Sometimes we all feel a bit like Shutting Down. So just imagine how tired Windows 7 is
- Reference: 1631872873
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/09/17/bork/
- Source link:
Brits have long had to endure the notoriously bad rail services, which are prone to delays and cancellations. Sometimes it gets [1]too hot . Sometimes it gets [2]too cold . Occasionally there is a [3]sprinkling of leaves on the tracks.
Any or all of this can result in the rail services "doing a Windows", which in this case means inconveniently shutting down.
[4]
Click to enlarge
In the screen above, a Railway Information display in Manchester Piccadilly station (spotted by keen-eyed Register reader Mark Hewitt), it looks very much like Windows 7 is giving up the ghost. Frankly, the operating system is now so far out of support (as of January 2020) that pulling the plug seems the only humane thing to do. That is, unless somebody drops [5]some serious cash on Microsoft's extended security support options for the OS .
Throwing extra cash at the problem, some might argue, would be overkill, but then again, so is using Microsoft Windows when it comes to digital signage.
[6]Running on empty, out of battery, power draining... three things the UK government definitely isn't. Oh no
[7]From unmovable boot screens to dead certs, neither are what you want to see in a hospital
[8]The Rise of The (Coffee) Machines: I need assistance. I think I'm running Windows. Send help
[9]We're going underground, and this time it's not an inebriated banker crapping themselves, but Transport for London
We're not sure what has caused the shutdown. We've no doubt many of you have experienced the delight of Windows 7 unexpectedly deciding it needs a sleep at inopportune moments - that's when it didn't [10]simply refuse to shut down .
The unexpected, unscheduled sleeps tend to happen when an ever-so-important update had been downloaded from the Windows mothership and so [11]of course a full power cycle was needed. Sometimes it would happen when you'd forgotten to plug in the laptop. You'd get a small window popping out with notification for you to save your work with a countdown from 60 seconds, even with 20 per cent charge left on the battery.
[12]
We don't think either of these is the case... updates aren't so much of a thing for Windows 7 these days and we'd all hope the Railway Information signage isn't attached to a laptop.
[13]
Perhaps it is a human behind the scenes, shutting down that weird beige box under the desk without realising its significance (even if those on the station concourse might be able to take a guess.)
Either way, as we pass the 565th March 2020 (it has been 552 days since 13 March, 2020, the first lockdown in the UK), and autumn and winter loom in the northern hemisphere, it is hard not to sympathise with Windows 7. Shutting down indeed. ®
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[1] https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jul/25/why-the-heatwave-is-disrupting-the-uk-railways#:~:text=How%20does%20hot%20weather%20affect,it%20at%20risk%20of%20buckling.
[2] https://www.networkrail.co.uk/running-the-railway/looking-after-the-railway/delays-explained/snow-and-ice/
[3] https://www.networkrail.co.uk/running-the-railway/looking-after-the-railway/delays-explained/leaves/
[4] https://regmedia.co.uk/2021/09/15/bork_5.jpg
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2019/10/02/windows_7_extended_security/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2021/09/14/bork/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2020/06/15/bork/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2020/05/13/bork/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2020/05/15/bork/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2020/02/10/windows_7_wont_shutdown/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2021/09/10/bofh_2021_episode_16/
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YUS7uSif0M1EfcA5lj5KVQAAAY4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YUS7uSif0M1EfcA5lj5KVQAAAY4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Windows 7 is still updated
Half-supported. Most of the help has gone and you have to get SP1 from the Microsoft Catalog site, it's been removed from the main site.
Re: Windows 7 is still updated
And it still works fine. it's also the last MS OS over which the user can exercise a modicum of control.
Every time an instance of an "out of support" OS crashes it's for some weird reason "news". If it were news every time a current one crashed, a truer picture might emerge.
Yes, an "unsupported" OS may (and I only say may) be more vulnerable to attack than a "supported" one, but by virtue of the fact that the current OS still needs its "support" jock strap, it's not a foregone conclusion.
I know of no mainstream OS or application that has been determined free of hazardous bugs prior to being superseded by a new version that proves just as buggy as its predecessor. That is the harsh reality we must face up to as we make ourselves ever more dependent on the worst quality products among all branches of engineering.
Re: Windows 7 is still updated
It's also worth mentioning that those public displays going BSOD of the privilege of an article in ElReg because of crashes aren't running in the most comfortable of environments.
The crashes can also be caused by some components deciding it's not going to continue working in the sun, a fan going on strike after months of 24/7 operation, and whatnot.
The amber sign in the background
Pleasing color. Purpose-built for lines of text with simple characters. And we don't see them fail that often (if ever). For simple info display, anything else is overkill.
(I just started a CUI vs. GUI debate, didn't I? ===> )
Its not over yet. Though the interface looks less useful, and though Microsoft call it Windows 11; it is still the same old crappy Windows 7 that we have been using for a decade. Nothing has really changed, especially the kernel.
Pretty much stagnated for a long time. Microsoft is just making one last push to monetise the platform before they retire it.
Windows 7 is still updated
Until January 2023 thank you very much. Just not for the plebs (without a workaround).
Very fondly missed. Microsoft has largely been messing up the interface ever since.
It's the last time they emphasised that they'd actually listened to feedback. Anyone remember all the great ads? They were trying to distance themselves from Vista's less than stellar response.