back to article Microsoft ends OEM sales of Windows 7 Pro and Windows 8.1

If you can get Dell, HP Inc, Lenovo or any other PC-maker to sell you a PC running Windows 7 Professional or Windows 8.1, please let us know how you did it because Microsoft no longer sells the operating system to OEMs. Redmond's Windows lifecycle webpage has long-since flagged October 31, 2016 as the date on which Windows 7 …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Now the the future is closer than ever.

    What's left is to force everyone to pass through Windows Store to install apps (i.e. no side-loading) and a modest monthly/yearly subscription because let's face it, you must show somehow your unconditional love for Microsoft.

    Welcome to this new world of "personal" computer.

    1. Triggerfish

      Re: Now the the future is closer than ever.

      You can also see this with the buy it as a subscription office choice, personally I think anyone would be better off buying an older copy of Office 2010 / 2013 that remains theirs.

      1. Ragarath

        Re: Now the the future is closer than ever.

        You can buy a standalone version of 2016 too you know.

        1. Triggerfish

          Re: Now the the future is closer than ever.

          Ahah and yes a good point that also is worth while, but you can probably pick up a cheaper copy of the old office thats is perfectly adequate. (Thinking I always get told the cost of Office 365 is cheaper, compared to 2016)*.

          *Yes yes I know it isn't in the long run, tell the beancounters.

          1. Ragarath

            Re: Now the the future is closer than ever.

            (Thinking I always get told the cost of Office 365 is cheaper, compared to 2016)*.

            I get this too, until you point out that 3 years at £8.50 = £306. To buy a copy outright is < £200. (yes I know you don't get publisher but come on how many people need publisher?)

            Also bear in mind that for most uses the version you buy will last a lot longer than the 3 years. I have users still using 2010 and you have saved a lot of money.

            1. Triggerfish

              Re: Now the the future is closer than ever.

              Yes that precisely, but you come up across cash flow arguements, it's daft short term thinking IMO.

              I am currently using Office 2010 on my PC and the only issues I run into are when someone sends me a 2016 file that hasn't been saved with backwards capacity.

              Office 2013 was alright as well once I got used to the ribbon it was fine.

              But I only use office for writing out bog standard docs, excel spreadsheets and outlook, most of the extra funciionality is wasted on me, and probably a large amount of the user base is the same.

              I think the only possible downside for older office versions would be the end of the support date, but not sure how much of a difference that makes.

            2. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Now the the future is closer than ever.

              "yes I know you don't get publisher but come on how many people need publisher?"

              I think you mean "Microsoft Attempted Lockin (R)". My reaction to anyone using Publisher is that unless they promise only to use it for short lived one offs and it is no way mission critical, destroy it with fire. I have yet to find anyone who actually needed it. (I'm agreeing with your post btw).

              1. djr36

                Re: Now the the future is closer than ever.

                Very helpfully LibreOffice can now liberate Publisher content. Hooray! Not perfectly but better than nothing.

            3. Schlimnitz

              Re: Now the the future is closer than ever.

              Ha, I'm on 2007 :)

              And even 2003 on another machine.

              I did consent to ditch the disks for Word 2.0 a few years back.

              1. paulf
                Windows

                Re: Now the the future is closer than ever.

                @ Schlimnitz

                "Ha, I'm on 2007 :) And even 2003 on another machine."

                I have Office XP (2002) on my main Win 7 machine and it works perfectly well while my Mac is happy running Office 97 for Windows via Crossover.

                "I did consent to ditch the disks for Word 2.0 a few years back." I still have Office 95 Pro kicking about somewhere although I don't like my chances of installing it after the way Windows 7 complained bitterly about Office 97. I seem to recall it came with Access 2.0 which couldn't run on a machine with >1GB RAM. I guess those "640kB is enough for anyone" beliefs were hard wired!

              2. Fungus Bob

                Re: Ha, I'm on 2007 :)

                I'm on Abiword.

            4. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Now the the future is closer than ever.

              Bear in mind that the more expensive 365 sub allows you to use it on 5 PCs or Macs simultaneously, whereas a single copy of office only lets you use it on one (or two, if one is a desktop and one is a laptop? I seem to remember that from days of old).

              Plus you get the Skype and Onedrive stuff if you care for that.

