Now that Windows 10 has been launched and in a full flow, Microsoft
CEO, Satya Nadella has decided to pull the plug on the iconic Windows 7
and the forgettable Windows 8.1. If you still want to buy a PC that
comes with Windows 7 or 8.1, you’ve got less than a year.
ZDNet found out that the Redmond based tech giant will shutter Windows 7/8.1 from November 2016 from Microsoft’s “Windows lifecycle fact sheet” which was published in the last week of October.
The
Windows lifecycle factsheet shows that Microsoft has opted for October
31, 2016, as the “end of sales for PCs with Windows preinstalled” for
both Windows 7 Professional and Windows 8.1.
Apparently after that
date, the only choice for Windows PC buyers 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.
Those users who want to
continue running Windows 7 on their PCs need not worry. Microsoft will
provide Windows 7 users with extended technical support until January
14, 2020. This means that they will continue to get security patches,
bug fixes and other updates. Windows 8 users will get such extended
technical support until January 10, 2023.
Despite the extended
deadline for Windows 7 and 8.1, Microsoft is heavily pushing Windows 10.
In fact from 2016, the Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 will get Windows 10 as
a “recommended update.”