All good things come to an end.  

After 10 years of service, Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating System will officially go end of life on January 14, 2020. After this time, Microsoft will no longer provide security updates, or technical support for PCs that are running the OS. Windows 10 has been around for quite some time now, so if your Business is still using Windows 7, then it’s time to upgrade!

What happens if I continue using Windows 7 after 14th January 2020?

You can continue using Windows 7 as normal. However, the operating system will eventually become highly vulnerable to the latest Cyber Security threats because Microsoft will no longer provide the latest security updates for Windows 7 after the 14th of January 2020.

In addition.

• You won’t receive any new general operating system software updates.
• Microsoft will no longer provide you with technical support.

Because of this, we strongly recommend making the switch to Windows 10 as soon as possible, otherwise your computer (and potentially your entire network) is at risk of being compromised by a new instance of malware, ransomware and viruses going forward.

Why should you upgrade to Windows 10?

Here’s 10 essential reasons to upgrade:

1. Security – Windows 10 is far more secure than Windows 7.  New security features include Secure Boot, Device Guard, Windows Hello and Microsoft Passport. In addition, you’ll get the latest security updates from Microsoft.
2. Speed – Windows 10 is significantly faster than Windows 7. If you’ve never used an up-to-date Windows 10 device, then you’ll be very impressed by the lightning-fast start times!
3. Hardware compatibility – Windows 10 features better intrinsic support for the latest PC hardware out of the box.
4. Touch screen ready – Windows 10 is fully compatible with touch screen monitors and laptops.
5. The start menu is back – Removed from Windows 8, a new and improved start menu makes a welcome return in Windows 10.
6. You’ll have Cortana – Apple has Siri, Amazon has Alexa and now Microsoft has Cortana. Fully integrated into Windows 10, Cortana is a voice activated assistant that can be used to open apps, take notes, schedule appointments and MUCH more!
7. Windows Edge – Windows Edge is a next generation Internet browser that will eventually replace Microsoft Internet explorer. Windows Edge is fast, it incorporates many more helpful features and it is better compatible with the latest website technologies.
8. Better battery life – Your laptop battery life will benefit from a number of performance improvements that make Windows 10 more energy efficient.
9. Windows as a Service – As a Windows-as-a-service (or WaaS) operating system, Windows 10 will receive continuous smaller version updates instead of less frequent (and much larger) service pack updates. Check out the Windows Lifecycle fact sheet to learn more.
10. The Action center – Accessed via a subtle icon in the taskbar, the action center is an inconspicuous popup notification tool that displays messages and important alerts from your emails, applications and the operating system itself.

Microsoft Windows 7. A micro history lesson.

Microsoft Windows 7 was first released to manufacturing on July 22nd 2009, and then became generally available on October 22nd, 2009.

After the disappointment that was Windows Vista, Windows 7 was a welcome return to form for the corporation. Before its launch in 2009. Windows 7 became the highest-grossing pre-order in Amazon’s history, surpassing sales of the previous record holder, which was the seventh Harry Potter book.

People couldn’t wait to upgrade to Windows 7 because for all intents and purposes, it was the operating system that Windows Vista should have been!

Along came Windows 8.

In 2012, Windows 7 was succeeded by Windows 8. This operating system featured a new metro style start up menu that was better suited to tablet devices. However, the decision to remove the traditional Windows start button from the OS didn’t go down well with desktop users. Because of this, many people chose to stick with Windows 7 until the start button was reintroduced back to Windows 8 in the May 2013 8.1 update (also known as KB 2919355).

Minimum System requirements for Windows 10.  

(source: Microsoft.com)

The below specification is the minimum requirements for installing Windows 10 on a PC:

• Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster processor or System on a Chip (SoC)
• RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) for 32-bit or 2 GB for 64-bit
• Hard drive space: 16 GB for 32-bit OS 32 GB for 64-bit OS
• Graphics card: DirectX 9 or later with WDDM 1.0 driver
• Display: 800×600
• Internet Connection required to perform software and security updates. Many versions of Windows also require an internet connection during the initial setup.

NOTE – you may still be able to run Windows 10 on a lesser specification than the above. However, its likely that the end user experience will suffer because you will experience performance issues.