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. ®
No Win 7 updates in a couple years, do not think I will get this nag screen. No issues with no MS updates, running along just fine.
Linux powers smart TV’s. Can you imagine what would happen if they ran Windows?
No thanks to Windows hell.
Only reason to upgrade is Windows 7 EOL lack of support.
My wife’s laptop is constantly freezing up while the endless updates are running. Wait to start, wait to shut down, etc.
LTSB has the old Windows interface. If you love Windows 7, you’ll like LTSB.
Oh and it runs all your old 32 bit apps. No Microsoft store and no modern apps.
Why the geeks have to move everything around is an infuriating question. They would have a lot less resistance if the location of things did not keep getting moved around.
I’m reminded daily that my Windows XP support has expired.
A YT vid I watched this morning noted that extended support is available (security updates) for the pro and enterprise versions of 7, for the next three years.
I’ll use Win7 until something better comes along.
Lots of people are still running XP.
“Once Windows 7 support ends, I’ll be upgrading to a Linux machine.”
......
I keep win7 on my htpc for the dvr app. Once support for wmc ends then I’ll have to consider the Silicon Dust dvr app on linux.
My old laptop just died over the weekend. Did Windows 10 kill it?
Computer death can be software death, hardware death, or both. It's unusual for software like Win10 to kill hardware, although it's not unheard of. If the laptop has stopped booting and is giving messages like it can't read the hard drive, that could be due to Win10 taking a major cr@p, though it's more often hardware (like the hard drive taking a major cr@p).
So while it's possible, I'd say it's unlikely.
I think this whole computer thing is just a fad that won’t last
I'll probably go the same route, but I'm sure not looking forward to it.
OK, thx for the info. I feel a little better. And I’ve pretty much decided my iPad is sufficient for my usage.
I’ve been a diehard Windows user for (well, a lot of years). The more I read of their business and technical plans the less I am inclined to wish to continue with them.
Oh I’ll keep windoze around - but only in a VM.
LTSB has the old Windows interface. If you love Windows 7, you’ll like LTSB.
Oh and it runs all your old 32 bit apps. No Microsoft store and no modern apps.
sounds good but: Unfortunately, as we said earlier, Windows 10 LTSB is only available as part of Windows 10 Enterprise. And Windows 10 Enterprise is only available to an organization with a volume licensing agreement, or through a new $7 per month subscription program.
I'm not a volume user and won't pay $84 PER YEAR just for crappy windows.
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