[NFBCS] Windows 7 Support Has Ended As Of January 14, 2020

Tue Feb 18 16:55:30 UTC 2020

This is yet another example of Microsoft holding the user hostage.  We 
have little recourse.

On 2/18/2020 12:34 AM, Nicole Torcolini wrote:
> 	Thanks for the information, but my Windows 7 ain't going anywhere. If Microsoft wants us to use Windows 10, then maybe they should consider how some of the major changes impact blind users.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NFBCS [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kevin via NFBCS
> Sent: Monday, February 17, 2020 2:05 PM
> To: nfbcs at nfbnet.org
> Cc: Kevin
> Subject: Re: [NFBCS] Windows 7 Support Has Ended As Of January 14, 2020
>
> This was a good thing to read but I admit a hard pill to swallow.  I
> guess I'll need to get my rear in gear.
>
>
> On 2/17/2020 4:57 PM, Curtis Chong via NFBCS wrote:
>> Windows 7
>> Support Ended After January 14, 2020
>>
>> By Curtis Chong
>>
>>    
>>
>>    
>>
>> Windows 7 has been around for about a decade, and for people who are not in
>> the habit of regularly buying new computers, this operating system has
>> served them well. For many blind computer users, Windows 7 became the gold
>> standard of operating systems.  Because of the stability of this operating
>> system, some folks allowed their service maintenance agreements for JAWS
>> and/or ZoomText to expire, figuring that everything was working fine and
>> hence not in need of any updates. Many of us have read the Microsoft
>> announcement declaring that support for Windows 7 ended as of January 14
>> <https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4057281/windows-7-support-ended-on
>> -january-14-2020> , 2020. What does this mean for Windows 7 users?
>>
>>    
>>
>> First, while computers running Windows 7 will continue to work, Microsoft is
>> no longer sending out any security or other updates. Using a good antivirus
>> program (I'm not talking about the free ones) can reduce your computer's
>> vulnerability to security threats, but if your system is actually
>> compromised, I can guarantee that you will eventually not be able to get any
>> help at all to recover from the attack.
>>
>>    
>>
>> Secondly, Microsoft customer service is no longer available for Windows 7
>> technical support. This means that you will not be able to get any telephone
>> help at all from Microsoft for Windows 7-not even from the Microsoft
>> Disability Answer Desk.
>>
>>    
>>
>> Finally, technical support for screen reading and magnification software
>> will become less and less available as technical support personnel
>> necessarily focus most of their attention on current versions of programs
>> like JAWS and/or ZoomText. There will come a time when Freedom Scientific,
>> the company which sells these two programs, will announce that the next
>> version of JAWS and/or ZoomText will no longer work with Windows 7.
>>
>>    
>>
>> What should a Windows 7 user do? Here are my suggestions.
>>
>>    
>>
>> 1.         Buy a new computer.
>>
>> While it is certainly possible in some cases to upgrade your existing
>> computer to Windows 10, experience has shown that upgrading an existing
>> Windows 7 computer to Windows 10 creates enough problems that the upgrade is
>> hardly worth the effort. A brand new computer with a clean installation of
>> Windows 10 will give you a much cleaner (and more stable) operating system.
>> For around $500, you can get a respectable laptop computer with a
>> decent-sized keyboard and a good amount of memory and disk storage.
>>
>>    
>>
>> 2.         Update your screen reading or screen enlargement program.
>>
>> It is essential that your screen reading or enlargement software is current.
>> Windows 10 has been around for a few years now, but it is continually being
>> updated-with a major update coming about once every six months. Screen
>> reading and enlargement software has to be kept up to date to deal with the
>> sometimes significant changes which Microsoft continues to introduce every
>> time a major update is released. If you have allowed your service
>> maintenance agreement to lapse, you are likely going to have to pay a few
>> hundred dollars to bring your access technology up to date. Fortunately, for
>> users of JAWS, ZoomText, and Fusion, Freedom Scientific now offers home
>> annual licenses
>> <https://store.freedomscientific.com/collections/software-for-home> .
>> Instead of paying, say, $300 to bring your software up to date, you can pay
>> an annual fee of $90 (for JAWS), $80 (for ZoomText) or $160 (for Fusion,
>> which includes both JAWS and ZoomText) by acquiring the appropriate home
>> annual license from the Freedom Scientific eStore, located at
>> https://store.freedomscientific.com.
>>
>>    
>>
>> The good news for long-time users of Windows 7 is that Windows 10 continues
>> to offer the same keyboard commands and Windows Desktop which Windows 7
>> users know. In other words, once you move to Windows 10, you will hardly
>> notice the difference between what is happening on your new system and what
>> used to happen on your old equipment-with the possible exception that
>> everything will seem to run a lot more quickly.
>>
>>    
>>
>>    
>>
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