HP has begun trying to boost PC sales by offering devices loaded with Windows 7.
Microsoft’s current operating system is Windows 8 which launched in October 2012, but the consumer market has been rather lackluster on the uptake of the tiled operating system as it comes littered with bugs, glitches, and a change from the norm.
Via email flyers to US customers, HP advertised Windows 7 as "back by popular demand", and hopes to increase PC revenue with a desktop interface that people are familiar with.
Windows 7 is Microsoft’s most successful operating system since XP, which was released in 2001.
PC sales slumped around 10% in 2013, and HP’s move is a sign that it’s looking to continue trying to boost sales. IDC said that HP was the worst hit in the US in terms of PC sales decline.
"HP had a difficult quarter, contracting -12.3% year on year as the market slowed following an HP surge in the third quarter," said Loren Loverde, IDC’s vice-president of Worldwide PC Trackers earlier this month.
According to Net Market Share, Windows 7 currently has a 47.5% share in the PC operating system market, with Windows 8 and 8.1 having a total of 10.5%.
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In April, Microsoft will cease its support of Windows XP, which experts have said will cause numerous security threats to consumers and businesses. The regular security patches that keep Windows XP safe will not be issues anymore by the company, which could leave XP machines open to hackers.
Security expert Graham Cluley told CBR that the threat to Windows XP machines is very tangible.
"It is very likely that online criminals will attempt to exploit unpatched vulnerabilities on the XP platform," said Cluley.
"Typically the most attractive vulnerabilities will be remote code execution vulnerabilities which can be used by malware such as a Trojan horse or worm to infect your computer.
