14 DAY TRIAL // Both Windows 8 and 8.1 are already on the market, so Microsoft can focus on strategies to convince users to adopt its modern platforms, rather than switching or sticking to Windows 7.
The company has decided to stop retail sales of Windows 7 on October 30 without any official announcement, thus making an important move towards moving everyone to Windows 8 or 8.1.
In case you’re wondering what “the end of retail sales” means for users, here’s the official explanation posted on the Windows lifecycle fact sheet page:
“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.”
The company then goes on to say that Windows 7 is still available through OEMs, but they will also stop selling Windows 7 preinstalled on new PC on October 30, 2014.
“When the retail software product reaches its end of sales date, it can still be purchased through OEMs (the company that made your PC) until it reaches the end of sales date for PCs with Windows preinstalled,” Microsoft added.
Windows 7 is still available at several retailers online right now, but only because they still have the operating system in stock, as Microsoft no longer sells new licenses.
Windows 7 is at this point the world’s number one operating system, being installed on more than 45 percent of computers worldwide, way ahead of rivals Windows XP and Windows 8. At the same time, it’s also the number one destination for Windows XP users looking to migrate, mostly because it still has the tradition OS look with a fully-working Start Menu.