In a bid to force people to opt for its latest Windows 8.1 operating system, Microsoft has ceased retail sales of Windows 7 and Windows 8 OS to consumers and OEMs.
Effective from October 31, Redmond has stopped selling the Home Basic, Home Premium and Ultimate versions of Windows 7 as well as Windows 8. Both the operating systems will neither be available for retail purchase, nor they will come pre-installed on any new computers sold via OEMs.
This means that users will only be able to buy a PC with Windows 7 or Windows 8 pre-installed until existing stock runs out. All new Windows PC models will come running Windows 8.1. However Windows 7 Professional remains to be the only exception which Redmond will continue to sell for at least another year.
As stated in the company’s Windows lifecycle fact sheet, Microsoft will continue to offer mainstream support for Windows 7 until 13 January 2015, while extended support is being guaranteed until 14 January 2020.
According to the latest figures from Net Applications, Windows 7, available since late 2009, currently accounts for 53 per cent of the desktop operating system market as compared to 47 per cent market share recorded same time last year, while Windows 8 accounts for only 6 per cent of the company’s market share.
Microsoft is expected to roll out the next Windows version, dubbed Windows 10, sometime in the middle of next year.
