The end of Windows 7 marks the true end of the PC era

Tomorrow, January 14, Microsoft is preparing to end extended support for Windows 7, which was first launched in 2009 to replace Windows Vista, so the end of support means there are no more bug fixes or security updates for the millions who still use the operating system. .

Many see Windows 7 over a decade old as the true successor to Windows XP, as customers and businesses upgraded to Windows 7 in droves, and stuck with it even after the arrival of Windows 8.x and Windows 10 years later.

In many respects, the success of Windows 7 has been a milestone for PCs and Windows, and the system has enjoyed an advantage among PC users and administrators in the past decade.

And the operating system was resilient, with Windows 7 users largely neglecting Windows 8 when it came out, and a portion of trusted and comfortable Windows 7 users moving to Windows 10 after they stopped using older hardware.

With the end of support nearing, Windows 7 fans have proven stubborn, and although companies have often taken this step, there are still plenty of consumers sticking with their old operating system.

It is believed that there are about 1.2 billion Windows PCs worldwide, with approximately one billion people running Windows 10 and most of the rest running Windows 7. unprotected.

While other estimates suggest that there are still more than 440 million people using Windows 7 worldwide, it is unlikely that any new vulnerabilities will be fixed, unless the user is willing to pay for extended support.

end of era:

The era of Windows 7 coincided with the era of the personal computer, and the end of Windows 7 also marks the end of the era of the personal computer. When Windows 7 was launched, the iPhone and its app store were present but still new, and the iPad had not yet arrived, and in case the user needs a To do anything on a computer it takes a personal computer.

But a little more than a decade later, the picture has become more complex, as PC sales have continued to decline over the past seven years, and sales increased slightly last year, largely because companies need to buy new computers to run the operating system. Operating Windows 10.

In many scenarios and use cases, the PC has been replaced by the smartphone, tablet, or digital assistants embedded in various other devices, and the problem is not only with PCs, but with Windows as a whole, which is no longer Microsoft's glamorous flagship product as it used to be. In the previous.

However, this does not mean that the PC is over, but rather that it will continue for the foreseeable future, but there are now many other options, including tablets and smartphones, and the definition of PCs is becoming increasingly blurry.

Over the past few years, PC makers have offered a new range of devices in new shapes and sizes, such as Microsoft's Surface, a tablet-like PC, and Lenovo's X1 Fold, a foldable screen that can work as a tablet, laptop, or tablet. desktop computer.

Foldable and detachable personal computers are prevalent now, after the emergence of many different designs that are useful to the user, but all these innovations do not mean the return of momentum to the PC, but rather indicate that the PC will exist for years to come regardless of the operating system who occupies it.