Windows 7 is officially middle-aged. It was publicly released more than six years ago, on October 22, With each passing day it is getting further and further from the midpoint of Microsoft's year support lifecycle for Windows releases. In January , Microsoft ended mainstream support for Windows 7, and the five-year extended support phase began. In January , the Windows 7 support lifecycle will officially end. But four years is a long, long time, and if you prefer the familiar environment of Windows 7 over its successors, you still have lots of options available.
If you navigate your way through the confusing maze of Windows licensing rules, you'll find that the best deals go to PC manufacturers, which means you'll find the best new and refurbished PCs with Windows 7 preinstalled and ready to run. If you just need the software, you can still buy Windows 7 software in shrink-wrapped retail and OEM packages, sometimes at prices that are literally too good to be true.
If you're an IT pro or developer who needs Windows 7 for testing, you also have subscription options, although they're less of a deal than they were six years ago. For students, the best options come with newer versions of Windows. Most of the details I include in this post apply to Windows customers in the United States, but you should be able to find similar offers in other countries. My goal in this post is to point you to deals that customers legitimately qualify for.
I am not trying to encourage attempts by anyone to get away with something you're not entitled to. If there are restrictions for a specific offer, I've noted them here. By far the best way to buy Windows 7 today, six years into its lifecycle, is to purchase it preinstalled on a new PC.
You get a warranty and, more importantly, you get the OEM's assurance that the hardware and software were designed to work together. This option also spares you from the pain of Windows setup, especially the hassles of hunting down essential drivers and system-specific updates when you upgrade or downgrade a PC. There's a catch, though: As of October 31, , any new PCs they offer must include the more expensive Windows 7 Professional.
Machines that were manufactured before that date with Windows 7 Home Premium can still be sold. Normally, the sales lifecycle for PCs with Windows 7 preinstalled would have ended long ago, but Microsoft extended that deadline in February PC manufacturers will no longer be able to sell new PCs with Windows 7 Pro as of October 31, , For details, see "What the Windows 7 Pro sales lifecycle changes mean to consumers and business buyers.
The trick in shopping for these machines is to skip the front door and go straight for the business section. Among online merchants, for example, Dell offers filters to show all available desktops and all-in-ones and laptops running Windows 7.
HP has separate pages for business desktops and laptops , but you have to look at each model to find the models with Windows 7 available. Big online retailers that serve business markets should have similar selections covering a wide range of brands and the full spectrum of prices.
There are plenty of sites where you can find "factory reconditioned" PCs for sale at legitimately low prices. Amazon-owned Woot, for example, always has lots of choices in its Computers section , although you'll have to dig into the specs to confirm that the operating system you're looking for is included.
I don't recommend taking a chance with random sellers on eBay or Craigslist--not when there are so many well-established merchants that offer proper warranties and return policies, as well as an assurance that the underlying Windows license is legitimate.
Under Microsoft's arcane licensing rules, you can legitimately purchase OEM copies of Windows 7 any edition. However, the license agreement with those copies explicitly prohibits you from using that software on a PC you build or refurbish for your own personal use. The new numbers from California-based Net Applications hint at a lukewarm reception for Windows 8. Just 0. Of those PCs running Windows, 0. As in April, when Computerworld last used Net Applications' data to analyze Windows 8 uptake , the new OS' June numbers were dramatically lower than Windows 7's at the same point in its development.
In June , four months before its launch, Windows 7 accounted for 0. In other words, Windows 7's share was four times that of Windows 8. Even when the different release dates of the previews for each operating system are taken into account, Windows 8 still comes up short, although the disparity is not as pronounced. The keys will activate the target Windows OS but will more than likely end up with the end-user getting a limited copy of Windows.
While they will definitely work on the target computers, they usually violate the terms and conditions of the original OEM; the OS is usually tied to the product it came on i. Not a refurbished, second hand one or a PC from a different brand.
Many eBay resellers get around that by selling the disks with one piece of the original computer usually the motherboard.
This is a grey area, one where Microsoft has been reluctant to act forcefully, perhaps out of fear that it might impact negatively on the brand.
Early ads have featured Kylie--the perfectly precocious preschooler --reading some of the product's positive reviews. Among the promotions Microsoft tried with Windows Vista was an outdoor human billboard , which left spectators--quite literally--out in the cold on a very nippy New York day.
Microsoft said this time around, it is putting nearly all its energy on getting the product in front of as many people as possible.
As has been the case with past Windows launches, there will be plenty of specials and promotions tied to the Windows 7 launch. Customers, she said "can expect great, great deals. And, of course, Microsoft is planning a massive advertising campaign to promote the product. The launch of Windows 7 is key for Microsoft, which gets a huge chunk of overall sales and profits from Windows.
Although some PC makers have already started introducing their Windows 7-based models, Reller promised there are other machines yet to be announced.
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