It’s official – Microsoft has finally binned Windows 7 and Windows 8, meaning it won’t ship as standard on any officially sanctioned Microsoft fare.
The Redmond-based firm recently announced its next OS, Windows 10, which should see a general launch late next year.
In the meantime however, all consumer kit will land with Windows 8.1, with predecessor software relegated to the annals of OS history.
Microsoft stopped flogging Windows 7 Home Basic, Home Premium, and Ultimate on October 31.
Today, however, marks the last retail date of Windows 8, now abandoned in the wake of the 8.1 edition.
It’s worth noting however that you’ll still be able to pick up hardware with the older OS, as many stores will still have stock without 8.1 built-in.
Customers will also be able to downgrade from 8.1 to Windows 7, although it’s not commonly offered or encouraged.
Windows 8 became available to the general public back on October 26 2012, while Windows 7 launched on October 22, 2009.
It’s expected that Windows 10 will see a similarly autumnal launch date.
Windows 10 will see the return of the start menu, newly jazzed up with live tiles, multi-tasking improvement, multiple desktop support, improved touch optimisation, and better cross-platform functionality.
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