A new message inviting Windows users to adopt Gnu/Linux is making the rounds online
There
are a lot of malicious Linux messages on the Internet against
Microsoft, Apple, and others, but some of them are actually very well
done, friendly, and could be easily adopted as a motto.
These
types of messages are bound to increase in frequency as we approach
the end of life for Windows XP, on April 8. Even if the message is
not specifically targeted at Windows, everyone seems to assume that
this is the case.
Fans
of an older Windows operating system have reason to feel the pang of
nostalgia today: Microsoft has quietly announced the end date for
Windows 7. This end date will affect the sale of computers with the
operating system pre-installed, but the announcement also lists
two further dates when support will be cancelled.
According
to their Windows Lifecycle Fact Sheet page, the sale of new Windows 7
Professional machines from authorized retailers will end on October
31, 2016; the sale of Windows 7 Home machines ended last year in
October. The end of the support for the OS was January of this year
for the mainstream support, with the end of extended support coming
around in January of 2020.
Interestingly,
Windows 8 has a weird end of life schedule, too. Windows 8
pre-installed machines will leave the market before the end of the
run for Windows 7 Pro, as retail sales of the devices will cease on
June 30, 2016. Windows 8.1 machines get to hang on a little longer,
ending on the same date as the sales of Windows 7 Pro machines,
October 31. The end of mainstream support for 8.1 will be in January
of 2018, with extended support ending in January of 2023.
Here’s
an interesting mention from the Fact Sheet that comes with no fanfare
or explanation: Windows 10 mainstream support is slated to end in
five years; extended support will end in ten years. While this
probably only indicates that Microsoft is preparing for service pack
updates–as the case with the Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 dates,
meaning we can expect a different time frame for any versions like
Windows 10.1 or later–it does call into question the “software as
a service” shift that was to take place with the new OS. The early
reports from industry experts had a “the last software you’ll
ever need” feel to their assessment due to the changing SaaS model
of charging for new cloud-based features.
The Gnu/Linux community is expecting that a number of Windows users will
choose to stop using Windows products and switch to a Gnu/Linux
distribution. That is very unlikely, but it hasn't stopped people
from constantly inviting users to try Linux and from modifying
well-known memes in order to get the message across. Xiaomi's long-rumored Gnu/Linux laptop will be entering production in the first part of 2016, which will be serious competition with windows.
If
you have seen any more interesting and funny Linux messages, don't be
shy and leave a comment in the section below.
