Microsoft has decided to permanently halt preview updates for a couple of older, but still supported, versions of Windows 10. These updates will now only be offered to Windows 10 22H2 and Windows 11.
Lifecycle RSS
Microsoft has announced a significant change to its Python bundling strategy in Visual Studio. Going forward, new versions of the IDE will support the current broadly available version of Python.
Microsoft has issued a reminder that it is retiring Windows Thin PC next month. The SKU is based on Windows Embedded Standard 7 and is a stripped down version of Windows 7 for low performance PCs.
Mainstream support for Windows Phone 8.1 is wrapping up tomorrow. If the lifecycle support date isn't extended, three out of every four Windows phone users will be using an unsupported handset.
The original version of Windows 10 - that is version 1507 - is reaching the end of its lifecycle. Microsoft will no longer be issuing security updates to machines running this iteration of the OS.
It appears that Microsoft has started blocking updates to some new PCs running older versions of Windows including Windows 7 and 8.1 in an effort to encourage users to upgrade to its latest OS.
With Windows 7 approaching the end of extended support in three years, Microsoft is once again encouraging enterprise users to upgrade to Windows 10, touting security features and enhancements.
Microsoft has cautioned that some of its older software products are reaching end of support soon. The company has detailed workarounds and upgrade paths for each of them as well.
Microsoft is adding an official 'third tier' to the product lifecycle of Windows / SQL Server. Launching in 2017, customers can pay a fee for six years of additional support. Server 2008 lives on!
