Warning: Windows 7 is losing support, but so is this popular version of Ubuntu Linux!

Windows 7 is a great operating system -- there is a reason so many computer users have clung to it. Well, we can also thank the terrible Windows 8 for scaring people from upgrading, I suppose. Windows 8.1 was better, and Windows 10 is actually pretty good, but neither are loved like Windows 7 is.

Sadly, Microsoft is killing Windows 7 for most users -- it reaches end of life status in just two days, on January 14th. After that date, Windows 7 will be unsupported (except for businesses that choose to pay for extended support) -- you'd have to be a fool to continue using that operating system. You should upgrade to Windows 10 ASAP or switch to a Linux-based OS.

With all of that said, Linux is not the "be-all and end-all" when it comes to support. Microsoft supported Windows 7, for instance, for more than 10 years -- very respectable. In comparison, Canonical does not even support its non-LTS (Long Term Support) versions of Ubuntu for 10 months.

Seriously, folks, if you run a non-LTS variant of the operating system, you get a laughable 9 months of support! That would be like Windows 7 losing support in 2010. Pathetic. If you are running Ubuntu 19.04, you will be losing support on January 23, 2020.

Of course, with Ubuntu, not every version of the operating system will lose support after a mere 9 months. If you choose an LTS version of Ubuntu, such as Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (Bionic Beaver), you will get five years of free support. In the case of Bionic Beaver, the gratis support ends in April 2023, but you can pay for extended support for another five years.

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In other words, you can get 10 years of support with Ubuntu, although you will have to pay for half of that. Windows 7 was supported for more than a decade -- at no charge. Say what you want about Microsoft, fellow Linux users, but you have to respect its many years of support.

Ultimately, if you are still running either Microsoft's Windows 7 or Canonical's Ubuntu 19.04 you have some big decisions to make this month. If you fall into either of these groups, please share with me your upgrade plan in the comments below.

Photo credit: Tatiana Ivleva /Shutterstock