DURBAN - Nearly a decade ago, Windows 7 was the latest and greatest operating system for the PC.
It needed to be, too: its immediate predecessor Windows Vista was slow, buggy, and universally despised. Users either kept their old PCs longer or “downgraded” new ones to Windows XP, so the pressure was on at Microsoft to come up with another bestseller. Fortunately, Windows 7 was exactly that - and remained popular long after newer versions were released as Windows 8 in 2012, and Windows 8.1 in 2013.
Changed: In much the same way that Vista had been a flop after the successful Windows XP, Windows 8 and 8.1 were not well received. Too much of the familiar Windows interface was changed in favour of a touch-screen “tiles” interface. The idea was similar to what users were using on iPads and tablets at the time, and Microsoft hoped to emulate this for the PC market.
Despite some enthusiasts adapting to Windows 8, most users couldn’t easily adjust to the new way of working, especially if they didn’t have the touch-screen that Microsoft thought would be tech’s next big thing. As a result of the growing backlash against Windows 8, customers kept specifying that new computers have Windows 7 instead. Even when Windows 10 launched in July 2015, we all stuck doggedly to Windows 7 until it became clear that Windows 10 was going to be another of Microsoft’s successes.
Vulnerable: As a result of this determination to hang on to Windows 7, there are literally millions of Windows 7 computers still in use today. The problem with this is that Windows 7 is rapidly approaching its final days. Microsoft’s vital updates and security patches for Windows 7 will end on January 14, 2020. In less than a year, Windows 7 systems will be much more vulnerable to online threats, bugs, hackers and malware than newer Windows versions. Windows 8 and 8.1 have a little more life left in them yet, as their end-of-support comes in January 2023, but anyone looking to upgrade their Windows 7 systems would be well-advised to head straight to Windows 10. If by some chance you’re still using Windows XP or Vista, their updates ended years ago, so you’re already at risk.
Updates: A Windows operating system is essentially a work in progress. Over its lifecycle, each version of Windows receives regular updates via the Windows update program. These updates fix critical security issues, add support for new technologies and keep the operating system supported, secure and usable on hardware which may not have even been invented when the Windows version originally shipped.
Upgrades: Upgrades usually denote a completely new software version, with significant improvements and design changes. Windows updates are free, while upgrades are typically quite expensive, which is why most companies wait until they replace their PCs to upgrade to a new Windows version. Unusually, when Windows 10 first launched, Microsoft offered users of Windows 7 or 8 a free upgrade to Windows 10, to encourage mass adoption of the new version.
Next week, I’ll look at the options available to Windows 7 users. I’ll also explain what they can expect from the latest version of Windows 10.