              The other argument is that there are people who can't stump up £x00 in one go but can do it per month or per year.

            5. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Now the the future is closer than ever.

              Oh they have office forced upgrades covered.

              Try using Office for Mac 2016 with SBS 2007.

  2. Shadow Systems

    Too little too late.

    Microsoft has done such an awesome job of their Windows 10 that I've decided to take the plunge & upgrade...

    Right the hell off of the Microsoft treadmill. Goodbye Windows, hello Linux.

    I voted with my wallet & my wallet just bought a new computer from System76.com. It arrives tomorrow & should be hapilly surfing the web by the time I'm ready to eat supper.

    Microsoft can kiss my furry, wrinkly, stinky white arse. They'll get no more money from me, no more of my data, & naught but derrisive laughter from this point on as I smugly go about my business secure in the knowledge that I'll go where *I* want to go today.

    *Double handed rude gesture & a maniacal laugh*

    1. a_yank_lurker

      Re: Too little too late.

      For the last several years I have only used Slurp with any regularity with work kit. My personal kit is almost completely Slurp free. Only a couple of games that might not run under Wine are the only software that I have not been able to replace with something from the Arch Linux repositories; games I have not played in years and probably will not run on 'bloat 10.

      The final blow was when Slurp "graciously" downloaded 4.6 Gigs of 'bloat 10 install files on a 'bloat 8.1 dual boat laptop. That was after a routine 'bloat update screwed the BIOS settings temporarily disabling the dual boot earlier. The 'bloat partition is not allowed on the Internet since then.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Too little too late.

        "For the last several years I have only used Slurp with any regularity with work kit."

        Your work forces you to use Google?! My condolences...

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Never been less excited about the future of tech than now

    ~ Everything is about slurping & tracking & being too disingenuous to admit it.

    ~ From Android snooping, to Smart TV slurping, to Win-10 spying, to IoT hell....

    ~ Shops don't stock alternatives anymore & online big-shots won't deliver here.

    1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

      Re: Never been less excited about the future of tech than now

      You are Roger Waters and I claim my 5 EUR.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Combine the user's every interaction data-grab w/per-core server licenses, well I don't think I'll stick around as Microsoft becomes the unholy fusion of Oracle & Google.

    1. Fungus Bob

      Re: the unholy fusion of Oracle & Google

      OraGoo...?

  5. Alan W. Rateliff, II

    Downgrade rights...

    ...still exist. Buy Windows 10 Pro license, install Windows 7 Pro, activate already activated key. May require a call to MS, but it works.

    For now.

    1. PhosphorDot

      Re: Downgrade rights...

      Is there a proper procedure for getting win 7 or 8.1 activated using downgrade rights?

      I tried this a few times, calling Microsoft and stating I want to use downgrade rights always resulted in them "knowing nothing" about the procedure.

      And trying to use an already activated key resulted in both machines declaring the OS to be "not genuine".

      I prefer SLIC systems like Dell - provided you have original Dell installation media, the OS activates without having to go online... .

      1. Alan W. Rateliff, II
        Paris Hilton

        Re: Downgrade rights...

        The official procedure given to system builders is to use an already-activated key. There is a limit to the number of times a key can be activated automatically, and indeed used in this manner, so I have a long list of valid OEM Pro keys. As for reaching MS activation techs with no idea of the downgrade rights, you should try again or demand a supervisor -- so far as I can tell our downgrade rights have not yet been revoked.

        https://www.microsoft.com/OEM/en/licensing/sblicensing/Pages/downgrade_rights.aspx

        "...downgrade rights are only available as long as Microsoft provides support for that earlier version..."

        Though it also makes this claim which would seem to apply to system builders as "third party facilitators" and in the sense of the ambiguous "large scale."

        "Because downgrade rights apply to end users, they are not designed for third-party facilitation, which has many complications. Also, such facilitation is not suitable for carrying out on a large scale."

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    As per Henry Ford...

    You buy any colour of Windows Operating System as long as it is (shit) black.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Now's the time

    to start copying those OEM validation keys from the top of win7 boxes.

    I have dozens.

    Besides, there are other ways to circumvent MS's DRM with a UEFI/BIOS "hack".

    Dear MS, i have every intention of using, arguably, your best OS up until the day you kill updates, then, i'll switch to linux!!!

    Fuck W10 and fuck you for it!!!

