Windows 7 is the majority operating system on laptops and desktops around the world. Currently, it accounts for more than half the market share. However, Microsoft already has plans to extinguish it, little by little. And the next milestone is very close. Windows 7 began to be in the hands of manufacturers and integrators in July 2009 , and in October of that same year the general launch took place. In February 2011, Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (W7 SP1) was released. Since then, the share of Windows 7 has grown to 51.2 percentof the global market in August 2014, according to Netmarketshare. It is followed by Windows XP , which still has 23.9 percent. The third place is occupied by the most modern version, Windows 8.1 (7.1 percent), and Windows 8 is in the fourth place with 6.3 percent.
The Redmond folks have established their own life cycle plans for this product. Within that calendar, next October 31, 2014 marks the end of the sale in stores of copies of Windows 7 Home Basic, Windows 7 Home Premium and Windows 7 Ultimate . In addition, that same day, October 31, Microsoft will stop supplying copies of those same versions of Windows 7 Home to manufacturers to pre-install them on their computers . This means that PC manufacturers will only be able to continue to sell the equipment they have in stock until they are exhausted, but they will not receive new supplies of licenses.
That deadline of October 31, 2014 also affects the marketing of Windows 7 Professional in stores (retail), which expires on the same day as the versions of the Windows 7 Home family . In contrast, the situation is different for Windows 7 Professional licenses pre-installed on new computers, which will continue, at least for now, because the company has not yet announced the termination period. On the other hand, that date does not affect the security updates of that operating system either. Microsoft plans to maintain standard support for Windows 7 with Service Pack 1 untilJanuary 13, 2015 , unless you decide to upgrade, as with Windows XP . By standard support, the company means a minimum of five years from the date of availability of the product or for two years after the launch of the successor product; the most favorable option applies. Microsoft has not yet disclosed when extended support for Windows 7 with Service Pack 1 will end .
Regarding downgrade rights , they are still available for Windows 7 Service Pack 1 . This means that those users who buy a new computer preloaded with a Windows license will be able to install an older version. Thus, if the machine comes with Windows 8.1 Pro, they will be able to reverse the license for Windows 7 Professional .