Microsoft announced the end of Windows 7! We all know and love this operating system. After Windows XP, we wanted a new and improved Windows experience. Vista gave us this, but was incredibly unreliable. Vista just didn’t give us the comfort that our computer would work would be as quick as we needed it to be. And then came Windows 7 *angels singing*. This was the next Windows XP. It gave us the stability we needed with the performance we demanded. We rejoiced! Many of us even scoffed at the idea of moving to Windows 8 ore Windows 8.1. For good reason too. Our trust didn’t go very far. And when Windows 10 came out, we tried it. Some of us liked it, but some of us wanted to keep our Windows 7 familiar menus and programs.
So what now?
Now Microsoft is telling us that Windows 7 is dying. And they are planning on taking it off life support on 14 January 2020. Where does that leave the die hard Windows 7 users? Thousands of PCs are still running Windows 7, including many businesses and residential customers. In fact, we still get hundreds of customers throughout Canada that have Windows 7.
Microsoft tells us “Your PC will continue to start and run, but Microsoft will no longer provide the following support for your business.” For some of us, that’s not that bad. We haven’t used Windows 7 technical support anyway. Then they say “If you continue to use Windows 7 after support has ended, your PC will still work, but it may become more vulnerable to security risks and viruses.” Do we really need software updates and security updates when we have a trusted anti-malware program in place?
Two Choices
All in all, it comes down to two choices. We either become computer technicians / experts so we can maintain Windows 7 on our own, or we make the jump to Windows 10. Well, main two choices are Understanding this, we really have 2 choices
Keeping Windows 7
Many of us have loved Windows 7 for years! Problems have been few and it just seemed to work. It also had familiar settings to our old favorite Windows XP. And Windows 7 will continue to work just fine. This mentality reminds me of a book I read called “Who Moved My Cheese?” Basically, 2 mice are eating cheese that they found in a maze. Once the cheese is gone, one ventures off into the maze to find more cheese. The other stays put waiting for the cheese to come back. You can keep coming back to Windows 7, but eventually nothing will work on it and you will be left wallowing in frustration as the world moves on around you. You’re also opening yourself to all kinds of malware which is no fun. Take a look at some of the malware that took advantage of a previous crack in windows. You don’t want to deal with that, trust me. Suffice it to say, it looks like the Windows 7 cheese has been moved and it’s time to venture into new territory and get used to Windows 10.
Jump to Windows 10
Now this choice isn’t such a bad choice. Yes, the menus are a little different. Also, Cortana, our favorite video game AI assistant from the Halo game franchise, has joined forces with Windows 10 to make an all new and catered experience. It is new and different, but what is interesting is that the stability and performance seem to be where we need it to be. We all had a tough time letting go of XP to move to 7, but 7 turned out to have the stability and performance we expected. Windows 10 is the next jump that we need. It gives us the stability and performance we loved from XP and 7 and it gives us a new and fun environment to grow into and build off of.
Third Choice?
Yes, there is the third option. You can switch platforms all together and buy a Mac. After all, Windows 10 may be foreign enough that you’ll have to be in learning mode for a little bit. Why not take that leap to the other side and learn the Mac OS? To be honest, I use both and find benefits from both. So this may be a good time to switch. Although, this choice shouldn’t be made by the faint of heart, or the PC die hard. Moving to Mac is a commitment. You will use your fingers differently and your window/screen setup will be different. Not that it will be better or worse, just different. It really takes a shift in mentality to run a Mac PC vs. a Windows PC.
A few downsides to moving to Mac is that you will find it to be more expensive. You will also lose some functionality and efficiency with Microsoft Office and various other applications. On the other hand, you will improve efficiency with some applications as well.
Moving to Windows 10
Ok. So in general, we’ll mostly be moving to Windows 10. That means we want to do it quickly and efficiently at the best possible cost. Here are some options:
New OS? Try a New Device
Microsoft has a myriad of options to choose from or you can go to the major PC manufacturers, or just build your own.
Choose an Upgrade
Look for discounts
Here’s an interesting article on Tom’s Hardware to help you find an activiation key