    1. Alan W. Rateliff, II
      Mushroom

      Re: Now's the time

      Okay, why in the hell are comments about downgrading being down-voted? Are there a bunch of voting trolls among us commentards? Windows 10 shills?

      (Maybe you got it for saying you wanna switch to Linux.)

  8. djstardust

    Phew....

    Glad I bought two Lenovo Yoga 12 machines from Scan Computers lately with Win 7 x64 Pro on them. Took them out of the boxes, disabled Windows update and kept one hidden away for a rainy day.

    Windows 10 is a mess on so many levels, and the fact a brand new laptop with Win 7 on it works so well just proves a point.

  9. Nattrash
    Flame

    And it still makes you wonder...

    I mean, if the OS is like an actual, real product, like is suggested by this action, why is it then still (almost) impossible to buy a machine without an OS? Since MS put a price on their OS that can't be overlooked or ignored (£ 99.99 or £189.99) if you've to buy it, the value of a machine should be the published price minus the OS price.

    Now, we all know that OEMs are getting Windows at a discount/ for free, but it is confusing and frustrating to fall into a deep, gaping black hole every time when you ask an OEM: "OK, but what does the thing cost without Windows?" And this doesn't only concern a change/ free choice of OS... No, what if you purchased Windows before, and want to put that money spent to its use? An especially titillating thought if you consider the big hoo-ha in the past about the Explorer integration jurisprudence in the past. I know my CIO would be happy if our purchases would be ~£200 cheaper per unit...

    1. Charlie Clark Silver badge

      Re: And it still makes you wonder...

      For any large vendor the answer will be: "the same as whether it comes with Windows". They have all signed volume licensing deals with Microsoft which, even if it no longer requires them to install Windows on every machine they sell, is practically the case because of the way the production lines are configured because still well over 90% of their sales are to people wanting Windows. The Linux crowd is a really tiny minority and margins at manufacturers are really thin.

      Essentially the only way around this would be to buy a machine without a disk. Even then there are warranty issues related to any drivers required for the hardware.

      The issue, however, is becoming increasingly moot as the PC business continues to shrink. In a couple of years, at this rate, it won't make much difference for the few vendors that remain. Indeed they may well move to installing only an installer à la Mac Book, which would make assembling even easier.

    2. pakman

      Re: And it still makes you wonder...

      "I know my CIO would be happy if our purchases would be ~£200 cheaper per unit..."

      There are plenty of medium-sized system builder outfits around that will happily supply you a system with no OS. We bought a mid-range desktop just a few weeks ago. The particular one that we used charges £90/£130 for Windows Home/Pro, so that is what we saved by buying the PC with no OS. You just need to look beyond the big players.

    3. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

      Re: And it still makes you wonder...

      "why is it then still (almost) impossible to buy a machine without an OS?"

      Because the cost is largely or even more than offset because of all the crap trial-ware (or trial crap-ware) the vendors are paid to install.

  10. Oh Homer
    Meh

    I don't hate Win10

    Bear in mind that I'm a frothing Gentoo fanboi who spent decades berating Microsoft for its criminal business practices and third-rate products.

    And yet...

    Win10 is not as awful as the fashionable diatribes would suggest. To paraphrase Mutt author Michael Elkins, it sucks less, certainly less than certain other versions of Windows I could mention.

    Maybe I'm just getting soft in my old age, but in this post-Snowden era of austerity, "terrorism" and Facebook, Microsoft just doesn't seem that big of a deal any more.

    The subversive method Microsoft used to sneak Win10 onto everyone's PCs was pure sleaze, however, and its spyware "features" are equally sleaze-worthy, but somehow I just can't seem to care. It's a very old tune, remastered for the next generation.

    As for the sudden death of Win7 licenses, I suspect the majority of those looking for Win7 will acquire it from the same dubious source that everyone else has for the past 13 years. So no change there, then.

    1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
      Holmes

      Re: I don't hate Win10

      > austerity

      You mean "fauxterity".

      You can still have F-35 at several billion a pop, insanely high civil servant paychecks, random pharaonic projects, wars because "X gassed his own people" and freshly printed fiat money in container-sized increments.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: I don't hate Win10

        "You mean "fauxterity".

