We all know that Windows 7 is nearing the end of extended support. But Microsoft announced that there will be a financial penalty for NOT upgrading to WIndows 10 by the end of 2019.
In a new blog post entitled “Helping customers shift to a modern desktop”, Microsoft announced that it will start charging Windows 7 customers a monthly fee from January 14th 2020, if they want to keep their computers safe. This means no more patches or security updates unless, as we now learn, you pay. Furthermore, Microsoft says it will increase the cost of this every year.
“[T]oday we are announcing that we will offer paid Windows 7 Extended Security Updates (ESU) through January 2023. The Windows 7 ESU will be sold on a per-device basis and the price will increase each year,” explained Jared Spataro, Corporate Vice President for Office and Windows Marketing, and author of the company’s blog post.
Pricing was not revealed by Spataro, but for some the announcement will be seen as a good thing. Microsoft could have just cut off all Windows 7 users on January 14th 2020, leaving them stranded and their data vulnerable, so the introduction a monthly charge gives users an alternative if they remain dead set against upgrading to Windows 10.
An interesting side note that is only visible in the super fine print — this offer only applies to Windows 7 Professional customers with Volume Licensing. Small businesses and Home versions are not eligible for the paid updates.
See full article at Forbes.com