14 DAY TRIAL // A notification that recently appeared on the Windows product lifecycle fact sheet page revealed that Microsoft silently ended retail sales of Windows 7, probably because it wants more users to move to its modern operating system lineup, which includes Windows 8 and Windows 8.1.
Soon after that, Redmond quietly edited that page to state that end of retail sales for Windows 7 is yet to be determined, again without providing any specifics on what really happened.
Even though Microsoft doesn't seem to be ready to stop selling Windows 7 to retailers, the operating system is still available online at various stores, including Amazon, eBay, and others.
Newegg, for example, is selling several versions of Windows 7, so users who want to deploy this particular operating system instead of Windows 8 can still buy a license.
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit – OEM is available for only $99.99 (€73), while Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit – OEM comes with a price tag of $139.99 (€103).
At this point, Windows 7 is the world's number one operating system and is very likely so many months from now, as both Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 are failing to gain traction.
Redmond is currently trying to move Windows XP users from the aging operating system to a newer platform, but this is fairly hard given the fact that the process would also involve hardware upgrades.
As a result, many choose Windows 7 as their next destination, also because it comes with a much more familiar look that includes the popular Start Menu.
Windows 8, on the other hand, is still facing criticism from beginners who are having a hard time to adapt, with the Modern UI considered a working environment that's more appropriate for touch-capable devices.