The very last Windows 7 update of all time has just been updated by Microsoft itself.
Microsoft certainly gave plenty of warning to users of Windows 7 that their operating systems were nearing, approaching and then reaching end of life status prior to ending support for Windows 7 on January 15 2020.
After that time, Microsoft warned in no uncertain terms that there would be no further updates for Windows 7 at all. Period. Nada. Zip. Nothing.
[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2020/01/windows-7-dead/” thumb=”https://gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/windows7-410×231.jpg” title=”Windows 7 Is Finally Dead” excerpt=”The time has come. After 10 years of service, Windows 7 has finally been put to rest by Microsoft. From January 14 2020, Windows 7 users will no longer receive technical support, security and software updates. It’s time to move on.”]
And yet, just a few short weeks later, it released a final update for Windows 7 to deal with a stretched wallpaper bug it seems to have introduced itself.
The bug doesn’t appear to be of the truly critical variety, simply turning stretched wallpapers black. But it must have either been trivially easy to fix or hit someone very high up the Microsoft management chain as annoying enough to be worth patching. It’s hard to imagine Satya Nadella still being on Windows 7, but maybe that’s the story here.
It’s relatively rare for Microsoft to continue support for discontinued products beyond their end of life date, although it has done so from time to time, largely to deal with newer security threats. Even there, its usual approach is to not-so-subtly suggest that users update to a more modern operating system environment.
[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2020/01/the-australian-government-spent-8-7-million-to-run-windows-7-for-another-year/” thumb=”https://gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/windows7dumb-410×231.jpg” title=”The Australian Government Spent $8.7 Million To Run Windows 7 For Another Year” excerpt=”Windows 7 may be dead for the rest of the world but for two Australian government departments, it’s alive and well for at least another year.”]