In reality, gray-with-age Windows 7 gained share of the market in March and April 2018. Now, Windows 10, which arrived more or less not three years ago, is running on only 39.3% however Windows PCs, matched against Windows 7’s 47.3%.
It is my opinion it. Month in and month out, essentially the most popular articles I’ve posted using the web tells you ideas on how to still get Windows 7 legally. Hint: Windows 7 Pro SP1 OEM edition on Amazon runs for $199.
You need to? It’s no secret: Most people still prefer Windows 7 to Windows 10. (The less said of Windows 8.x appropriate.) And Windows 7 extended support won’t end until January 14, 2020.
Well, I’ll telling you why not. Microsoft definitely seems to be slowly but surely strangling its technical support for Windows 7.
Here is an example, as Computerworld’s own Woody Leonhard, recently noted, “Win7 and Server 2008 R2 already went through a months of problems with networking more often than not, and apoplectic network interface cards accumulate.”
Come on, Microsoft! You’re not Apple, where seems like as if every iOS update has fits with Apple’s own hand-picked Wi-Fi hardware. You’re any better then this.
What’s that, Woody? The May Windows 7 networking patch bug “is unique from the previous two months’ bugs?” OK. I stand corrected. Microsoft in fact is sucking dead gophers through rusty Chevy tailpipes on the subject of Windows 7 networking updates.
But, if I’m being honest, Microsoft has long had its share of bad updates and patches with all of the its systems, not just Windows 7.
You could also have noticed the fact that your Windows 7 patches have been completely putting on weight. It’s not your imagination. Since then October 2016, Microsoft started releasing Windows 7 patches that included most of the previous months’ patches.
True, if you’re using WSUS (Windows Server Update Services), you’re golden. But when you use Windows Update or Windows Update for Business, you’re bound to the fat updates.
The 2 main problems with this. First, those patch rollups are going to 300MB to 500MB proportions. That’s a lot of bandwidth for, say, an isolated office still using 3 Mbit/sec. DSL. Second, since every month’s plump patch package installs every fix since October 2016, if any patch breaks something, anything, the actual rollup fails and – well, that includes the picture.
But what’s really ticking me off today isn’t the. They’re old news. No, the original annoyance usually, with a year and a half of Windows 7 support yet, Microsoft staffers do not be answering Microsoft Community forum questions about Windows 7.
I don’t believe, but I know plenty of people who just go to those forums for help. Other folks to the forums can still try to assist you, but you won’t be seeing you just aren’t a Microsoft ID offering aid. Thanks, Microsoft. Kudos.
Oh, one more thing, users of Windows 8.1, 8.1 RT, Traveler 10, Surface Pro, Surface Pro 2, Surface RT, Surface 2 and Office 2010/2013? You’ll specifically see official forum support either.
And that just in, also from Woody Leonhard: “Even though Microsoft says it’s supporting Win7 until January 14, 2020, if you have an older machine ?a including any Pentium III ?a you’ve been blocked, and there’s nothing you’re capable of doing about it.”
Seriously? Seriously!
An eagle-eyed AskWoody denizen, DAVe3283, noted that earlier June 15, 2018, the June Monthly Rollup article KB 4284826 additionally, the Security-only article KB 4284867 no longer promised that “Microsoft is focusing on a resolution and can provide an update within the upcoming release” for older systems.
Sometime on or after June 15, the June KB articles for the Monthly Rollup while the Security-only update were modified to clear out the “Known issue” and also its resolution All of their prior KB articles were also changed incorporate this small amount of advice: “Upgrade your machines employing a processor that supports SSE2 or virtualize those machines.”
Yes, I am aware that, there can’t that many people still using Pentium III or older CPUs, nonetheless know frequently them. Wouldn’t it really be that hard to keep supporting these chips in addition to year and a half? After all, Microsoft has already done it since Windows 7 released.
So, yeah, Microsoft, pretty much everything looks to me as if you’re already abandoning Windows 7 regardless that we, your users, haven’t. I know it ticks you off that you’ve fallen next to 1 billion Windows 10 installations (which is how many you promised there would be in two or three years back in conjunction with the Build developer conference in April 2015). Work desk every hour counting at home, Microsoft said from this year’s Build that Windows 10 was on “nearly 700 million” devices.
What’s a 300 million shortfall between friends?
Seriously, though, Microsoft, us aren’t going to change from Windows 7 until it’s officially dead. That makes it harder on us to run it successfully for now is not doing you any favors.