The Windows 7, are, and will remain at the top of operating systems that are used globally for many years to come, regardless of whether Microsoft has announced the end of their support. Systems running Windows 7 have so much grown over the last two years that they are in more than 50% of desktop computers around the world.
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 νέα έκδοση των Windows και πέντε χρόνια αργότερα κυκλοφορήσει μια άλλη έκδοση, θα έχετε ακόμα δύο χρόνια υποστήριξης.
"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, as of January of 2015, Windows 7 will not get updates that will add any new features but will continue to be updated to fix vulnerabilities that 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.
