14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has no intention to release a new service pack for Windows 7, but the company will instead focus on smaller updates that will be rolled out every month.
According to The Register citing sources close to Microsoft’s sustained engineering team, there are no plans for Windows 7 SP2, which means that Windows 7 users will have to update their operating systems every month until support for this particular version is no longer offered.
While some rumors have pointed out that a potential Windows 7 Service Pack 2 should be released before the end of the year, Microsoft is apparently working on an entirely new strategy for its operating system.
Windows 8, the new Windows contraption that will go on sale on Friday, won’t get any service pack, as Microsoft wants to keep the operating system up to date by periodically releasing fixes and patches.
People familiar with the matter have hinted that Windows 8 could mark the end of service packs, as a similar strategy could be extended to all the other operating systems in Microsoft’s product family.
This kind of tactic may finally pay off on the long term because developing a service pack is much more expensive and takes a lot more time than releasing monthly updates.
Software developers are thus focused on issuing new updates for an operating system that’s already on the market, instead of contributing to the development of the company’s upcoming products.
What’s more, this could be also regarded as a way to encourage users to adopt the newest operating systems, which are often regarded as more secure working environments as compared to their predecessors.
Windows 7 officially hit the shelves in October 2009, while Microsoft released the first service pack two years later, in February 2011.
UPDATE (May 18, 2016): Microsoft has just released an update that replaces Windows 7 SP2, so happy downloading!