        You can still have F-35 at several billion a pop"

        I would rather pay for F-35s than for scroungers to have extra bedrooms they don't actually need or to be able to earn more than the nation average family salary in benefits!...

    2. Charlie Clark Silver badge

      Re: I don't hate Win10

      As for the sudden death of Win7 licenses, I suspect the majority of those looking for Win7…

      … will continue to buy them from the perfectly legitimate resale market for some time yet.

      Larger companies already have their own installation procedures and couldn't care less. All that's happening is that the pool for OEM discs will slowly start to get smaller.

    3. Jess

      Re: I don't hate Win10

      I mostly agree.

      I used Win 10 as my main OS until shortly after the anniversary update. I specifically used an old PC I was given that had the correct BIOS to license a Win 7 Pro install (which worked poorly to be honest), then upgraded to 10, which worked quite well, and I found I liked slightly more than Linux Mint Rosa (Ignoring the spying stuff obviously).

      However after the anniversary update, I needed to reinstall (not because of it), so I put a new HD and installed it dual boot with Mint Sarah.

      I found Sarah to be a lot nicer than Rosa, while the Anniversary update feels like the usual one step forward two steps back that Microsoft usually do.

      I have scarcely used Win 10 since getting Sarah, and find it a chore when I have to. (Like to quickly copy files to NTFS for example).

      So basically, a year ago I used the latest Windows in (slight) preference to the latest Mint, now I use the latest Mint in big preference to the latest Windows.

    4. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

      Re: I don't hate Win10

      "Maybe I'm just getting soft in my old age"

      Sounds like it. Go and read the new MS "privacy" policy. Note what it enables them to do and how it avoids putting any limits on that. Compare that with the GPL or BSD licences. Then start frothing at the mouth again.

  11. Anonymous Coward Silver badge

    downgrade rights != license

    "Windows 7 Professional 64 preinstalled through downgrade rights in Windows 10 Pro"

    So it's shipped with a Windows 10 Pro license. This is not relevant to the rest of the article. Also, these offers won't "disappear soon" as they're nothing to do with Microsoft supplying Win7 licenses.

    1. kyndair

      Re: downgrade rights != license

      correct downgrade rights are not a license for the older version but they are providing the older version with license pre-installed using the downgrade rights to do so

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Mushroom

    When the time comes

    ... and MS no longer supports Win7 updates, it will be time for me to go 100% Linux (PC Win7, laptop Linux at present.)

    1. Roland6 Silver badge

      Re: When the time comes

      Well there are now lots of businesses running Win7 that have been avoiding Win8/10 and who will be taking some very big decisions in the next few years, as to what to do after Jan 2020: swallow the MS pill or do different.

      Hence there is an opportunity for 'Linux', however, this isn't so much an opportunity for individual Linux distro's but for the full suite enterprise desktop and supporting ecosystems. The only question is whether the 'Linux' community can get together and create a credible offering in the next couple of years.

      Once businesses swallow the MS Win10 pill, it will be very hard to get them off it and Linux will have missed it's best opportunity to date in attracting serious desktop usage.

      1. AndrewDu

        Re: When the time comes

        "Linux will have missed it's best opportunity to date in attracting serious desktop usage."

        Just like it's missed all the others, you mean?

        1. Pascal Monett Silver badge
          Trollface

          It has, and it will continue to do so because 90% of the user base is hopelessly borged into the Windows environment.

          But that is changing. Not because Linux is getting better (it is, constantly), but because the user base is shifting. Today's younguns are growing up with smartphones grafted to their hands, and Microsoft is nowhere in sight there. They will enter the job market with next to zero influence from Microsoft, and when they occupy the IT managing spots, they will throw that shit out and get something familiar that just works - which will be some version of Linux.

          They'll just need to hire some bearded guy to get it running, but they will not care about that. Microsoft is adapting to the future, and the future is Open Source. Linux is its prophet.

          1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

            "They will enter the job market with next to zero influence from Microsoft"

            I'm not sure about that. They put a lot of effort into the education market.

            1. a_yank_lurker

              @Doctor Syntax - The young'ens are used to multiple devices with different OSes on them. They have learned the key fact about OSes; they only exist to make the device useful. They are less likely to slavish use an OS because that is the only one they ever used. Many middle age and older users only learned Windows and many struggle to use anything else. Slurp is losing the consumer market as it migrates to phones and tablets. They can maintain a strong hold on the business market if they stop doing idiotic moves.

