Windows 7 and 8.1 no longer available in new machines after 2016
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Berlin (dpa) - Older versions of the Windows operating systems will be taken out of sale in 2016 as the company turns its focus to the newer Windows 10.
That means no new computers will be packaged with Windows 7 and 8.1 after the end of October 2016. Windows 8 will cease to be available as an original-equipment feature as early as June 2016, according to Microsoft's updates Windows life-cycle table.
After that, users who want to stick with an older version of Windows will have to manually install it.
The new cycle is a change from Microsoft's former policy of keeping all older systems up and running for at least two years after introducing a new system, reports ZDnet.com.
However, stopping the sales will not mean the end of technical support.
That means, Windows 7 will keep getting technical updates through January 2020, while Windows 8.1 will still get them through January 2023.
