14 DAY TRIAL // As we've reported to you a few days ago, Microsoft has quietly decided to end retail sales of Windows 7, in an obvious move that was supposed to push users towards the company's modern operating systems, which include Windows 8 and Windows 8.1.
While the Windows lifecycle fact sheet page previously indicated that Windows 7 retail sales ended on October 20, 2013, Redmond has made an unannounced modification to the website to state that this particular date is yet to be determined.
The software giant is yet to provide us with a statement on this, but the change of heart could come as a result of the surprising popularity that Windows 7 is experiencing these days, despite Microsoft's efforts to convince more users to adopt Windows 8.
At the same time, Microsoft also adjusted the date at which end of sales for PCs with Windows preinstalled will take place, after the page previously stated that this was scheduled to happen on October 30, 2014.
“End of sales refers to the date when a particular version of Windows is no longer shipped to retailers or Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). Examples of OEMS are Dell and Toshiba—PC manufacturers who often preinstall Windows software. When a version of Windows reaches its end of sales date, it's a good time to think about upgrading,” Microsoft says on the page.
Windows 7 is at this point the number one operating system worldwide, with a market share of approximately 4 percent, according to stats provided by third-party market researcher Net Applications.
While that's indeed impressive, given the fact that Windows 7 debuted in 2009, it's also a sign that Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 are yet to gain traction. Most Windows XP users who are forced to migrate due to the approaching end of support date are also picking Windows 7 as their next destination.