First of all I would like to wish everybody a Happy New Year. Our entire staff hopes you had a happy and safe holiday!
With the New Year, new challenges are going to take place in the cyber market. The first thing I would like to talk about is Windows 7. It seems like just yesterday that we were talking about the final days of Windows XP. The final update was written in April of last year.
Since then, folks have been racing to upgrade to mostly Windows 7 machines since the hype stemming from Windows 8 was so bad. Now that many of us have upgraded, we learn that the final days of mainstream support for this great operating system is coming on January 13, 2015. What does this mean for you?
Essentially there will be no more upgrades or improvements offered for Windows 7. In addition, about the only copy of Windows 7 you will be able to get your hands on is an OEM copy designed for computer builders. I have purchased my copy that I will use on the next system I build for myself. They are still available on Tiger Direct. If you think you will ever need an extra copy of Windows 7, I urge you to buy it now.
With the above said, you will still receive security updates for the operating system for another 5 years. After that, Windows 7 will drive into the sunset right along with Windows XP. Essentially, you will still receive security updates till January of 2020. After that, Windows 7 will still work and your license will still be valid but your system may be at higher risk of infections or virus attacks. It should be noted that the widespread destruction that Microsoft tried to push when Windows XP expired has never happened and it likely never will. Many folks still have great running XP machines and we are seeing no increased Malware activity associated with using them. In fact, it appears that the Malware activity has actually decreased, as it is no longer the operating system with the most users.
My advice will always be the same. If you have a computer that is running good, do not throw it away because Microsoft says you should. They will do everything in their power to aggravate you to do so but remember that your license does not expire. If you are a careful surfer, keep your security up to date and do frequent security scans you should be able to use your system for a fair amount of time past the OS life cycle. If your hardware fails, it is always best at that time to replace the old machine.
Many ask why would somebody want to keep an older machine? Well that answer is usually a simple one. Older software will sometimes not work on a new machine. Many folks have proprietary software that is only designed to work on a certain OS. It is sometimes extremely expensive and time consuming to try and find an alternate product that will do the same thing on another machine. Personally, I have a mix of operating systems from XP to Windows 7. I have tried to avoid Windows 8 since I really do not like the operating system at all. I am hoping Windows 10 is more like the original operating systems that all of us have grown to love.
There are cases where the compatibility tool built into Windows 8 will help some applications that require Windows XP or Windows 7 to run. To do this, you can simply right click on the programs icon and select the Compatibility Mode. Here you can choose from the dropdown box what operating system you need the compatibility for. If the application now runs, you are in luck. Sometimes this method works and sometimes it does not.
In short, if you are still running XP and you have a fast computer, you can still run your programs if you are a careful surfer. If you are download happy and like to download and install games and utilities, you might want to do that on another machine. If you are running Windows 7, you have 5 more years before the safety of your system will be compromised. You will still receive security updates for 5 more years. By then, I just wonder what Windows version we might be on. W3e might be looking at Windows 20. Who knows, by then we might be controlling our computers with chips embedded in our brain.
Article from,Tech Joe – No Copy~
Leave a Reply