Windows 7 OEM sales end date redacted by Microsoft

Earlier this month, Microsoft's operating system lifecycle chart was given an update with little (read: no) fanfare. With the update came two dates, one showing the end of retail sales for Windows 7, and one showing the end of OEM sales for the same aged OS. The revelation sparked grumbles and whatnot, but as it turns out, only half of the lifecycle chart was correct.

In the chart — and to the dismay or scoffing of many — Microsoft revealed the end of sales for the retail version of Windows 7 took place back on October 30 of this year, something the company has confirmed to the folks over at Tom's Hardware. Said a representative for the company, "We are confirming that the retail software end of sales date for Windows 7 did happen on October 30, 2013."

It is the OEM sales where the sticking point lies, with the original publication showing the end of sales pre-installed versions of Windows 7 would take place on October 30, 2014. That date has now been removed by Microsoft, replaced instead with an ambiguous "to be determined." Which tells us precisely nothing. Regardless, according to Microsoft, the date that was originally published had been a mistake, and should not have gone up.

Of course, despite complaints from those who don't want to see Windows 7 disappear, neither of the two dates fall out of pattern from what Microsoft has demonstrated in the past, and as such it is a curious move that the OEM sales halt isn't slated for the two-year mark. The question, then, is whether the sales really will end on that date — and thusly on schedule — and Microsoft just doesn't want to confirm such information, or if there really is a different date in mind.

VIA: Tom's Hardware