{"id":6706,"date":"2014-10-27T12:46:58","date_gmt":"2014-10-27T16:46:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.nccomputertech.com\/?p=6706"},"modified":"2014-10-27T12:46:58","modified_gmt":"2014-10-27T16:46:58","slug":"the-end-of-an-era-windows-7-consumer-pcs-halt-production-this-friday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/10\/27\/the-end-of-an-era-windows-7-consumer-pcs-halt-production-this-friday\/","title":{"rendered":"The end of an era: Windows 7 consumer PCs halt production this Friday"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This year, Halloween will be scarier than usual for PC fans. Friday, October 31 is the final day that Microsoft will sell Windows 7 licenses to PC makers (OEMs in industry parlance), per Microsoft’s lifecycle fact sheet.<\/p>\n

After Friday it’s all about Windows 8.1, at least for the consumer market.<\/p>\n

PCs with Windows 7 Professional will continue to be produced for businesses, as well as anyone else willing to pay a premium for the deluxe model of Windows 7. But OEMs won’t have access to Windows 7 Home Basic, Home Premium or Ultimate licenses after this work week.<\/p>\n

Why this matters: With its heavy emphasis on the Start screen, touch interaction, and the new Modern UI, many longtime desktop users\u2014not to mention IT departments\u2014were reluctant to move to Windows 8.1. Until now, the escape route for anyone in need of a new PC without Windows 8 was Windows 7. But that easy out could soon disappear. It’s no coincidence Microsoft unveiled the much more desktop-friendly Windows 10 mere weeks before the retail death of Windows 7.<\/p>\n

Business as usual<\/p>\n

Microsoft has not yet set a date for the end of Windows 7 Professional and it’s unlikely we’ll see any changes in that position before the release of Windows 10. Businesses with managed IT departments have little interest in Windows 8, and are waiting for Windows 10, Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, told PCWorld.<\/p>\n

As for the PCs sold at your local Best Buy or Staples, Moorhead says the OEMs he’s spoken with aren’t worried about the end of Windows 7. “They are shipping a clear majority of their consumer PCs with Windows 8 already,” he said.<\/p>\n

Not everyone thinks a post-Windows 7 pre-install world will be rosy, however.<\/p>\n

“I think the OEMs are sad about this,” Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at NPD Group said. “The ability to provide Windows 7 Home has provided a nice incremental sales opportunity to those who were nervous or unhappy about Windows 8, especially for the desktop market where Windows 7 has proven to be a nice alternative to Windows 8.”<\/p>\n

Not quite dead yet<\/p>\n

OEMs may not be able to get new Windows 7 licenses as of Friday, but for the time being you’ll still be able to buy a PC with the OS pre-installed. How long that will last depends on how many Windows 7 PCs retailers are willing to keep in stock\u2014and how many computers OEMs are able to pump out before Friday.<\/p>\n

Even if it does get harder to find a Windows 7 PC in the next few weeks, don’t despair. With the holiday season approaching, it’s likely retailers and OEMs have a few deals planned for PCs loaded with Windows 7.<\/p>\n

via The end of an era: Windows 7 consumer PCs halt production this Friday | PCWorld<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This year, Halloween will be scarier than usual for PC fans. Friday, October 31 is the final day that Microsoft […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5,11],"tags":[1217,1220],"class_list":["post-6706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-microsoft","category-windows","tag-windows-7","tag-windows-8-1"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/papNkV-1Ka","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6788,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/11\/06\/microsoft-will-no-longer-sell-retail-copies-of-windows-8-consumer-versions-of-windows-7-to-oems\/","url_meta":{"origin":6706,"position":0},"title":"Microsoft will no longer sell retail copies of Windows 8, consumer versions of Windows 7 to OEMs","author":"NCCT","date":"November 6, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"As planned, Microsoft has ended retail sales of Windows 8 as well as stopped offering some versions of its Windows 7 operating system to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). This means that retailers will no longer be able to order more copies of Windows 8, which went on sale just over\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Microsoft"","block_context":{"text":"Microsoft","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/microsoft\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8495,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2015\/07\/28\/windows-10-installation-files-already-sneaking-onto-windows-7-and-8-pcs-pcworld\/","url_meta":{"origin":6706,"position":1},"title":"Windows 10 installation files already sneaking onto Windows 7 and 8 PCs","author":"NCCT","date":"July 28, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Tonight is the night, Windows fans. Starting around midnight Eastern on Wednesday, June 29, 2015 Windows 10 will start rolling out to Windows Insider members. And if you're part of the first wave upgrading to Windows 10, your PC may already be primed for the upgrade. Some Windows Insiders are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Microsoft"","block_context":{"text":"Microsoft","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/microsoft\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8368,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2015\/06\/04\/standalone-copies-of-windows-10-will-cost-up-to-199\/","url_meta":{"origin":6706,"position":2},"title":"Standalone copies of Windows 10 will cost up to $199","author":"NCCT","date":"June 4, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Following the announcement of Windows 10's official launch date (it's July 29th, in case you were wondering), Microsoft has also revealed just how much Windows 10 will cost for those who are building new systems or who aren't eligible for the company's free upgrade offer. Basically, Windows 10's pricing will\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Microsoft"","block_context":{"text":"Microsoft","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/microsoft\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5652,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/06\/04\/windows-8-1-finally-overtakes-windows-8-in-usage-share\/","url_meta":{"origin":6706,"position":3},"title":"Windows 8.1 finally overtakes Windows 8 in usage share","author":"NCCT","date":"June 4, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Slowly but surely, Microsoft is getting users to leave Windows 8 behind and move on to Windows 8.1. According to Netmarketshare, usage of Windows 8.1 reached 6.35 percent of the overall operating system market share in May, finally moving ahead of Windows 8, which snagged 6.29 percent. While Windows 8\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Microsoft"","block_context":{"text":"Microsoft","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/microsoft\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7990,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2015\/04\/09\/pc-shipments-hit-a-six-year-low-as-xp-upgrades-slow-down\/","url_meta":{"origin":6706,"position":4},"title":"PC shipments hit a six-year low as XP upgrades slow down","author":"NCCT","date":"April 9, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"A slowdown in Windows XP upgrades and the wait for Windows 10 sent worldwide PC shipments tumbling to a six-year low in the first quarter this year, according to IDC. Worldwide PC shipments totaled 68.5 million units during the first quarter, declining by 6.7 percent compared with the same quarter\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hardware"","block_context":{"text":"Hardware","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/hardware\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3113,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2013\/08\/06\/windows-8-adoption-slows-boost-sought-with-update\/","url_meta":{"origin":6706,"position":5},"title":"Windows 8 adoption slows; boost sought with update","author":"NCCT","date":"August 6, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Windows 8's user share growth slowed significantly in July, hinting at further trouble for the struggling operating system, new statistics from an analytics company show. The operating system's user share grew by the smallest month-over-month amount since its launch in October 2012, said Web measurement vendor Net Applications. At the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Microsoft"","block_context":{"text":"Microsoft","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/microsoft\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6706"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6706\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}