Still want to buy a PC that comes with Windows 7 or 8.1 from the get-go? You’ve got less than a year.
Updated late October, Microsoft’s “Windows lifecycle fact sheet” shows October 31, 2016, as the “end of sales for PCs with Windows preinstalled” for both Windows 7 Professional and Windows 8.1, a change spotted by CNET sister site ZDNet. After that date, the only choice for consumers will be to purchase new computers with Windows 10 installed. The lone exception will be businesses with license agreements that entitle them to choose which version of Windows they want preinstalled.
The deadline puts pressure on consumers who have grown comfortable with Windows 7 and are reluctant to upgrade their operating system if they buy a new PC. For Microsoft, it’s a necessary step toward its goal of having Windows 10 power 1 billion devices, which underscores the company’s message that the new software can tie together PCs, tablets and mobile phones with apps that can run on any of them.
Source: Microsoft to discontinue Windows 7 and 8.1 next November – CNET
This does not mean Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 will no longer be supported.