              Slurp's "leadership" is acting like the quip about generals - "they are fighting the last war".

            2. TheVogon

              "They will enter the job market with next to zero influence from Microsoft"

              I doubt that. If it's office based, then most people need to use Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office for a job.

              Education tends to reflect workplace requirements - all the kids round here have Office 365 at school and use Microsoft Office in IT lessons.

              1. Whistlerspa

                A already commented

                Students are also using Chromebooks and Mac Airs.

          2. RyokuMas
            FAIL

            "They will enter the job market with next to zero influence from Microsoft"

            ... but 100% under Google's influence - these smartphones "grafted into the hands" of the young guns; chances are that 80% of them will be running Android, and these same kids will have grown up using a company name as the verb for searching the web. The "get 'em hooked while they're young" tactic is in full swing: this time last year, half of the classroom devices sold in the US were Chromebooks.

            So yes, the chances are that in the future, there will be some flavour of Linux powering enterprise. But you can bet your life that it will be the Google-licenced version, as approved by Big Brother, watching your every move and slurping many times the data that Win10 currently is.

            1. Whistlerspa

              I agree to a point but...

              ""They will enter the job market with next to zero influence from Microsoft"

              ... but 100% under Google's influence - these smartphones "grafted into the hands" of the young guns; chances are that 80% of them will be running Android, and these same kids will have grown up using a company name as the verb for searching the web. The "get 'em hooked while they're young" tactic is in full swing: this time last year, half of the classroom devices sold in the US were Chromebooks."

              ... as a teacher working with students who use Chromebooks in class they are very comfortable with Google Docs, or any other technology available including MS desktops with Office installed. Under BYOD many students opt for Macbook Air - small, light, compact and powerful. So in reality all the commercial vendors are out there in the teaching spaces.

        2. Oh Homer
          Linux

          Re: "When the time comes" (a.k.a. The Year of the Linux Desktop)

          This is a very odd aspiration that continues to perplex me.

          GNU/Linux is not some corporation that can go bankrupt and disappear, it will go on for as long as anyone has any interest in it, be it a hundred million or just a hundred, so this desperate quest to gain critical mass is rather odd. The long-term assurance is in its source, not its ubiquity. Self-sufficiency is really the whole point of the Free Software ethos, after all. It's the anarchism/libertarianism model redux, not some quest for global domination.

          1. TheVogon

            Re: "When the time comes" (a.k.a. The Year of the Linux Desktop)

            GNU/Linux is not some corporation that can go bankrupt and disappear.

            But it can stay irrelevant to most people.

            1. Oh Homer
              Headmaster

              Re: "When the time comes" (a.k.a. The Year of the Linux Desktop)

              @TheVogon: "But it can stay irrelevant to most people."

              And that is of zero interest, relevance or consequence to those who actually use it.

      2. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

        Re: When the time comes

        "The only question is whether the 'Linux' community can get together and create a credible offering in the next couple of years."

        (a) Why the quotes?

        (b) Some organisations have already found the existing offering quite credible. They're apt to find MS piling on the pressure (e.g. Ballmer found he just had to pay Munich a visit without even waiting for Oktoberfest). But in the end MS will find they can't twist all the arms.

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Most retail outlets....

    ..... haven't offered anything but Win-10 in over a year. And Intel and M$ wonder why PC sales are falling.... It isn't all about mobile & tablets senior execs. You fucks just don't listen, and your focus groups are only filed with patsies...

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Simple - replace with Linux Mint

    Easy to install, simple to use (especially for the non-tech users) and far more secure than Windows for most use cases.

    Mint

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Well, Microsoft and Windows 10 are pretty bad, but at least they are not quite Adobe.

    Yet.

    Is it dreadful to feel nostalgic about the Gates/Ballmer Microsoft? That Evil Empire felt almost cuddly compared to the current technocrats.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      "Is it dreadful to feel nostalgic about the Gates/Ballmer Microsoft? That Evil Empire felt almost cuddly compared to the current technocrats."

      The more information your computer enables you to access and distribute, the more effort is put into monitoring you. The KGB kept records of every official typewriter in the Soviet Union, and photocopiers were under KGB surveillance. That's why we fought the Cold War - so we could become exactly the same, but with a friendly UI on top.

