The popular Windows 7 operating system (OS) has reached the end of mainstream support on Tuesday, Jan. 13, and passes into extended support from now on.
This shift from mainstream support to extended support means that Microsoft will no longer offer free support for Windows 7 from now on. In other words, even consumers who have paid licenses or who have signed up to licensing programs will have to pay if they want to benefit from support for Windows 7. At the same time, Microsoft will no longer be implementing any new features for the OS.
Extended support, meanwhile, will run through 2020, and means that Windows 7 will still continue to receive security patches until then. The end of mainstream support, however, marks the first step toward nixing the OS on Jan. 14, 2020.
Windows 7 is a widely popular version of Microsoft's operating system, as it is considered far more stable and desirable than Windows Vista, aka its predecessor, and easier to use than its successor, aka Windows 8. The popular Windows 7 powered roughly 55 percent of the world's PC range, which is more than Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 managed to cover together.
Windows 8 was widely criticized upon its debut for bringing a confusing new user interface (UI) to the table, and many users preferred to stay on Windows 7. Even when Windows 8.1 came out trying to fix what Windows 8 had messed up, many consumers still felt that Windows 7 was better and easier to operate.
All versions of Windows 7 go into extended support on Jan. 13, 2015, until 2020, except for one embedded version that seems to be exempt from this move, according to Microsoft's page for support timeframes.
Meanwhile, Windows 10 is expected to launch this year and bring notable improvements over the dreaded Windows 8 and the subsequent Windows 8.1, but it will still take a while for the consumer version to roll out. Microsoft has an event set for Jan. 21 to reveal more details regarding its latest Windows 10, and we'll keep you up to date as soon as more information becomes available.
In the meantime, Windows 7 users who don't want to upgrade just yet will have to settle for only minor security updates from now on.
