
Microsoft confirms new Windows 7 monthly charge for updates - rustcharm
https://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2018/09/08/microsoft-windows-7-monthly-charge-windows-10-free-upgrade-cost/#3f8bb2e52db1
======
bmurray7jhu
This isn't really news. Microsoft has long offered extended support to
enterprises with volume license agreements. For Windows XP, Microsoft called
this "custom support".[1]

Windows XP custom support was billed annually. It may be news if Microsoft
switch to monthly billing for Windows 7, but the blog post[2] linked in the
Forbes article does not mention monthly billing.

[1]
[https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/kdean/2014/01/12/windows...](https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/kdean/2014/01/12/windows-
xp-end-of-life-support-options/)

[2] [https://www.microsoft.com/en-
us/microsoft-365/blog/2018/09/0...](https://www.microsoft.com/en-
us/microsoft-365/blog/2018/09/06/helping-customers-shift-to-a-modern-desktop/)

~~~
yuhong
This reminds me that Windows Server 2003 custom support at one point tends to
be mentioned in every quarterly earnings statement of MS.

------
ChrisSD
Reminder: forbes.com/sites/* isn't the same as a forbes.com article. It's
essentially a blogging network that just so happens to use the Forbes domain.

~~~
dplgk
Seems like a terrible branding move

------
noja
I want this for Android. I want to pay every month for updates so I get them
quickly, and so I don't have to chuck my phone.

~~~
em3rgent0rdr
use Lineage OS custom rom, which provides updates all the time.

~~~
d21d3q
I used to flash CM on my phines since having HTC desire (2010), later on i was
choosing popular phones with CM support. Samsung, HTC, nexus, but its been
years since i flashed some stable release. Now i am on galaxy s7 edge. Few
months i was no longer able to automatically pull nightly update from linage.
Wiki said that it was no longer supported. They brought support back, but it
showed me that I can't relay on it without compiling by myself... I went back
to stock rom and I am happy with that. Everything just works (eg phobe is not
rebooting on incomming call while comnected to bt speaker), lots of cool UI
stuff (while custom roms were meant to have more of them). If manufacturer
will drop support then i will change phone.

------
solomatov
I want to highlight that it's not for the current Windows version but for the
old Windows 7 which is closing its end of life.

~~~
intern4tional
More importantly, the charge only happens after Windows 7 has reached end of
life.

They did the same thing with XP, and any enterprise software company does this
for end of life software. If you want support on an EOL product, it's not
free.

The article jumps to conclusions -> saying this will cause problems with
Windows 10, which is not yet EOL. This article is more or less flamebait.

~~~
TheSpiceIsLife
Correct me if I'm wrong, from my limited experience in the enterprise software
space, if you want support for current / still under active development
version, that also isn't free. Updates can also come at a cost.

~~~
addicted
Windows 10 updates are free.

And security updates for Windows 7 are also free until it’s EOL.

------
EamonnMR
Imagine that XP and Win7 where spun off to different companies and allowed to
compete with Win10.

~~~
walterbell
Would customers pay to install Windows 7 on new hardware? It is still
available from some OEMs via downgrade rights for Windows 10.

~~~
EamonnMR
Corporate customers would stick with XP and/or 7 if they could.

------
creatornator
Maybe this means we can finally avoid the automatic updates at bad times by
simply not authorizing payments?

~~~
kungtotte
A friend of mine found a helpful workaround for this.

Apparently if you go into your network settings and toggle the flag that says
your internet connection is a metered connection then Windows won't auto-
download any updates at all. That's for Windows 10, I don't know if the same
is true for Windows 7.

~~~
madiathomas
...or simply stop "Windows Updates" service. Problem with your solution is
that whenever you connect to a new WiFi connection, you need to mark it as a
metered connection. Otherwise it won't be treated as a metered connection.

------
jwilk
Archived copy without GDPR nag screen:

[https://web.archive.org/web/20180909080100/https://www.forbe...](https://web.archive.org/web/20180909080100/https://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2018/09/08/microsoft-
windows-7-monthly-charge-windows-10-free-upgrade-cost/)