      1. ChrisC Silver badge

        There are many words I could use to describe the Win10 UI, friendly not being one of them...

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          "There are many words I could use to describe the Win10 UI, friendly not being one of them"

          I was being nice. Actually I can't really speak for the W10 UI because I have only ever used it long enough to install Classic Shell. And that isn't snark but the simple,literal truth.

          Truth is, I personally am not too worried about the data slurp, because IRL I'm rather respectable (and I look after my security). But I can understand the concerns of a lot of people. In particular, the idea that someone like Arron Banks is involved in insurance companies horrifies me (see his Wikipedia page for details.)

  16. Mikel

    Downgrade rights

    I remember these from the Vista campaign. They kept trying to convince the world Vista was going gangbusters because they had sold a lot of licenses. But usage wasn't showing up because everyone was using their "downgrade".

    It's all the same to their bottom line though. They still got the money.

    At this time however it looks like that "1 billion installs" target for Windows 10 is far away indeed. Developers can take their sweet time moving over.

  17. ab-gam

    According to my Dell rep, Microsoft blinked and will allow OEM factory installed Win7Pro via Win10Pro downgrades for another year.

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    XP forever!!

    They'll get my XP box out of my warm, sweaty hands when the worlds governments stop insisting on ancient copies of IE to make their websites and on-line booking systems to work properly.

    (I am looking at you especially China - four frigging days in London, and £400 in expenses for a 10 minute appointment and a £2 consular fee - all to change a name in a passport).

    Having pointing at China, I should also mention a Midlands town council who require IE6 to pay a parking fine.

    1. Sandtitz Silver badge

      Re: XP forever!!

      "Having pointing at China, I should also mention a Midlands town council who require IE6 to pay a parking fine."

      So... why won't you name them?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: XP forever!!

        OK, It was Tewksbury, a few years ago, damned site wouldnt run anything else, not even IETab, and the oldest version of IE that would run on my Win7 PC was IE8.

        Once again, I had to dig out my old EEPC901 and use XP to get it done.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: XP forever!!

          So you didn't try out IE Emulation Mode then? I agree these companies should get with the times but you can use IE6 even under windows 10. MS have provided compatibility but people such as you want to find the most time consuming way. Absolutely crazy.

  19. Mike Mike

    Can Still Buy...

    My Dell rep told me last week that Windows 7 PC's will be available for another year.

    Just checked Dell.com and it is available for purchase.

    It is just like it has been for the last year or so. It comes with a Windows 10 license, but Windows 7 is installed.

  20. bombastic bob Silver badge
    Devil

    why aren't PC makers fighting back?

    Why aren't the PC-makers fighting back? Why do they INSIST on hitching their wagons to a "fallen star"? Don't they realize that Micro-shaft has given THEM the "digitus impudicus" with respect to ANY future profits? Micro-shaft doesn't give a rat's backside to Win-10-nic's overall effect on "the industry". In fact, you MIGHT say they're doing it ON PURPOSE so they can sell more 'Surface' boxen, except it's not really working very well.

    If PC makers were to collectively GET BEHIND a nice big PUSH towards Linux, it would be like 1991 all over again, except MIGRATING TOWARDS LINUX instead of Windows.

    and all of those 'content consumers' can STILL "consume their content" using Linux.

    Or, BSD, for that matter...

  21. Nocroman

    So my question is, I have 4 copies of windows 7 professional. Now can I resell them to someone that wants them as I have moved on to windows 10 on all four of my computers. Next, How come we can't sue windows when someone breaks their security and we get hacked and can't use our computers. Doesn't the lemon law apply? Or at least fraud for saying they sold you a secure O/S system?

    1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

      Yes, but actually no.

      Welcome to "digital"

  22. Nocroman

    What Is Linux

    Would someone please tell me what Linux is? Can I play my Windows Games on it? Do they even make games for it if it is an O/S system? I don't know anything about Linux as I spend all my time making money on the stock market or playing game.

    1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
      Windows

      Re: What Is Linux

      So you are a leech on society who survives only because money printing (aka stealth wealth transfer) is in overdrive and who has no redeeming skills whatsoever?

      My only satisfaction is that you will be left to fend for yourself in the wilderness where armed survivors from inner cities roam when the zombie apocalypse comes.

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