Last week reports surfaced that said that Microsoft had ended sales of retail copies of Windows 7 on 30 October this year, giving an end-of-sale date of preinstalled copies of Windows 7 as 30 October 2014. The dates were published on Microsoft’s website but have been altered since the original report to reflect what Microsoft says are the correct dates.
The retail sale date for Windows 7 coming to an end has since been confirmed by Microsoft, according to a report by The Next Web, though the fate of OEM copies of the operating system is still up in the air.
A Microsoft representative speaking to The Next Web reportedly said “We’ll have more details to share about the Windows 7 lifecycle once they become available. Additionally, we are confirming that the Retail software end of sales date for Windows 7 did happen on October 30, 2013.”
Retail copies of Windows 7 are pretty much done, though it’ll still be possible to purchase a Windows 7 machine until October next year. Windows 8 will also cease to be available at retail on 31 October 2014, after a bare two years on sale, suggesting that Microsoft is shortening the life-cycles of their operating systems with each successive release. Windows 7 has been available for four years at retail, Windows Vista was available for three and Windows XP was available for seven.
Source: The Next Web
