch to Windows 10.
Seriously, who gives a shit what's in Microsoft's best interest? Are there really people are there so stupid that they feel sorry for Microsoft and will do the upgrade out of a sense of charity?
It's also in Nabisco's best interests to include only one Oreo in every package of Oreos. Because we haven't had an Oreo metaphor in awhile.
Yes and no. Most Windows users don't understand any of this. They just know that things stopped working and they have no where to turn. Many are more likely to buy a brand new computer than to find someone who can fix it in five minutes. And Microsoft knows this.
True. There are a lot of development tools companies that don't seem to understand that OSX or Linux exist, not to mention less popular operating systems. This is a major boost to VMware and the like.
Why not just permanently defer an update? Not all updates are necessary, and there are indeed updates that negatively impact the computer. Defering a security update may be a bad thing but deferring some shitty Microsoft update saying "here, I fixed a bug in Windows Server 2016 that you don't own, so you have to reboot NOW!", or "I changed the UI again just because I can, so reboot NOW!"
What about that sneaky advertisement for Windows 10 that was hidden inside a security update for IE? This proves Microsoft can not be trusted.
As customers our first and only concern is about US. We do not care about Microsoft's needs and it is not our job to help them out. They treat us like shit so why should we care about their own headaches? Wha's wrong with 30 different versions? So they have to hire more developers, big deal. If the customers aren't treated with respect then the customers will leave.
Why don't they want people to stay on Windows 7 or 8? Is the reason only to make Microsoft money, or is there an actual possibility that they care about their customers? Sure, Honda wants me to buy a new car every year but I don't give in to their plaintive whines either.
The experts think he's real though. Which means that others don't believe it and think it's a conspiracy. But of course it's Bitcoin, which means first that all sorts of non-conformists are involved, and second that it doesn't really matter anyway.
Microsoft wants to be in every market. Whether or not they have any experience or expertise in those markets. So they do want to get into the embedded and real time markets. And so they sell Windows version of those things and they're almost always a disaster, they add lots of time and expense as well while claiming to be simpler (usually by implying that any moron capable of writing a Windows application is suitable to write your real time applications as well).
Most radiology machines that run on custom operating systems, commercial RTOSs, free RTOSs, or no operating system at all, are still able to send DICOM conformat image files to the computer on the doctor's desk or to the image database. If the IT guy wants his database to crash then that's ok, as long as the machine that touches the patient is not based upon Windows.
Because Windows is designed at every stage to be a general purpose computer. It is marketed primarily to corporate and home users. But these are specialized machines. They may not have a UI that conforms to any Windows standard, there is absolutely no need for a "desktop", they're always turn-key systems. Windows brings no advantages to the system unless it's as a display platform, in which case you separate the Windows machine from the medical machine and have them be independent (ie, take X-rays from one machine, send the images to a database, then the Windows machine can browse and display the images without screwing up the medical machine). If there is nothing whatsoever in the system that needs Windows then it's stupid to use Windows as the base. If you need tasks then use an RTOS.
However if you don't attach it to the network you're ok. And you shouldn't ever be using something that's a "standard release" in embedded systems, either a custom made OS, or an OS designed for embedded systems, not something stupid like Windows. Are there vulnerabilities? Sure, but no attacker should be able to have access if you put security around the system (no network, no plugging in random drives found in the parking lot, lock the room when it's in storage, etc). Using Windows is a shortcut that comes back to hurt the vendor and customer over time.
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Only "mainstream" support for Windows 7 ended. That only means no new features. No one cares about new features. Extended support is still ongoing though meaning you will get security updates and updates for reliability.
I was originally going to wait and see how Windows 10 worked out before upgrading. I heard a few bad things, but things I could deal with by control settings and registry, and because I could get pro edition free. But over time Microsoft has gotten worse, and more information has come out. Even Pro edition is required to accept all updates (not just security updates); Microsoft has been cheating and tricking people into installing their advertisements, "accidentally" downloading copies, adding worse features (no ability to set group policy to disable the store), and so forth. It's not as bad as everyone said it was going to be, it's worse.
Ok, sure, ask people to upgrade, let them know about Windows 10. But do it ONCE. Instead they're acting like someone offering you a free cheese sample at the grocery store but who keeps following you around the store and pleading "just one bite, do it now, you know you'll be forced to eat the cheese at the checkout line so why wait, oh I shoved a piece in your bag when you weren't looking".
Oh, also essentially brand new since you can still buy newly manufactured PCs with Windows 8.1 pre-installed (through October).
For example, they were still selling PCs with XP preinstalled in 2010. So you could say its only 7 years old instead of 14, depending upon when you bought it.
Essentially brand new because it's only 3 years old. Barely 1/3 into it's expected life span (based upon end of life support). Even a 3 year old car is considered new, though not brand new. Anyone replacing a car in 3 years is too fashion conscience most likely. Replacing an OS in only 3 years is something silly, like getting a new iphone just because there is one. Windows 7 has been in productive service (not limping along) for 6 years. XP is still in service many places and is perfectly fine for many things, and it's been around for 14 years. They stick around because they get patched and have updates and service packs. Now Microsoft decides no, they'll make sure you upgrade or die by not updating the older systems.
Why replace the OS when it's perfectly fine, has no problems, runs all the software you want to run on it, and will be supported until 2023?
Who cares if Microsoft needs money or not? If I said I needed money would you send me some? Probably not, so why play lapdog to Microsoft? If they can't get people to adopt Windows 10 without begging and cheating and won't revamp their strategy then they deserve to go bankrupt.
