gHacks: Google ends Chrome support for Windows 7 and 8.1 in early 2023

[AJ North]

Google ends Chrome support for Windows 7 and 8.1 in early 2023
25 October 2022
https://www.ghacks.net/2022/10/25/googl ... arly-2023/

Question: How will this affect Slimjet users?

[Passenger]

Just for giggles, I asked the same question about Brave in the Brave forum.
https://community.brave.com/t/google-en ... cks/441134

And likewise Opera.
https://forums.opera.com/topic/58446/go ... 023-ghacks

[AJ North]

Indeed. The question, of course, applies to all the various Chromium-based browsers; others that I use are Iridium, SRWare Iron, and UnGoogled Chromium (which, like Slimjet, offer portable builds, which I prefer).

As 0Patch have extended their Windows 7 (and Server 2008 R2) patching subscriptions for at least the next two years, a not insignificant number will continue to use these OSes (https://blog.0patch.com/2022/10/two-mor ... urity.html).

[Passenger]

There's no reason in principle it interrupts updates to Chromium browsers generally, the question is which of the various developers will bother about it. We'll see.

It's much easier to change browsers (say to Firefox) than to change OSes, and Windows isn't even a Google product. My guess is they are not trying to force you to upgrade, they are just getting lazy about regression testing. And after all, Chrome isn't their primary source of revenue.

In my opinion the best way is to have lots of browsers installed and switch around as needed.

For that matter, the obsoleted browsers will still continue to work.

[Mr_Electro84]

Regarding OS support for Slimjet, I think that in the short term FlashPeak will continue to update its browser for Windows 7 and 8.1.

However, as the features will be less and less optimized for them, it's possible that in the medium term (or long term) the developer will release an ultimate version for Win 7 and Win 8.1 (like it's more or less the case for Windows XP and Vista) and will just do maintenance on these ultimate versions dedicated to Win 7 and 8.1, without integrating the major features.

For that matter, the obsoleted browsers will still continue to work.

So, yes, for a while the obsolete browsers will continue to work but the problem is that with the new web standards these said browsers will struggle to work, added to that, the new programming of dates for the next TLS/SSL certificates (even the possible appearance of new SSL/TLS certificates) and there the browser will purely and simply cease to work.

By the way, if you try to run Internet Explorer on Windows 2000 in 2022, most of the sites consulted under IE will simply not work anymore (already tried under VirtualBox)!

And this is the unfortunate path that obsolete browsers will take over time.

[Passenger]

So, yes, for a while the obsolete browsers will continue to work ...

My only point was that there will be no reason to panic and change immediately.

Feedback about other browsers:
Opera will likely *not* continue support.
No answer from Brave yet.