Microsoft to discontinue Windows 7 and 8.1 next November

[JMH]

Still want to buy a PC that comes with Windows 7 or 8.1 from the get-go? You've got less than a year.

Updated late October, Microsoft's "Windows lifecycle fact sheet" shows October 31, 2016, as the "end of sales for PCs with Windows preinstalled" for both Windows 7 Professional and Windows 8.1, a change spotted by CNET sister site ZDNet. After that date, the only choice for consumers will be to purchase new computers with Windows 10 installed. The lone exception will be businesses with license agreements that entitle them to choose which version of Windows they want preinstalled.

The deadline puts pressure on consumers who have grown comfortable with Windows 7 and are reluctant to upgrade their operating system if they buy a new PC. For Microsoft, it's a necessary step toward its goal of having Windows 10 power 1 billion devices, which underscores the company's message that the new software can tie together PCs, tablets and mobile phones with apps that can run on any of them.

Microsoft to discontinue Windows 7 and 8.1 next November - CNET

 

[JMH]

Microsoft Names End Date For Windows 7

Fans of an older Windows operating system have reason to feel the pang of nostalgia today: Microsoft has quietly announced the end date for Windows 7. This end date will affect the sale of computers with the operating system pre-installed, but the announcement also lists two further dates when support will be cancelled.

According to their Windows Lifecycle Fact Sheet page, the sale of new Windows 7 Professional machines from authorized retailers will end on October 31, 2016; the sale of Windows 7 Home machines ended last year in October. The end of the support for the OS was January of this year for the mainstream support, with the end of extended support coming around in January of 2020.

Interestingly, Windows 8 has a weird end of life schedule, too. Windows 8 pre-installed machines will leave the market before the end of the run for Windows 7 Pro, as retail sales of the devices will cease on June 30, 2016. Windows 8.1 machines get to hang on a little longer, ending on the same date as the sales of Windows 7 Pro machines, October 31. The end of mainstream support for 8.1 will be in January of 2018, with extended support ending in January of 2023.

Microsoft Names End Date For Windows 7 | TechBeat