~~~
dvfjsdhgfv
It's enough to switch off JS. It works for 99% of similar nags BTW.

~~~
jwilk
It isn't for me. I get redirected to
[https://www.forbes.com/consent/?toURL=https://www.forbes.com...](https://www.forbes.com/consent/?toURL=https://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2018/09/08/microsoft-
windows-7-monthly-charge-windows-10-free-upgrade-cost/) , which shows empty.
:-/

~~~
dvfjsdhgfv
You need to switch it off before redirect, i.e. before clicking the link.

~~~
jwilk
I have it disabled all the time. It doesn't help.

The redirect is done by the server, before it had a chance to learn if the
client supports JS or not:

    
    
      $ wget --max-redirect=0 https://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2018/09/08/microsoft-windows-7-monthly-charge-windows-10-free-upgrade-cost/
      --2018-09-09 19:07:58--  https://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2018/09/08/microsoft-windows-7-monthly-charge-windows-10-free-upgrade-cost/
      Resolving www.forbes.com (www.forbes.com)... 151.101.114.49
      Connecting to www.forbes.com (www.forbes.com)|151.101.114.49|:443... connected.
      HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 302 Found
      Location: https://www.forbes.com/consent/?toURL=https://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2018/09/08/microsoft-windows-7-monthly-charge-windows-10-free-upgrade-cost/ [following]
      0 redirections exceeded.

~~~
dvfjsdhgfv
That's very interesting. For me the behavior is 100% consistent. Paste the URL
in the address bar with JS enabled - get a blank page. Paste it with JS
disabled - get straight to the destination.

------
CoolGuySteve
Whatever happened to ReactOS? We don't hear much about it these days. But it
seems like Linux + Wine/ReactOS is becoming more and more efficient in the
enterprise in terms of admin headaches.

~~~
mehrdadn
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17596501](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17596501)

------
grandpoobah
A very misleading headline indeed.

~~~
ehsankia
So I'm confused, the rumors of Microsoft considering Windows 10 monthly fees
were false, or was that something else? This seems to be extended support fee
(past 2020 for Windows 7), which seems reasonable.

~~~
lozf
Win 10 fees will probably come in the future, after these upcoming Win 7 fees
have caused a decent percentage of current users to "upgrade" to 10. </cynic>

------
dvfjsdhgfv
> while Windows 7 users have long been able to laugh at the ongoing problems
> of Windows 10 users, it now appears it will be those users who upgraded for
> free who will get the last laugh…

This semi-serious statement is based on the assumption that the cost of
"ongoing problems" for Windows 10 users is lower than $139.

------
chris_wot
Time to switch Linux?

~~~
anaganisk
Go ask Ubuntu, updates for LTS12 for free, you will undertand a good deal
about this article.

~~~
fulafel
The contemporary Ubuntu LTS release at Windows 7 GA (2009) was 8.04.

~~~
anticensor
New Ubuntu releases are also _free of charge_. There is less cost to upgrade.

~~~
adrianN
For big companies the real cost of an upgrade is not the new license.

~~~
coatmatter
Ubuntu LTS isn't really the appropriate distro if we're trying to cut down the
frequency of major upgrades. RHEL/CentOS is what we should be talking about if
we're going like-for-like.

------
noobermin
Perhaps in 2018 it's a good reminder how having a monopoly is often not great
for consumers.

~~~
pkaye
How long ago was Windows 7 released? How long should they continue supporting
it at no extra cost?

~~~
thedragonline
I’m sure blackhats will be rubbing their hands in glee when this day comes.

~~~
asdfasgasdgasdg
I was going to make some snide comment about black hats being excited to pwn
1% of computers or whatever W7's current market share is. Then I went and
looked it up. netmarketshare.com thinks it's still above 40%, with minimal
movement over the last two years. Shows what I know.

~~~
thedragonline
FWIW I've done some limited consulting work with senior citizens. Two
observations: A) they like their systems the way they are, so changes of any
kind (especially to the UI) are upsetting/unpleasant experiences, B) they are
on fixed incomes so hardware/software upgrades that cost more than some de
minimis amount are put off / ignored. My prediction - this cohort is going to
get slammed at that EOL date.

