Posts in July 8, 2014

Microsoft is warning customers that the end is soon coming for free Windows 7 support. Microsoft will end free mainstream support for Windows 7 on January 13, 2015.

This covers all versions of Windows 7, Mary Jo Foley points out.

The end of support generally means no more updated features or performance improvements, unless you are covered by extra "extended support."

UPDATED: Microsoft has promised to provide security patches even after it ends mainstream support, through 2020. What is ending is design changes, warranty claims and no-charge incident support.

This move will mostly affect consumers. Businesses that pay for extended support for Windows 7, as most of them do, will be get all updates for another five years, until January 14, 2020.

That's important, because many businesses are right now are in the process of upgrading their old Windows XP PCs, but they're moving to Windows 7, not Windows 8.

There's some speculation that, given the popularity of Windows 7, Microsoft might change its mind as the date nears and continue to support it a bit longer, like it did for Windows XP. All told, Microsoft supported XP for about 13 years.

That kind of extension doesn't seem likely at this point. Remember, Windows 8 basically includes a full version of Windows 7, called Desktop mode. With Windows 8.1, it's possible to run a Windows 8 machine in Desktop mode and almost avoid the new-and-confusing Windows 8 part of the OS.

And Microsoft really needs to nudge consumers into buying Windows 8 machines. More Windows 8 machines means more developers will want to write software for Windows 8, which will make more people want to buy it.

By the way, Microsoft also set an end-of-life of mainstream support for Windows 8 (including the latest version, Windows 8.1), for January 9, 2018.

This is another hint that Microsoft should have its next version of Windows ready in 2015, code-named "Threshold" (sometimes referred to as Windows 9).

If Microsoft plays its cards right, Windows 9 will be to the unloved Windows 8 what Windows 7 was to Vista, which InfoWorld ranked No. 2 on its list of the 25 biggest tech flops (also PCWorld's "Biggest Tech Disappointment" of 2007.)

Here's the chart from Microsoft's Lifecycle Support page.

Note: The original version of this story said that -- For more information read the original article here.

In fall 2012, a mysterious eBay store appeared that only sold Apple products at prices that undercut Apple's own online refurbished store. The store was widely speculated to have been run by Apple, despite the company never confirming its involvement. That store disappeared last year, but now one just like it has returned, and this time around, it's selling “Apple… Read More -- For more information read the original article here.

Adobe just patched up a gaping security flaw that could affect anyone who logs on to eBay, Tumblr, Instagram, or other popular sites. If you're a person who visits any of those domains (or really, any website out there that might use Flash), you really should update your stuff right now.

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-- For more information read the original article here.

Remember Windows Phone 7.8? Microsoft built it as a stop-gap measure to lessen the ire of Windows Phone 7.5 users, a group technologically precluded from making the leap to Windows Phone 8. If you had forgotten about it don't worry, Microsoft is about to do the same. Mary Jo Foley today detailed the coming death-dates of a number of Microsoft products, including Windows Phone 7.8. As… Read More -- For more information read the original article here.

North Carolina's Claremont City Council has approved an Apple plan to acquire 100 acres of land for a third solar farm in the state, reports say. The farm is expected to generate 17.5 megawatts, and cost Apple $55 million to build. The 100 acres will become a part of Claremont's corporate limits; the project should spawn about 75 jobs, but take about five years to complete....






-- For more information read the original article here.

As promised at the end of June, Apple has released a major update of iTunes U, v2.0. On the iPad, teachers can now create and manage courses entirely on their own, including assignments, outlines, and other course materials. Custom content can be added via an "Open in iTunes U" extension in other iOS apps such as Pages and Keynote; photos and video can be captured and uploaded directly. If a teacher is associated with a qualifying institution, they can publish courses to the official iTunes U catalog....






-- For more information read the original article here.