End of Support for a Popular Operating System Forces Millions to Upgrade: The lesson: software lifecycles have become a real lever

Security updates for a decade-old operating system officially ended, leaving millions of users with a device upgrade decision.

Experts advise against keeping very old machines on the internet since they remain an easy malware target.

Markets saw renewed purchases of certified-refurbished devices that are slightly slower but still update-supported.

The lesson: software lifecycles have become a real lever affecting hardware buying cycles.