Microsoft ending Win7 support soon, should I get Ubuntu?

[engineheat]

Does Ubuntu offer periodic security updates like Windows?

Trying to figure out what my options are other than buying a Win10 license.

Thanks

[amyk]

Note that "ending support" doesn't mean it stops working.

The "security" argument is BS too, just a way to frighten the gullible into their even more disgusting surveillancetelemetry data-collection. Keep your ports closed, don't run random stuff downloaded off the Internet, nor allow JS on every site, and you'll be fine.

[xrunner]

Does Ubuntu offer periodic security updates like Windows?

Yes it does, as does Linux Mint (which I prefer). I run my Seti@Home project on Linux Mint and it works very well. 

[wilfred]

Get a WIN10 license. But if you insist on moving to Linux I suggest you'd be better served by Linux Mint XFCE. The GUI is nearer to what you're are familiar with.

But I advise you to stay with Windows.

[Red Squirrel]

Note that "ending support" doesn't mean it stops working.

The "security" argument is BS too, just a way to frighten the gullible into their even more disgusting surveillancetelemetry data-collection. Keep your ports closed, don't run random stuff downloaded off the Internet, nor allow JS on every site, and you'll be fine.

Pretty much this.  If they tell you it's insecure to run an old OS, then what made it more secure before?  Those security holes that are suddenly a risk were there already!  It's not like new security holes get added the minute it goes out of service. (short of any conspiracy that perhaps they push a final update to do so, which I highly doubt)

You should treat any machine, new OS or not, as if it was full of security holes, by having proper security practices that work beyond relying on the fact that it's secure.  Proper firewalling, proper vlan segmentation of more critical parts of the network, not opening stuff you don't trust, etc...

That said I have a pretty good feeling Microsoft will keep extending support like they did with XP.  It just feels way too early to end support for 7 when lot of companies just finished upgrading to it.  There is no viable upgrade path after windows 7 when it comes to a business environment. Windows 8 and 10 are entertainment OSes and not suitable for productivity use.    If a lot of technical minded people hate it, imagine how general users in an office environment will hate it, and have trouble figuring out how to do anything in it.  If you're going to learn a whole new OS it makes more sense to switch to Linux and use a GUI like KDE or other traditional UI (ex: not Gnome) that will be easier to learn and use.

My company is talking about windows 10 but I really hope it keeps getting delayed.  We literally just upgraded to 7 like a few years ago and now finally everything more or less works properly.  I really don't want to have to go through all that again, for what?  Also Windows 10's horrible all white UI with it's fuzzy gray text and no proper borders or delimitation between UI elements is very hard on the eyes.   In fact out of all the things to hate windows 10 for, to me it's the horrible UI which you can't really change. You have like maybe 3 different choices and they all suck.  Even in windows 3.11 you could customize the UI!

[Simon]

I would happily move to linux but it is behind. Won't support 4K monitors and the attitude of users means no support. If only Linus Torvades would put his weight behind a distribution that gains widespread acceptance we might start to see a usable OS at last. He bemoans that linux did not take off in the desktop market as that is what he wrote it for originally but completely fails to see why: because he let every man and his dog take it, and make it what they wanted and there is no standardization.

Windows 10 is a pain in the ass. You don't own your computer any more. You have no option but to install updates and then when it does it starts to uninstall programs. This is not good, I would use anything else at the drop of a hat if it was serious enough that major program vendors adopted it too. 

[ChunkyPastaSauce]

Trying to figure out what my options are other than buying a Win10 license.

In most cases windows 10 upgrade is still free. You install Windows 10 using ISO, skip entering key at install. Then after it installs and booted, you go to the settings activation window and enter in the windows 7 key. Windows activation then issues you a new win 10 key

[brucehoult]

I would happily move to linux but it is behind. Won't support 4K monitors

wtf?

I must be dreaming about my little i7-8650U NUC (NUC7i7DNKE) running these two 4k monitors at the same time on stock out of the box Ubuntu 18.04 with no configuration whatsoever. Plug them into the two HDMI ports and it Just Works.

[retiredcaps]

Does Ubuntu offer periodic security updates like Windows?

I run lubuntu (light weight version) and it gets security updates when they are released. That is, there is no monthly "patch or update" tuesday.

