Is Windows 7 still a thing?

[Jcmg62]

My wife joined a new company last week, a large multinational, and was issued with a brand new Dell laptop with a pretty modern spec sheet.....core i5 CPU running at 2.6GHz, 8GB Ram. It's by no means an outdated machine that's been lying in a cupboard somewhere.

But the thing is, it's running Windows 7. And still sitting on service pack 1.

It's honestly like rewinding the clock 5 years when you open this thing up.

Is Microsoft still selling Windows 7 licenses? Surely that can't be good for Windows 10.

 

[Lee Power]

Some companies haven't yet made the switch to Windows 10. The company I work for runs Windows 7 Enterprise but are currently rolling out Windows 10 devices across there European operations.

 

[Jcmg62]

Some companies haven't yet made the switch to Windows 10. The company I work for runs Windows 7 Enterprise but are currently rolling out Windows 10 devices across there European operations.

What surprised me is that it's not some cranky old PC that's had 5 previous users.....this is a brand new Dell laptop with 2017/18 hardware specs, which would suggest that Microsoft are still selling Windows 7 Licenses to the enterprise market.

It's completely understandable that companies need time to move from one OS to another, and it's only right that MS continue to support Windows 7 for the next few years while that transitionsal period continues, but supporting existing equipment is one thing.....actively selling windows 7 machines is just crazy in 2018

 

[fatclue_98]

The company I work for has mostly Windows 10 for the administrative and accounting departments but we use 7 in management and engineering. We've found Cortana to be too much of a resource hog.

 

[tgp]

Is Microsoft still selling Windows 7 licenses?

Yes there are still new computers available with Windows 7. Usually they'll have upgrade rights to Windows 10, but they are certainly still available. We still sell Windows 7 workstations occasionally when a customer requests it.

 

[Jcmg62]

Yes there are still new computers available with Windows 7. Usually they'll have upgrade rights to Windows 10, but they are certainly still available. We still sell Windows 7 workstations occasionally when a customer requests it.

It's weird (and maybe it has something to do with the way her IT dept has set it up) but Windows 7 is running terribly on the machine. I mean, this thing has a very capable core i5....I think it's a 7600T....with 8GB of ram. It's basically twice as powerful as my surface pro 4 but it runs like a lame dog.

You almost get the sense that any new hardware designed in the last 2-3 years is built specifically with Windows 10 in mind, so throwing W7 on it has just drowned the machine in an OS that it's not capable of optimising or running fluidly. It's almost like the old OS won't work with new hardware. Normally it's the other way round.....

Or, as I mentioned earlier, her IT dept is just full of numbnuts who don't know how to set up a PC

 

[tgp]

It's weird (and maybe it has something to do with the way her IT dept has set it up) but Windows 7 is running terribly on the machine. I mean, this thing has a very capable core i5....I think it's a 7600T....with 8GB of ram. It's basically twice as powerful as my surface pro 4 but it runs like a lame dog.

That would likely be due to driver issues. Can she run Windows Updates, or do they use WSUS?

 

[Jcmg62]

That would likely be due to driver issues. Can she run Windows Updates, or do they use WSUS?

Nah, it's totally locked down, she can't update a single thing, can't change a single setting, can't add any peripherals without consent from IT, etc, etc. The company employs best part of 300,000 employees glabally so I get the need for security, but they must lose literally hundreds of thousands of hours in manpower every month due to bad IT.

Honestly, no exaggeration, it takes this thing like 5 minutes to start up and about 2 minutes to open Outlook. Opening a PDF virtually drags it to a standstill.

 

[tgp]

Honestly, no exaggeration, it takes this thing like 5 minutes to start up and about 2 minutes to open Outlook. Opening a PDF virtually drags it to a standstill.

If they're paying her to sit there and wait, then I guess that's their problem! rly:

 

[xandros9]

What surprised me is that it's not some cranky old PC that's had 5 previous users.....this is a brand new Dell laptop with 2017/18 hardware specs, which would suggest that Microsoft are still selling Windows 7 Licenses to the enterprise market.

It's completely understandable that companies need time to move from one OS to another, and it's only right that MS continue to support Windows 7 for the next few years while that transitionsal period continues, but supporting existing equipment is one thing.....actively selling windows 7 machines is just crazy in 2018

It could've been that their IT department threw 7 on it for legacy reasons and had some volume licenses on hand!

 

[Jcmg62]

It could've been that their IT department threw 7 on it for legacy reasons and had some volume licenses on hand!

Altogether possible. My wife only ever uses her work laptop. When it comes to personal stuff like Amazon, web browsing, personal emails, etc she uses her iPhone. Windows 10 is literally alien to her. And I suspect she's not alone. I was in my local coffee shop last week and counted 8 out of 11 laptops being used were runnning W7. People, what the heck!!

 

[MatthewR413]

8+ windows laptops on a coffee shop? I don't remember the last time I saw that...

 

[Jcmg62]

8+ windows laptops on a coffee shop? I don't remember the last time I saw that...

It's the only decent sized coffee shop with decent wifi and decent coffee...it's pretty much a hub for us local small business owners

 

[tgp]

It's the only decent sized coffee shop with decent wifi and decent coffee...it's pretty much a hub for us local small business owners

I think what he meant is that it is surprising that there were that many customers using PCs rather than Macbooks.

 

[Jcmg62]

I think what he meant is that it is surprising that there were that many customers using PCs rather than Macbooks.

Yup, totally get that The strange thing is that the majority of us in this particular small business group are 40+ years old and virtually eveyone is using Windows. We're recruiters, accountants, personal finance advisors, etc and Windows seems to be the go-to platform because it's familiar to us and our clients.

I think if we were young, hip website developers and marketing execs there might be more macbooks in the room.

Operating systems have a demographic

 

[tgp]

Operating systems have a demographic

They certainly do! However, people like me are probably confusing. I actively use all common operating systems. On a typical day I spend a good bit of time on Windows, Mac OS, Android, and iOS. Less often, I use ChromeOS and Linux.

I don't fit anywhere!

 

[MatthewR413]

That makes sense yeah. Business people like windows. Designers like MacBooks. Engineers like certain Linux distros.

I also think people like my wife like apple because she hates technology and there's the apple store that she can take it to and they fix it for her and that drives me nuts cause I love to tinker and customize so I mainly use windows for business because of office, and also dabble in Linux a bit.

 

[tgp]

I also think people like my wife like apple because she hates technology and there's the apple store that she can take it to and they fix it for her

This plays a huge factor in how Apple has built up the following they have, and why they can demand premium prices. Their products are not necessarily the most capable, but they are more than enough for the vast majority of consumers.

Apple products are arguably simple to use, relatively hassle free, and their customer support is second to none.

 

[MatthewR413]

This plays a huge factor in how Apple has built up the following they have, and why they can demand premium prices. Their products are not necessarily the most capable, but they are more than enough for the vast majority of consumers.

Apple products are arguably simple to use, relatively hassle free, and their customer support is second to none.

Totally agree. They are great for older people and people who hate technology. When my father and mother-in-law were asking questions about getting smart phones and stuff I said go with Apple because, for some reason, the people who work at the apple store have a lot more patience than I do. It's a premium price, but with apple care, you just walk in and walk out with your problem solved. That's really the thing about Apple I admire: the customer service.

 

[fatclue_98]

They certainly do! However, people like me are probably confusing. I actively use all common operating systems. On a typical day I spend a good bit of time on Windows, Mac OS, Android, and iOS. Less often, I use ChromeOS and Linux.

I don't fit anywhere!

Except for the Linux, that's me too. Although I do use Chromebooks at home more than my MacBook.