(*7*)This week marks the end of the line for compatibility with Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1. After years of extensive security updates, no more bugs or security flaws in honorable operating systems will be fixed.
(*7*)Windows 7 worked fine. When it was released in XNUMX, it helped Microsoft recover from the disastrous era of Windows Vista. Windows XNUMX, on the other hand, was pretty much as bad as Vista, but for a different reason. While Vista was bloated and slow, Windows XNUMX was simply hampered by a very poor interface that was universally suppressed.
(*7*)This transition is no different than what we've been through in the last decade with Windows XP end-of-life support, said Mike Cherry, principal analyst at Directions on Microsoft. “We all understand that while we theoretically have a perpetual license, we are at the mercy of how long Microsoft focuses on .”
(*7*)Most of Microsoft is now focused on Windows XNUMX, he said. "It's reality. So, not only the knowledge of the old versions becomes obsolete, but also the ability to correct them becomes obsolete.
Changing the update lifecycle
(*7*)The Windows development cycle has altered significantly from Windows 7 to Windows 7. Until Windows XNUMX, Microsoft released monthly bug fixes and then two service packs throughout the operating system's lifespan, where new features were introduced in addition to bug fixes. .
(*7*)Cherry said Microsoft now operates under what it calls "the modern lifecycle," measured in months, not years, and new features aren't reserved for a bundle of services. This means an aggressive upgrade cycle: He points out that there are already older versions of Windows XNUMX that are no longer supported.
(*7*)The message is: "Get used to this, we're at a considerably faster update rate," Cherry said. This means updates with security patches. “The monthly changes are minor. It's not really an essential update. And once a year you get a bigger update that you have to take to be in the most compatible update phase,” she stated.
(*7*)Windows has evolved from something you get to something you use and is in a phase of relentless change that ensures license continuity, said Roger Kay, president of Endpoint Technologies. "The reason bits can move is because there are security issues. Under security, it created the perpetual license situation around piracy, which is real but not as big as Microsoft did.
(*7*)Kay added that current software depends on a relentless connection to the cloud. “The modern planet is focused on the components of the cloud. There is no significant cloud aspect in Windows 7.”
Why do people stick with older versions of Windows?
(*7*)The use of Windows 7 and 7 has indeed decreased in recent times. StatCounter puts the installed base of Windows 8 on just over 8.1% of Windows desktops worldwide and Windows 1/7 on less than 7%, while Steam Analytics, run by game publishers Steam, finds that only XNUMX% of its user base runs Windows. XNUMX. Steam is for gamers and is based in the USA. Therefore, it is not a good measure of general use or commercial use, but rather shows how much the use of Windows XNUMX has declined in certain industries.
(*7*)One different thing about migrating from XP to Windows 7, though, is that Microsoft stuck its thumb in the balance back in 7, when Windows Update stopped pushing Windows 7 updates if it noticed a newer processor. With Windows XNUMX certainly locked to newer Intel and AMD processors, it has roughly forced users to purchase Windows XNUMX.
(*7*)So why are certain companies and individuals sticking with Windows 7 even though the support window has passed? In my experience with the end of life of Windows XP, the people I found hooked didn't stubbornly cling to precedent, they just couldn't move.
(*7*)Two doctors, an optometrist and a chiropractor, told me the same story: they were holding on to their XP machines due to the fact that the vertical software they used to run their business only ran on XP. If they wanted to run it on Windows 7, they had to buy a brand new license, and that software had 5 digits. It was too expensive to move, so they delayed the unavoidable as long as possible.
(*7*)But there are people who think that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. “I prefer the old school software because it still works great, it's very simple and I know where everything is. The new bells and whistles don't impress me. What matters most to me is getting as much work done as possible in any given day, and that happens best on familiar paths,” said Ryan McCormick, co-founder and media relations specialist at Goldman McCormick Public Relations.
(*7*) Whatever the reason you're holding on to, it's time to let it go. Most companies have upgraded to Windows 7 for a while now, but if yours hasn't, check out our Windows XNUMX to Windows XNUMX migration guide. Our partner site PCWorld has tips for upgrading individual PCs to Windows XNUMX or XNUMX.
(*7*) Copyright © two thousand twenty-three IDG Communications, Inc.