Microsoft will start to really pester you to ditch Windows 7 in January 2020
A full screen pop-up will be hard to ignore
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Windows 7will be entering its end of life in early 2020, andMicrosoftis set to really step up its efforts to get people to upgrade from the oldoperating system, with a large full-screen pop-up appearing from January 15, telling people that “yourWindows 7PC is out of support”.
When Windows 7 support ends on January 14, 2020, Microsoft will stop releasing updates and patches for the operating system. This could potentially lead to people who are still clinging onto Windows 7 becoming vulnerable to viruses, malware and other threats.
So, there’s a good reason why Microsoft would want people to move on from Windows 7. However, a full-screen pop-up is likely to annoy a lot of people.
Could Microsoft’s heavy-handed approach backfire, and make people less likely to comply and upgrade toWindows 10?
The final countdown
Windows 7 will enter its end of life on January 14, 2020, and in the runup to that date, Microsoft has beentrying to get people to leave the older operating system.
While Windows 7’s popularity has been waning, as recently as August,Windows 7 still had a market share of around 30%. That’s a lot of people that are still using the old OS.
That number has likely gone down further, but it seems like Microsoft is still struggling to convince many Windows 7 users, who remain reluctant to upgrade.
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By completely filling up the screen with a warning about using an unsupported operating system, Microsoft will be hoping that this will finally get the last stragglers to move on.
While we’re not too keen on this approach – Microsoft has a bad history of nagging users via annoying pop-ups – it is important to get people to stop using an operating system that will no longer be updated.
Of course, Microsoft would want people to move on toWindows 10– however, if you’re sick of Microsoft, you could try an alternative, such asLinux. There are a number of distros, likeLinux Mint, which areuser friendlyand have interfaces that are very similar to Windows 7.
ViaThe Verge
Matt is TechRadar’s Managing Editor for Core Tech, looking after computing and mobile technology. Having written for a number of publications such as PC Plus, PC Format, T3 and Linux Format, there’s no aspect of technology that Matt isn’t passionate about, especially computing and PC gaming. He’s personally reviewed and used most of the laptops in our best laptops guide - and since joining TechRadar in 2014, he’s reviewed over 250 laptops and computing accessories personally.
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