And that's part of the problem Windows 8 is NEW! And yet support expires so incredibly quickly? A grand total of 5 years. I computer will last longer than that. Is Windows a supported operating system that cares about customers, or just a phone app wannabe? It's a shitty move by a shitty company to push their shitty OS, and people still manage to praise them for their mediocrity. Best reason to upgrade always seems to be "you'll have to get it done sooner or later so why not now" which is the sort of reason you get when you debate having your wisdom teeth pulled.
And who the hell wants DX12 games? Does it have useful features or was it invented solely to lock people into an unwanted operating system? If game makers require DX12 then they know in advance that they're cutting out the majority of their market who are still on DX9/10 and perfectly happy with that.
"Hello, I am a Nigerian prince and I need your help to sneak my OS onto your country's PCs."
Four. If they can't manage four operating systems at once then they should stop lying when they say that they can have long term support for four operating systems at once. Maybe that's why the current OS is (temporarily) free, so that they can say "you got it free so stop bothering us" when people are asking support for it.
Because people paid for those operating systems and expect full support for them for the listed amount of time. Give me a break, Windows 8.1 is essentially brand new and Windows 10 has no features worth mentioning that differentiate it from a Windows 8.1 service pack. Should they list their support as "supported until 2023 or until we change our mind"?
I'd add Fallout and Baldur's Gate.
Or Microsoft just happens to be more accident prone than the Ford Pinto?
Third definition of "legitimate" in Merriam-Webster is "fair or reasonable", and Microsoft is neither. They are certainly not doing any of this out of a concern for the needs or desires of their customers.
It costs time and money to do this, so it is in the Windows 7&8 users's best interest to refuse to switch to Windows 10.
Seriously, who gives a shit what's in Microsoft's best interest? Are there really people are there so stupid that they feel sorry for Microsoft and will do the upgrade out of a sense of charity?
It's also in Nabisco's best interests to include only one Oreo in every package of Oreos. Because we haven't had an Oreo metaphor in awhile.
Microsoft is a perfect storm of malice plus incompetence.
Yes and no. Most Windows users don't understand any of this. They just know that things stopped working and they have no where to turn. Many are more likely to buy a brand new computer than to find someone who can fix it in five minutes. And Microsoft knows this.
True. There are a lot of development tools companies that don't seem to understand that OSX or Linux exist, not to mention less popular operating systems. This is a major boost to VMware and the like.
Then go smoke in a hermetically sealed room.
Why not just permanently defer an update? Not all updates are necessary, and there are indeed updates that negatively impact the computer. Defering a security update may be a bad thing but deferring some shitty Microsoft update saying "here, I fixed a bug in Windows Server 2016 that you don't own, so you have to reboot NOW!", or "I changed the UI again just because I can, so reboot NOW!"
What about that sneaky advertisement for Windows 10 that was hidden inside a security update for IE? This proves Microsoft can not be trusted.
As customers our first and only concern is about US. We do not care about Microsoft's needs and it is not our job to help them out. They treat us like shit so why should we care about their own headaches? Wha's wrong with 30 different versions? So they have to hire more developers, big deal. If the customers aren't treated with respect then the customers will leave.
Why don't they want people to stay on Windows 7 or 8? Is the reason only to make Microsoft money, or is there an actual possibility that they care about their customers? Sure, Honda wants me to buy a new car every year but I don't give in to their plaintive whines either.
Why would anyone sane WANT the app store? If someone is that dumb they can just re-enable it.
The experts think he's real though. Which means that others don't believe it and think it's a conspiracy. But of course it's Bitcoin, which means first that all sorts of non-conformists are involved, and second that it doesn't really matter anyway.
Microsoft wants to be in every market. Whether or not they have any experience or expertise in those markets. So they do want to get into the embedded and real time markets. And so they sell Windows version of those things and they're almost always a disaster, they add lots of time and expense as well while claiming to be simpler (usually by implying that any moron capable of writing a Windows application is suitable to write your real time applications as well).
Most radiology machines that run on custom operating systems, commercial RTOSs, free RTOSs, or no operating system at all, are still able to send DICOM conformat image files to the computer on the doctor's desk or to the image database. If the IT guy wants his database to crash then that's ok, as long as the machine that touches the patient is not based upon Windows.
Because Windows is designed at every stage to be a general purpose computer. It is marketed primarily to corporate and home users. But these are specialized machines. They may not have a UI that conforms to any Windows standard, there is absolutely no need for a "desktop", they're always turn-key systems. Windows brings no advantages to the system unless it's as a display platform, in which case you separate the Windows machine from the medical machine and have them be independent (ie, take X-rays from one machine, send the images to a database, then the Windows machine can browse and display the images without screwing up the medical machine). If there is nothing whatsoever in the system that needs Windows then it's stupid to use Windows as the base. If you need tasks then use an RTOS.
They also think the developers will be cheaper, that no training will be necessary, etc.
However if you don't attach it to the network you're ok. And you shouldn't ever be using something that's a "standard release" in embedded systems, either a custom made OS, or an OS designed for embedded systems, not something stupid like Windows. Are there vulnerabilities? Sure, but no attacker should be able to have access if you put security around the system (no network, no plugging in random drives found in the parking lot, lock the room when it's in storage, etc). Using Windows is a shortcut that comes back to hurt the vendor and customer over time.