Microsoft won't release Service Pack 2 for Windows 7

...it's kind of funny that a lot of the W7 vs W8 arguments include, "I'm staying with W7", but now you want more? aye yi yi....

Its the time learning Linux

This just downright sucks!!!

Or less if you go with Windows 8!!!

Dumb move by Microsoft, especially with the lukewarm W8 receptions I've seen so far. I expected at least one more SP to send off W7. This news will not push me more towards W8, if anything I'll stay away longer now.

They didn't release it because they want you to go buy windows 8, which I'm definitely not doing. So too bad Windows, but you should be happy, im not running out and buying an overpriced mac either.

"windows XP had about 300 updates. if you wanna compare numbers."

Okay, lets compare the numbers.

Windows XP RTM date - August 24th, 2001 -
Age of Operating System as of today - approximately 11 years and 2 months
Approximate number of updates averaged over the life of the operating system =
300/11 = ~27 updates per year

Windows 7 RTM date - July 22nd, 2009 -
Age of Operating System as of today - approximately 3 years and 3 months
Approximate number of updates per year averaged over the life of the operating system
222/3 = 74 updates per year

But this comment is just a distraction from the real issue at hand which is Microsoft's under handed tactics to coerce people into upgrading to Windows 8 by making it public knowledge that Windows 7 Service Pack 2 won't see daylight. It's pathetic really. Understandable from a business point of view in one sense. They want people to buy their products by touting how much better the new is versus the last generation. The problem is every time they succeed in making a better product they shoot themselves in the foot. Millions of people still using Windows XP and no intentions of upgrading. Millions of happy customers using Windows 7 and no intentions of upgrading.

So, going forward Microsoft has decided the only way they can get people to buy new products is by discontinuing support much faster than they have in the past. Good luck with this strategy, that's all I can say.

This will alienate small business' and corporations more than anyone. But as we can see from the people posting in this forum that would purchase a shiny new turd if it had "New and Improved" stamped on the box, Microsoft won't lose all of its customers. Hope there are enough of these early adopters to support a multi-billion dollar corporation who is giving it's biggest supporters the middle finger.

I have been bitching about this catastrophe called Windows 8 ever since I have known about it and I am just a desktop user. Can't imagine the backlash that will arise from corporations once this news becomes widespread. But I will enjoy following every minute of it.

Can anyone say, "Linux".

It's just to push more people to their locked down and stupefied windows ERT (8).

Very tempting, this long time Windows user is slowly but surely opening his ears to the name Linux. In fact I've been thinking about starting a thread and asking advice about running Linux in Virtual PC.

MS lost its ground. They made many mistakes this year, of which the top ones are:

1. Screwing up its own OEM-s, starting with HP and ending with Nokia;
2. Removing Start menu in Windows 8;
3. Disastrous VS 2012;
4. Windows 8 RT laptops won't sell, and will likely cost MS for misinforming the customers on it;

Refusal of Windows 7 Sp2 just adds to the list.

I personally seriously consider dumping MS in favor of an alternative.

MS truly have stuck their heads in the sand. This new model and OS will probably be OK for home users, but every time we have an IT management system about Windows 8/ Windows Server 2012 and now this news about service packs, we are left shaking our heads. Don't alienate the corporate/business worlds MS....it'll be all you have soon.

I think the goal is not to kill off Windows 7, but to instead kill off the desktop as a platform, locking you into an app store, while they all chase after the IPad wannabe pipedream, in charge of all content.

Linux, whilst good and all, is not really an option for the average joe. And as computing has always shown from the long line of dead platforms, that people do not give a rats about what's in the box as long as it runs the software that people want. Linux doesn't do that.

Windows 8 is clumsy on the desktop and has no place there.

Solution : Stay with Windows 7 SP1 and get yourself a hardware firewall for when the patches run out.

Based on the answers to the article about what you have pinned to the taskbar, noone said they never adopted windows 7 and you must all be pretty angry. I thought people were still on xp. I never adopted windows 7, because my budget just doesn't allow shelling out $150 minimum for a new os every 2 1/2 years. I might be adopting windows 8 on one non-touch computer, but microsoft doesn't give out free software any more without Gates.

Linux, here I come!

I only paid $90 for Win7. I had XP 32 and needed a 64 architecture so I could up my RAM anyway. It's not crazy different from XP (like Win8 is) but is definitely a nice step-up.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3186265&CatId=26

Actually there is a great alternative to VMWare as well and it's open source. Oracle VM VirtualBox is one of Oracles best kept secrets and yes, it will run from most modern Os's hosting; LINUX/UNIX, OS2 and Windows XP, NT4 and 2000. Windows Vista and 7 (all versions) and I ran a prototype of Google Linux and ran Windows 8 CR although I was forced to apologize later

Oh my, they force us to buy their win8!!

Ha! Microsoft can?t bludgeon me into 8?and if their current attitude continues, I won?t do 9 or beyond either.

I also thought it was because of how stable Win7 actually is. Of course there is a better reasoning of having a SP2 just because all the updates that follow after SP1, but they are not that many compared to the XP's or Vista's. Is not a lifesaving decision. It simply helps the tedious tasks of having a "fresh install", which Win7 doesn't really need as its previous counterparts did, or at least not every so often (unless you really screw up your system, which most average users don't mess with). Is a valid point, and a strong one, for that matters, but it doesn't really make up for whinning about one last SP.
Microsoft may decide of releasing a SP2 later on, without giving any reasons to the public. Do you really believe they are "sweating" because of all the complaints about 8? MS is a huge company, and knows that -specially angry- flamming isn't the feedback they actually need.

Anyway, " that is just my opinion"... if that has any validation nowadays.
I personally hate this new Win8 version. It has its positive features over Win7, but the GUI is just messed up and makes it somehow non-tablet-unfriendly.