The Windows 7, are, and will remain at the top of the operating systems used globally for many years to come, regardless of whether the Microsoft announced the end of their support. Systems running Windows 7 have grown so much in the last two years that they are present on more than 50% of desktop computers worldwide.
Needless to say, the news that Microsoft is shutting down Windows 7 has caused reactions, something we experienced with the Windows XP support fee.
As we mentioned yesterday, Windows 7 will stop supporting 13 2015 in January, and Microsoft has already begun issuing warnings to remind users that it is important to upgrade their system for better protection and stability.
While it is true that Windows 7 enters a period of extended support from the beginning of 2015, operating system users have absolutely no reason to worry.
But what really means that mainstream stops and extended support. Here are the official descriptions offered by Microsoft for the two support periods:
"Microsoft mainstream support will provide general support for at least 5 years from the date of general availability product, ή για 2 χρόνια μετά την κυκλοφορία του επόμενου νέου προϊόντος. Για παράδειγμα, αν αγοράσετε μια new edition of Windows and five years later another version is released, you will still have two years of support.
"Microsoft Extensive Support will provide support for at least 5 years from the date of general availability of the product, or for 2 years after the release of the second product (two versions later)"
To understand the difference in mainstream, Windows will not only get patches of security and fixes, but also the new features and optimizations that the operating system is supposed to make is more stable and reliable.
In extended support, Windows will only get security fixes, which are of course more important.
In other words, from January 2015 Windows 7 will not get updates that add any new features, but will continue to be updated to fix vulnerabilities points which could put the system at risk.
Note that once Windows 7 ceases to support mainstream, you will already have the first beta version of Windows 9. So anyone could try out the new product and decide if he really likes the new version of the operating system. Especially if it is going to be released for free to users of Windows 7 SP1 systems.
