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German authorities are waking up to a Windows 7 headache, with approximately €800,000 required in order to keep the elderly software supported a little longer.
Microsoft had long been warning users, both enterprises and individuals, that the end of support was nigh - 14 January - and made available various ways of keeping those updates flowing.
Alternatively there is always the option of a migration to Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD) with three years of free-ish support (because, y'know, you still have to pay for those Azure resources).
Finally, customers that had ponied up the cash for an E5 subscription could also be entitled to an extra year of Windows 7 security updates, through to 2021 (assuming the subscription stays active).
Blighty's very own NHS is an example of just such an organisation, having splashed the cash for some E5 goodness.
The position in which the German government now finds itself might raise a wry smile somewhere in Seattle.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Reziac on Saturday January 25 2020, @07:16PM
Also, at the business level, there's liability to consider. My sister's office discards anything that's not officially supported, from hardware to software to vehicles, because when you're dealing with megamillion dollar clients, and where if you fuck up, people die, you can't afford the potential for "You used software that's unsupported or not industry standard, and your building fell down. Here's your lawsuit." Opensource is completely out of the question, even if it were better software, because it's neither industry standard nor supported in an official, legally-defensible way.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.