Google rewards stupid behavior by extending Windows 7 Chrome support
Windows 10 was not a surprise, nor was the fact that support was ending for Windows 7. Both home and Enterprise users were well informed of Windows 7's impending doom and given ample time to upgrade or buy new machines. Guess what happened? Smart people left Windows 7 before support ended while stupid people did not.
Look, I hate name-calling, but anyone still on Windows 7 is, in fact, stupid. OK, I suppose they could instead be lazy or indifferent, but ultimately, it is stupid behavior to run an unsupported operating system -- especially for a business. And that's why it is very disappointing to learn Google is extending Chrome support for Windows 7.
Yes, Google is rewarding stupid behavior by extending support for its Chrome web browser on the now-unsupported Windows 7. It is extending from July 15, 2021 to January 15, 2022. Why? The search giant claims it is because many organizations still haven't made the transition from Windows 7 to Windows 10. Unfortunately, this just means Google is enabling this bad security behavior.
"Migrating to Windows 10 was a part of many organizations’ roadmap for the year. But as new priorities for IT teams emerged, we’ve heard that 21 percent of organizations are still in the process of migrating to Windows 10. With this extension of support, enterprises with their upgrades still in progress can rest assured that their users remaining on Windows 7 will continue to benefit from Chrome’s security and productivity benefits," says Max Christoff, Engineering Director, Chrome.
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Christoff further says, "IT teams can also take advantage of Chrome’s existing enterprise capabilities and future roadmap, including our continued investment in cloud management, enterprise security capabilities, and our plans to integrate more closely with the broader ecosystem across the operating system versions."
I know what you are probably thinking -- didn't COVID-19 slow down some migration plans? Well, yeah, but Windows 7 support ended on January 14 2020 -- before the pandemic really disrupted the world. In other words, responsible people would have transitioned before the end of 2019. Anyone still on Windows 7 today has no one to blame but themselves. Coronavirus is not a legitimate excuse.
Ultimately, Google is enabling this foolish behavior, and it is very irresponsible. This extended Chrome support will just give these Windows 7 users another reason to push back their migration plans even further.
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