Sometimes, I get security updates daily, sometimes days or a couple of weeks go by without an update.  So there is no set schedule.

If you want to see the Ubuntu security releases go to

https://usn.ubuntu.com/releases/ubuntu-18.04-lts/

I don't run Windows anymore (2014 XP was my last daily Windows driver), but when I do, it takes hours sometimes for the updates to complete.  With lubuntu, the updates are usually complete within 5 minutes or less.

If you are going to switch from Windows to linux, make sure to pick applications where your data is compatible or available on both platforms.  I also try to choose data formats that are industry standard or open source so I can use any program to access them.

For example, I chose thunderbird email because it runs on both platforms.  Before I was using Eudora, but Eudora doesn't run on linux.

When I moved from XP to linux in 2014, I downloaded and tested about 10 to 15 distros before settling on lubuntu, but for my needs, it runs perfectly.

The ONLY time I need to run Windows is April for a specific Canada Tax program.  While it can run under wine, I found it took too much time to get it running.  It was cheaper for me to buy a $10 PC with a legit Windows 10 license.  On this PC, I have bare bones Windows 10 installed with NO network access. I do my taxes, connect to CRA, upload my taxes and then shut it off for another year.

[Simon]

I would happily move to linux but it is behind. Won't support 4K monitors

wtf?

I must be dreaming about my little i7-8650U NUC (NUC7i7DNKE) running these two 4k monitors at the same time on stock out of the box Ubuntu 18.04 with no configuration whatsoever. Plug them into the two HDMI ports and it Just Works.

You mean I can go in and tell it to magnify everything so that it appears correctly as it does in windows?

[Jeroen3]

You mean I can go in and tell it to magnify everything so that it appears correctly as it does in windows?

That's a problem from Windows. Microsoft refused to implement global dpi scaling parameters until Windows 10.
Both are at an equal level of 4k readyness if you ask me. And the user experience is highly dependent on the application you are running. Older apps get scaled and fuzzy.

Microsoft ending Win7 support soon, should I get Ubuntu?

Try it. You can always go back to Microsoft if you get withdrawal symptoms.

[RoGeorge]

[Linux] Won't support 4K monitors and the attitude of users means no support.

Not true.
I have Ubuntu on a desktop with a mix of 4 different monitors, each with different refresh rates and resolution.  One monitor is 4K at 10bits per pixel.  Scaling is better than in Windows 10 (or Win 7).

There are plenty of help files, blogs and forums to find support at any level, and you will get you real support, not like the Microsoft support where one asks, let's say about a missing dll, and the support replies something completely retarded, like "Is your computer plugged in?".

Just install the latest Ubuntu and see for yourself.  If you don't like it, you can switch back to Windows at any time.

Do not try to make a Linux "look and feel" like Windows.  "Dash-to-panel" will help to make it a little "windows like", but keep in mind that each OS is different.

One last thing, if you do a lot of video gaming, forget about Mac or Linux.  Most of the games are still Windows/Console only.

[Simon]

I'll give ubuntu a go!

[bd139]

Note that "ending support" doesn't mean it stops working.

The "security" argument is BS too, just a way to frighten the gullible into their even more disgusting surveillancetelemetry data-collection. Keep your ports closed, don't run random stuff downloaded off the Internet, nor allow JS on every site, and you'll be fine.

This is ridiculous. Please disconnect all your computers from the internet and glue your doors shut. I am personally fed up of dealing with armies of fucked up unpatched windows machines on botnets because people are too stupid and cheap to wipe out whole classes of vulnerabilities.

A fine point is that windows defender as used on XP is vulnerable to a drive by attack where any incoming files can root the machine with no user intervention at all. Being careful is a ridiculous arrogant form of survivor bias here. Enjoy cryptolocker...

Your advice is beyond wrong. Please stop spreading this crap. You are creating so many problems.

Just get windows 10, fix all the annoying bits and stop bitching. Stuff changes. Get over it.

I'll give ubuntu a go!

Do that too but remember it’s different. Go in with no preconception of “I want this to work like windows did” and you will go far.

[Jeroen3]

As an alternative to retail Windows 10, you might want to consider an LTSC* license from eBay. It's Windows 10 without the bloatware, and a rather conservative update plan. The only problem is that you're stuck with grey license sales on eBay and such.

