Posted on 03/13/2019 8:00:46 PM PDT by dayglored
Hail of notifications incoming... just be thankful 8 passed you by
Updated Windows 7 holdouts have been warned to expect a notification suggesting that perhaps an upgrade might be in order.
Matt Barlow, corporate veep for Windows, has promised Windows 7 users are to receive a "courtesy reminder" that support is running out for the venerable OS as 14 January 2020 looms large.
Barlow also noted that Office 2010 ends its support run shortly thereafter, but for now the focus is on Windows 7.
The helpful notifications will doubtless send a shiver of déjà vu down the spines of users who found themselves on the receiving end of Microsoft's increasingly shrill exhortations to switch to Windows 10 for free during the operating system's first year.
The "free upgrade" notification back in the day was a bit confusing, and some users reported Windows 10 sidling up to their systems without permission.
Microsoft quietly killed the nagware – after all, 350 million or so devices running Windows 10 after the first year was mission accomplished. That billion couldn't be far away, right?
While the official freebie upgrade offer is long gone, Microsoft has clearly learned lessons from the nagware experience. This time around the notifications will only appear a "handful" of times, and users will have an option to "do not notify me again".
Barlow also insists the notification is for "information only" and clicking "learn more" will send the user off into a world full of shiny new hardware and software.
We checked with Microsoft to find out what "handful" actually meant. Some people have pretty big hands (although the claws of this Vulture have been described as "Trumpian" after remarking on the size of the iPhone XR). We also asked whether enterprises would be able to able head the things off before weary PFYs start fielding the inevitable support calls. ®
#MeToo
Just bought a new Windows7 HP laptop last year. Love it.
Hope you ghost your system to ensure longevity...got rid of my last Win7 machine a couple years ago when the HD bit the dust.
That's what mine did one night in August about 2 years ago. I unplugged my network connection and began shutting down the pc manually. When I rebooted, Windows said my upgrade failed and asked me if I wanted to retry or undo. I chose undo then I found a link here at FR that blocks any attempt to upgrade to Windows 10.
I also called Microsoft and told the poor tech support person what a breach of trust it is to upgrade without permission. That whole episode convinced me that Microsoft had ulterior motives (anti-piracy? Chinese spyware?) to force everyone onto Win10 if they were this desperate to convert people. Left an extremely sour taste in my mouth over it.
Lesbian Transexual Slave Bisexual edition. Rather than popping up a blue screen after an error, the system screams at you about how unfair the patriarchy is.
And I’m thinking that its time to install W7.
SHUTUP M$ST. I’ll run your best OS, Win 7 64bit, till the day I die.
How do your continued screw ups with Windows 10 encourage me to upgrade?
I am on metered broadband and have no desire to pay for your screwed up updates.
I know you just can’t wait to release Windows As A Service. Don’t bother contacting me. I’m NOT interested.
If something catastrophic happens to Win 7 and I can’t continue to use it, there’s always Linux.
A *new* Win7 laptop? Then again I do see them in a few places.
I use Windows 7 and Windows 10.
I will leave Windows 7 when Windows 10 has drivers for my RAID.
OTOH, Microsoft has actively undercut Classic Shell, and the developer/maintainer gave up keeping up with MS a year or so ago. It's in the hands of "the community" now.
I still use it, and recommend it. But it can only do so much. And I suspect with another Windows Update or two, it'll stop working entirely.
Get a 2009 Mac Pro. Upgradeable just like a PC. You can change CPU , RAM, video card, hard drives, optical drive, add PC/iE cards, etc.
Basic models are available cheap.
I’m beginning to think it is indeed time to go Linux. Find an office suite that I’m comfortable with and an email client as well. MicroThief continues to commit suicide.
We should be using WP..
I had to install Google Chrome (I refuse to use Firefox), and would like to install Palemoon but the instructions on their website are too hard to follow. If anyone can assist I'm all ears.
A period of discovery will now ensue. This is all virgin territory for me.
Whenever I have questions, I do a google search prefaced with “linux mint”. Some things get done at the command prompt in a terminal window, but when you find your answer, it’s just cut and paste.
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