The end is nearish for Win 7

Deleted member 6919 · Sep 10, 2018

Microsoft Ends Windows 7 Support in 2020, companies can buy security updates up-to 2023

If you're still on Windows 7, Microsoft will be ending support for it in 2020. Organizations, however, can purchase an extended contract for support.

Through the way of extra dough, all of the sudden support will continue to provide paid support for Windows 7 until January 2023, including security updates. This scheme is called Windows 7 Extended Security Updates (ESU) and will be per device, also that contract price will increase each year. The Extended Security Updates will be available for Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Enterprise customers with Volume Licensing. Also, Office 365 ProPlus will be supported on devices with an active Windows 7 ESU subscription till 2023. Customers that are in the ESU program will be able to continue to use the Office suite this way.

Though Windows 10 is closing in, Windows 7 actually still has a market share of nearly 40%.

function9 · Sep 20, 2018

I'm still on Win7, been aware of the EOL for it since they released the info. If I'm still interested in gaming and still need Windows by 2020, I'll pick up Win8.1 somewhere (legally). I have zero interest in win10 and I'm slowly getting myself acquainted with Linux (Mint). Then again, not sure about win8.1 because I believe some hardware (at least some new cpus) require win10. And no, I'm not on social media, no alexa or other nonsense, and I have a flip phone.

Andy_J · Sep 20, 2018

I'll do a free upgrade to Win 10 when I need it. I don't yet. Windows 7 works damn fine for me now and has done for many years and it runs everything I am interested in. I am sure even without support it will stay good enough to use for a while yet.

rubaru · Sep 20, 2018

I wonder how much of this will be moot when we get Windows 11?
And how much longer that will take.

Omer Said · Sep 20, 2018

If you haven't tried Win 10, please give it a try. It has been working flawless for me. They fixed most of the problems in the earlier days of the product.

rubaru · Sep 20, 2018

Omer Said said:
If you haven't tried Win 10, please give it a try. It has been working flawless for me. They fixed most of the problems in the earlier days of the product.

You're right...it works well. It's just hard to get used to, being such a MASSIVE overhaul of the normal windows people have been accustomed to using for 20 years. The look of a tablet is not terribly friendly unless you have a touch screen. I think that Windows 10 is more appropriate for so-called power users, but not so fun for casual folks. There is a huge learning curve, no warning of how drastic the style change is, no training manual. Just dropped on people with no regard for how they would use the system.

paracletus · Sep 20, 2018

Zero problems here with windows 10 since upgrading.
Can't fault it, but turned off some of the "spyware"; it's worth being aware of what it does, and how it is different to win 7 before changing to this OS.

Brandon Wright · Oct 2, 2018

function9 said:
If I'm still interested in gaming and still need Windows by 2020, I'll pick up Win8.1 somewhere (legally).

I wouldn't go that route, Win8 was awful and horrible and terrible and a pain in the ass. Win10 is far less infuriating.

rubaru said:
The look of a tablet is not terribly friendly unless you have a touch screen. I think that Windows 10 is more appropriate for so-called power users, but not so fun for casual folks.

I believe you're thinking of Win8, that's the one that was tablet-like and I always felt lost on it even though I've been using Windows since the mid-90's. Win10 is much more like WinXP/Vista/Win7 and feels much more familiar. I had lots of problems with Win8, constant problems, but I've been on Win10 for close to two years now and haven't really had any problems at all.