_{*The Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC), 10 years, only security fixes.}

[Kjelt]

Pretty much this.  If they tell you it's insecure to run an old OS, then what made it more secure before?  Those security holes that are suddenly a risk were there already!  It's not like new security holes get added the minute it goes out of service.

No but as you probably know many of these flaws are not known at this moment and people are 24/7 trying to find them to gain an advantage.
The moment it is known and gets momentum they are added to security testing tools that can be run by 12 yr olds.
That is usually the moment MS who already received warnings upfront releases their patches so it is fixed.
That is the same moment with an unsupported OS you have another security issue.

You should treat any machine, new OS or not, as if it was full of security holes, by having proper security practices that work beyond relying on the fact that it's secure.  Proper firewalling, proper vlan segmentation of more critical parts of the network, not opening stuff you don't trust, etc...

Pull the internet plug

That said I have a pretty good feeling Microsoft will keep extending support like they did with XP.  It just feels way too early to end support for 7 when lot of companies just finished upgrading to it. 

Yeah very expensive contracts for very lazy companies or mostly government organizations that have no IT knowledge and don't care spending tax money. 

There is no viable upgrade path after windows 7 when it comes to a business environment. Windows 8 and 10 are entertainment OSes and not suitable for productivity use.   

Don't mix Win8 and Win10 please. Win8 is an abomination and should never have been released. Win10 is better than Win7 IMO it is more stable and can be configured to be used in industry.
Most of our companies are now running Win10, and I am running Win10 for my CNC machines no problems what so ever, just have to shut down some intermittent services and pull the internet plug, but that is real time machining, something windows does not shine, still it works flawlessly.

[Simon]

put it this way. no business "upgraded" to 10 because they wanted to, they were given an ultimatum that came with a "oh and buy the way now you are just allowed to use our OS you will never own it and we can do as we please" hence after every major update of this turd called windows 10 I have to go around reinstalling programs that microsoft removed because they now own my hardware too! fucking wankers!

[ledtester]

Apparently you can still upgrade from Win7 to Win10 for free:

https://www.howtogeek.com/272201/all-the-ways-you-can-still-get-windows-10-for-free/

[bd139]

put it this way. no business "upgraded" to 10 because they wanted to, they were given an ultimatum that came with a "oh and buy the way now you are just allowed to use our OS you will never own it and we can do as we please" hence after every major update of this turd called windows 10 I have to go around reinstalling programs that microsoft removed because they now own my hardware too! fucking wankers!

Actually no, what happened was everyone are cheap asses who factor IT as a profit drain rather than a business function cost. Thus the IT dragged at the tail end of the curve with minimal investment. Then everyone bitches and moans they need to replace their decade or more old piece of shit because they entered the next product cycle at the last minute because they delayed the last one thus meaning a less than 5 year cycle. This causes epic amounts of bitching about having to do everything last minute and then having to accept compromises galore.

[Halcyon]

To the OP: If you're not a big gamer I would seriously look into Linux as an alternative (even if you play the odd Steam game, Linux works just fine). It is a bit of a learning curve but one which I embarked on about a year ago and have never looked back. Windows 10 feels like a bloated, sluggish and productivity-killing piece of crap compared to pretty much any flavour of Linux.

Ubuntu isn't my favourite distro, but it's simple to set up and just works on a wide range of hardware. The various Linux distros are a bit like cars, regardless of what others might think, there is no "best" Linux. The best is what works for you. In the past I've tried Mint, Ubuntu, CentOS, Fedora and now I'm onto Arch Linux. All have their strengths and weaknesses. I will recommend using a window manager other than Gnome (the default on Ubuntu) as it can be slow on older hardware. Good alternatives are MATE (pronounced "maté") or Xfce, but there are many others.

