ARE YOU LOOKING THROUGH THE RIGHT WINDOWS?
SUPPORT FOR WINDOWS 7 IS COMING TO AN END. IF YOUR BUSINESS STILL USES THIS VERSION OF MICROSOFT'S OPERATING SYSTEM, IT'S TIME TO MAKE SOME DECISIONS – AS BILL BENNETT EXPLAINS.
Support for Windows 7 is coming to an end. If your business still uses this version of Microsoft’s operating system, it’s time to make some decisions.
From January Microsoft plans to drop support for Windows 7 – or in Microsoft language, Windows 7 will reach “End of Life Status”. That makes right now a good time for you to plan what to do.
Dropping support means there will be no more updates and no more security patches. Most likely Microsoft will not answer your support calls about the operating system or respond to online questions.
At that point Microsoft will wash its hands of any responsibility to keep you safe or to keep your software ticking over.
Microsoft’s language about dropping support is confusing. In fact, the company stopped issuing major updates for Windows 7 four years ago in 2015. The difference between then and now has been a trickle of small fixes, mainly to keep users safe from online threats.
Of course, Windows 7 will live on after the cut off. Just as all older versions of Windows do. Every so often you’ll see a display somewhere showing a Windows XP crash screen or even something with Windows NT – which is 25 years old!
If you have Windows 7 installed, it won’t disappear or stop working in January. There’s a good chance you’ll see worrying messages
telling you that it is no longer supported. These will probably come with an invitation to buy an upgrade to Windows 10.
This doesn’t sound like it’s a huge concern. But you can rest assured that the moment Microsoft abandons support the online criminals will move in. If hackers find vulnerabilities in Windows 7, they may no longer be fixed. Given the large numbers of Windows 7 computers still out in the wild, it will become a tempting target for every kind of digital ratbag.
Many large organisations will continue to use Windows 7. They can get support from Microsoft, but it’s expensive. This kind of support costs many dollars per computer per year. You’d need to be well heeled and have a compelling reason to choose continued support.
Microsoft didn’t completely wash its hands of earlier Windows versions. Although it officially stopped support of Windows XP and ME a long time ago, there were a few updates to ward off the worst security threats.
Realistically you now have three main options: 1. Stick with the Windows you know and love even though there are
risks. 2. Update to a newer version of Windows. 3. Find another operating system. What you should do depends on how you use computers and what investments you have tied up in hardware and software.
FAREWELL OLD FRIEND
When Microsoft pulls the plug in January, Windows 7 will be ten years old. The software remains popular. Some people still think it
was the best ever version of Windows.
One measure of that is that it is only a couple of months since the number of active Windows 10 computers went past the number of active Windows 7 computers. It’s easy to measure what people are using: the data is made clear when anyone visits a website.
It’s not hard to see why Windows 7 remains popular. It was more reliable than anything that went before it. Some say that for a long time it was more reliable than Windows 10. It has a simple, paredback user interface. And, unlike Windows 10 which is ever-changing, everything on Windows 7 stays in the same place. There’s no hunting around for a control or option that Microsoft decided to move for no apparent reason.
Windows 8 was a mess. There was never a Windows 9. Windows 10 was launched in 2015 and is what you’ll automatically get if you buy a new computer. It looks more complicated than Windows 7 and has a few quirks that you need to learn before you can be as productive as you were.
For most people Windows 10 is the easiest and logical step after Windows 7. It makes sense. Microsoft says it intends for Windows 10 to be the large major version of its operating system. The company doesn’t plan to abandon it.
Microsoft updates Windows 10 all the time, but twice a year there are major new versions. In theory, each is better than the last, although there is that problem we’ve already mentioned where features move around – in some cases they disappear altogether.
The idea is that those rolling updates means that Windows 10 continues to improve. There’s no question it had become slicker and faster over the years. It has also become safer. There’s less chance of an attack getting past your defences than with earlier versions of 10 or with older versions of Windows.
If you choose to stick with Windows 7, there is a paid-for support option for the next three years. You’ll be charged US$25 per computer for year one, US$50 in year two and US$100 in year three. These are prices for the Enterprise edition; Windows 7 Pro prices are twice as much.
You can choose not to pay, but you’ll be on your own. It might make sense if your computers never connect to the Internet, otherwise the risks are high.
THE PRICE OF UPGRADING
When Windows 10 first appeared, upgrades from Windows 7 were free. That train has left the station. It’s now quite expensive. Windows 10 Home is NZ$259 and Pro is $419. There’s also a $639 Workstation version.
You can shop around for better prices, but take care, some of the offers are scams. Some people have been able to install Windows 10 at no cost using their Windows 7 key. This doesn’t work for everyone, but it is worth a try.
One reason some people have held back from upgrading is fear their computer hardware isn’t up to the job. However, that’s not likely to be the case.
Most computers able to run Windows 7 should do OK with 10. The official listed requirements for the two are the same: 1GHz processor, 2GB of RAM, 16 to 20GB of spare hard drive space and a compatible graphics card.
In practice you’ll need more of everything, if you don’t then it’s probably time to upgrade your hardware anyway. Of course, the good news is that a 2019 computer comes with Windows 10 already installed.