Microsoft ending support for Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 at the same time

[Jan]

RIP Windows 7 — for real this time

Microsoft will terminate its extended security update (ESU) programme for Windows 7 and drop support for Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 early next year.

The company has again reminded customers of the end-of-life for these operating systems (OSs) in a blog post by its Microsoft Edge team.

 

[PaulMurkin]

Perhaps if they didn't make Win10 so incompatible with older apps they would not have so many people still using Windows 7... but this is Micro$oft we're talking about here.

 

[Herr_Koos]

Perhaps if they didn't make Win10 so incompatible with older apps they would not have so many people still using Windows 7... but this is Micro$oft we're talking about here.

Why do the owners of said apps insist on running their outdated software on new hardware and OS's? Why are these apps not updated or replaced with something better?

 

[supersunbird]

Perhaps if they didn't make Win10 so incompatible with older apps they would not have so many people still using Windows 7... but this is Micro$oft we're talking about here.

If something works on 8 it's very likely to work on 10.

And Windows 7 is like 13 years old. Hell, even 10 is now 7 years old.

 

[PaulMurkin]

Why do the owners of said apps insist on running their outdated software on new hardware and OS's? Why are these apps not updated or replaced with something better?

Because the EDA industry and other vendors of niche tools do not need to update their applications all the time... if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Also.. these apps are very expensive and run with dongles actually.

 

[PaulMurkin]

If something works on 8 it's very likely to work on 10.

And Windows 7 is like 13 years old. Hell, even 10 is now 7 years old.

I am using the EDA toolchain in a Windows 7 VM because, the vendor decided some years ago that Microsoft can go suck a tailpipe with their Visual studio and .net crap, so I am using their current release. It gets updates, license and dongle works, as long as it doesn't go near Windows 8 or higher.

 

[Herr_Koos]

Because the EDA industry and other vendors of niche tools do not need to update their applications all the time... if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Also.. these apps are very expensive and run with dongles actually.

Niche being the key word here... MS do not develop for the niche market, they develop for consumer and Enterprise.

 

[Senor]

Goodbye my trusted friend, we've known each other since 2009 0r 10

 

[supersunbird]

I am using the EDA toolchain in a Windows 7 VM because, the vendor decided some years ago that Microsoft can go suck a tailpipe with their Visual studio and .net crap, so I am using their current release. It gets updates, license and dongle works, as long as it doesn't go near Windows 8 or higher.

Sounds more like you have a vendor problem than a MS problem.

 

[PaulMurkin]

Sounds more like you have a vendor problem than a MS problem.

It's multiple vendors actually.
Still using XP in a virtual machine at work because of the need to run a particular version of Visual Studio.
The business world does not capitulate to Microsoft in many cases, nor does it tolerate Microsoft's increasing of rubbish and bloat in the OS.

 

[2023]

Niche being the key word here... MS do not develop for the niche market, they develop for consumer and Enterprise.

Feels like the haven't keep the consumer in mind since windows 7 tbh. I can't think of a single thing that is better for end users since then. Name a feature that windows 11 has that you can't do without that is not in windows 7 as an end user?

 

[RunningFromFat]

Feels like the haven't keep the consumer in mind since windows 7 tbh. I can't think of a single thing that is better for end users since then. Name a feature that windows 11 has that you can't do without that is not in windows 7 as an end user?

The OS is made for better performance, not everything is about features.

 

[2023]

The OS is made for better performance, not everything is about features.

Does windows 11 have better performance for the average end user?

What I hear from most users is that windows 11 can't even run on their existing hardware and need to buy new hardware for it.

 

[backstreetboy]

Feels like the haven't keep the consumer in mind since windows 7 tbh. I can't think of a single thing that is better for end users since then. Name a feature that windows 11 has that you can't do without that is not in windows 7 as an end user?

Tabbed file explorer

 

[PaulMurkin]

The OS is made for better performance, not everything is about features.

Yeah riiight... Windows 10... slow as lard unless you patch things away.
Windows 7, runs fast on the same hardware. Same SSD too.

 

[saor]

Does windows 11 have better performance for the average end user?

What I hear from most users is that windows 11 can't even run on their existing hardware and need to buy new hardware for it.

Starting with win10 I can't really recall a single crash or bluescreen. Haven't used 11 yet.

 

[Herr_Koos]

Feels like the haven't keep the consumer in mind since windows 7 tbh. I can't think of a single thing that is better for end users since then. Name a feature that windows 11 has that you can't do without that is not in windows 7 as an end user?

I don't use 11; it's nothing more than a reskin of 10 for the most part. No, the irony is not lost on me.

The main reason for switching to 10 for me would be vastly better support. Companies aren't updating drivers for Win 7 anymore. It also has objectively better memory management, multi-core CPU support, and SSD support.
Two case studies from personal experience:
1) I ran both OS's on an old laptop that only had 4GB of RAM. It performs noticably better with Win 10 installed. Win7 was never comfortable with low usable RAM.
2) A friend of mine had issues getting a new game running on his 10year old system. I gifted him an SSD in the hopes that this would solve the problem. It barely made a difference. Then I convinced him to upgrade ftom 7 to 10, and the game went from a crash prone slideshow to being completely playable.

So yes, I have good reasons for using Win10 over Win7, and it's not just because MS claims that it's better. It IS better, full stop.

 

[Herr_Koos]

Yeah riiight... Windows 10... slow as lard unless you patch things away.
Windows 7, runs fast on the same hardware. Same SSD too.

I've had the complete opposite experience.

 

[AfricanTech]

It's multiple vendors actually.
Still using XP in a virtual machine at work because of the need to run a particular version of Visual Studio.
The business world does not capitulate to Microsoft in many cases, nor does it tolerate Microsoft's increasing of rubbish and bloat in the OS.

What many don't appreciate is that as the people who maintain the old systems get older and retire or pass on, it becomes increasingly difficult to find people who are willing to learn the old languages in order to provide continued maintenance. In my industry, we had a 40-year-old system that needed to be replaced at great cost because there were about 4 people left in the world who were still able to support it. Had the system been regularly refreshed and refactored to keep up with new technologies the cost to replace it wholesale would not have been incurred.

 

[PaulMurkin]

What many don't appreciate is that as the people who maintain the old systems get older and retire or pass on, it becomes increasingly difficult to find people who are willing to learn the old languages in order to provide continued maintenance. In my industry, we had a 40-year-old system that needed to be replaced at great cost because there were about 4 people left in the world who were still able to support it. Had the system been regularly refreshed and refactored to keep up with new technologies the cost to replace it wholesale would not have been incurred.

Hardly think C++ is an old language.
The problem relates to this. Windows 7 works fine, it will boot, it will work, no problem.
The problem is those who are greedy, like Microsoft. Need to make more pieces of paper that hold value.