[Mechatrommer]

for me use your old Windows OS to the last bit of its blood, ie when your productivity tools and hardwares cannot run in it anymore that inevitably you have to buy new tools/SWs and hardwares that only support new OS, that you already got acceptable profits from the old one. upgrading system in productivity or professional world is not simply upgrading the OS alone, they have to take into account tools/hardwares compatibility in the new OS. incompatibility means they have to spend another multi thousands dollars on new tools/hardwares, disruption in business process etc, not really good for healthy. this is why according to some people, some banking still stick with Cobol but i can understand the reason. the Wannacry outbreak in hospitals using XP, they also have reason for it. if its simply upgrading the OS (given budget is allocated) and they can happily continue business tomorrow, everybody would have done so since the beginning, this some hobby grade people dont understand.

i repeat, use your old Windows OS to the last bit of its blood while you can, BUT.... with a big BUT... also make sure your system is secure by putting in tools by people who are in and care about the security business. afraid of virus, malware, worm, exploits? we have anti virus, anti malware anti worm anti exploits tools, go get it installed. the pro/paid version is not that expensive. for free version i recommend Avast Antivirus. sadly there is hiccup in the Pro version of Avast in WinXP that i have to switch to Panda, but the free version is flawless on my other nonproductivity/family machines.

and second BUT is... if you still dont trust your antivirus well, learn how to make your system backup, such as AOMEI Backupper, pros know their tools so they installed in after fresh OS install, and then make the backup, they paid expert if they dont know how but have the money, if they dont have the money they need to learn, otherwise they should get Murphy's Eligibility Award. when something peculiar happened, another outbreak, HDD cranked in read/write mode for no apparent reason, CPU is throttled while idle etc, should raise the alarm, if needed, formatting and reinstalling backup will take few minutes and then they can resume business in free of fear state. having said this, alertness need to be learnt, some basic computing and OS operation as well. computer virus is not like real virus, real virus persist in existence and no way around it, but computer virus are dead when you pull the plug, they are dead forever when you make fresh install. get another utility tools such as file logger or something, it will inform you when new files created in your system, i made one myself.

forget/ignore about people saying XP users are a fucked up users, they dont have a clue and XP users have reasons to stick, its our money and well beingness, not them. in fact, new Windows are the fucked up one, they cant get the Windows Explorer working right as it used to be... which is the backbone for some pro users. i have 7 and 10 license but my productivity system is still XP . its still can run nothing wrong with it, some Antivirus still supporting it. so i dont see any problem with Win7 for several years to come.

[bd139]

IT sector has anti-vaxxers too...

It's not just your money. It's your customers' data that you are responsible for. Over here if you are running unpatched and get exfiltrated then you are up shit creek because you failed round 1 of due diligence. Big GDPR fines. And GDPR exists because of the lax nature of businesses and individuals on privacy and security.

The only fault is you forgot to charge out your future capex and now have a bill on your plate and you have sod all data protection regulation in the US other than post-fact litigation vulturing.

BUT BUT BUT MY MONEY always 

[ddavidebor]

Does Ubuntu offer periodic security updates like Windows?

Trying to figure out what my options are other than buying a Win10 license.

Thanks

If you do not need any particular software that is not available on Windows than you definitely should.
Ubuntu offers quite fast security updates, guaranteed for 5 years for it's LTS releases
Current version is 18.03 with guaranteed security and maintenance updates up to 2023

You will find that the interface is a bit different but really really good. You will find yourself having to "unlearn" some of the dummer elements of the windows UI, such as how to extract usb keys and such. As well as many "fixes and tricks" you need with windows that on Linux are simply not needed.

The interface can be personalized extensively to your taste (ubuntu is standard Gnome with a few customizations) and supports high density displays.

If after a while you still don't like the UI and want to go back you should consider Linux Mint Cinnamon, a ubuntu derivative which is very popular and has a UI more windows-like

I recommend you upgrade the LTS release 6months to 1 year after the new release is out. Usually, the new features are worth the upgrade hassle. Bug fixes are backported for the full duration of the maintenance period.

Please note that ubuntu is an os with modern features meant to run on a modern PC.

[ebclr]

I would suggest taking a look on all software you need to use, If the are available on Linux, or have similar ones that you like, Go ahead you can even add VMWare and still have windows7 as a virtual machine. I personally did that and since 90% of the software I need is not available on Linux, I opted for the Inverse path, upgraded to Windows 10 and have a lot of Linux Virtual machines for 10% of the software  that must be Linux software, also installed Windows Subsystem for Linux, who gave-me  a full Linux support at full speed and coexist with windows system peacefully

[bd139]

Good advice. Software first