[NFBCS] Windows 7 Support Has Ended As Of January 14, 2020
Christopher Chaltain
chaltain at gmail.com
Wed Feb 19 01:58:14 UTC 2020
I'm not really disagreeing with you, but I don't see how Microsoft
forcing OEM's to pay for a Windows license on a per CPU basis is related
to them pulling support for Windows Seven after ten years. I hate the
practice, because as you say, I'm paying for a Windows license even if I
never intend to run Windows on my PC.
I assume the reason people want to keep running Windows Seven is because
there's something they don't like about Windows 10, but given the issues
with IOS 13, there were also a lot of people who didn't want to move up
from IOS 12, but they had no option if they wanted to continue to get
Apple support. I get that they got a free upgrade to IOS 13, but I also
got a free upgrade to Windows 10 on my virtual machine and previous laptop.
I'm not saying Microsoft is a saint, but I don't think they're a villain
either for supporting an operating system version for 10 years.
On 2/18/20 7:16 PM, Michael McQuaid wrote:
> It is relatively easy for the government to force a company to
> continue support for products for a certain period of time, by
> enforcing escrow accounts and spare parts supplies. I am pretty sure
> that this is an important cost center for many industries in many
> countries.
>
> I don't think it is fair to compare Windows to iOS or Android because
> it is not possible to buy iOS or Android. People are forced to buy
> Windows in the sense that Microsoft charges the OEMs on a per-CPU
> basis. This is to the detriment of Linux, by the way, since every
> machine on which you run Linux (with a very small number of
> exceptions) has had a payment extracted by Microsoft for Windows.
>
> You are technically correct that iOS 12 doesn't get updates once iOS
> 13 is released but Apple does make iOS 13 available as a free upgrade
> for many discontinued products and will continue to do so for years.
> One reason I have switched to iOS from Android is that I perceive the
> support situation for the device to be better (on a longer time horizon).
>
> - Mick
>
> On Tue, Feb 18, 2020 at 8:02 PM Christopher Chaltain
> <chaltain at gmail.com <mailto:chaltain at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
> An model of the iPhone will be supported for four or five years,
> but IOS 12 won't be supported once IOS 13 is released. Similarly,
> PC's that came with Windows Seven may be able to run with Windows
> 10, so just as with the iPhone, the platform is still supported,
> but you can't stick with a particular version of IOS, at least not
> if you want support from Apple.
>
>
> I suppose you're right in that a lot of people have to use
> Microsoft products, but if you get an Iphone, you have to use IOS
> and Apple products. Ditto for an Android phone and Google. You
> could run Linux on your PC and not Windows, which is what I do.
>
>
> I don't see how a company could be forced to support a product
> once they've gone out of business. My point is that if you force a
> company to support a version of an operating system forever then
> costs will go up as they support an older operating system and
> revenue will drop forcing them to go out of business, at which
> point you'll lose support.
>
>
>
> On 2/18/20 6:48 PM, Michael McQuaid wrote:
>> Gee, I don't think what you are saying is correct. Do you have
>> evidence to back this up? My impression is that iOS devices are
>> supported much longer than their Android counterparts.
>>
>> It doesn't seem fair to compare Microsoft's holding us hostage to
>> other companies because other companies don't have the monopoly.
>> For most people, there is not a choice about using Microsoft
>> products.
>>
>> I am similarly unsure about support being limited to the lifespan
>> of the company. I have the impression that in some industries,
>> companies must support products for a certain number of years
>> regardless of whether they stay in business. If not for laws
>> regulating them, I suspect you would see more small companies
>> form around one-off products and going out of business quickly to
>> avoid support issues.
>>
>> - Mick
>>
>> On Tue, Feb 18, 2020 at 7:38 PM Christopher Chaltain via NFBCS
>> <nfbcs at nfbnet.org <mailto:nfbcs at nfbnet.org>> wrote:
>>
>> I suppose this is true, but any given version of IOS is only
>> supported
>> until the next version comes out. Android gets three years of
>> support.
>> Ubuntu gets five for it's LTS releases. Microsoft supported
>> Windows
>> Seven for 10 years. I suppose you can say any company making an
>> operating system and not supporting a version forever is
>> holding us
>> hostage, but any proprietary operating system will only be
>> supported as
>> long as the company is around anyway.
>>
>>
>> On 2/18/20 10:55 AM, Kevin via NFBCS wrote:
>> > 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
>> <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 <mailto: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.
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>> _______________________________________________
>> >>> NFBCS mailing list
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>>
>> >>>
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>> >>
>> >>
>> >
>> > _______________________________________________
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>> --
>> Christopher (CJ)
>> Chaltain at Gmail
>>
>>
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>>
> --
> Christopher (CJ)
> Chaltain at Gmail
>
--
Christopher (CJ)
Chaltain at Gmail
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