General Gaming Article

Google Extends Chrome OS Minimum End of Life Term to 5 Years

Posted: 18 May 2014 07:04 PM PDT

Previously, Chrome OS devices were guaranteed four years' worth of software support

Google has updated its Chrome OS End of Life (EOL) policy, extending the minimum EOL term to five years. Many Chrome OS device owners have already received an email apprising them of the change from the search engine giant.

With the new minimum EOL term applying retrospectively, each and every Chrome OS device ever released is affected by this announcement. Take for instance, the very first Chrome OS device — the CR-48 Chromebook. Prior to this EOL policy update, the EOL date for CR-48 was set for December 2014. But now the CR-48 is guaranteed to receive OS updates and security patches until at least December next year.

"We're updating our official End of Life policy for all Chrome devices, including previous models, to extend the End of Life (EOL) minimum term," Google told Chrome OS owners in an email.

"The new minimum EOL term is now 5 years from the date the device hardware is made available for purchase. Some models may have a further extension based on regional releases and the length of sale."

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Rumor: Microsoft Targeting Q2-Q3 2015 for Release of Windows 9 Preview

Posted: 18 May 2014 04:21 PM PDT

Different reports point to different release schedules

Speaking at last year's Build conference, then Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer stated that moving to a rapid release cadence was "fundamental to what we're doing, and what we must to do to mobilize our ecosystem and our partners." Since that proclamation, we've already seen the company release two updates (albeit of varying significance), and a third, presumably called Windows 8.1 Update 2, is rumored for release later this year. But what about next year?

If Chinese leaker "FaiKee" is to be believed, Microsoft is currently working on Windows 9, and the preview build could see the light of day sometime during the second or third quarter of 2015. To back up his claim, he posted a cropped screenshot of an alleged internal Microsoft document over at the My Digital Life forums.

However, as he later tweeted, most outlets seem to be having considerable trouble reading the time frame mentioned in the screenshot and are misreporting it: "It is Q2-Q3, not 02-03, nor Feb. 3, 2015. LOL (sic)."

By the bye, this is not the first Windows 9 release rumor that we've heard this year. Back in January, there seemed to be considerable confusion over the release of Windows 9 when noted Microsoft watcher Paul Thurrott claimed that the OS was likely to debut in April 2015, only for mostly accurate Russian leaker "Wzor" to put forth an entirely different release date. The latter claimed that the Windows 9 RTM build was scheduled to begin shipping to OEMs in October 2014. As if that wasn't enough, another veteran Microsoft watcher Mary Jo Foley entered the discussion to dismiss Wzor's claims as "inaccurate."

"If it's real(couldn't see why it isn't), then you could scrap all previous win9 release speculations," Faikee wrote in a post on MDL.

Image Credit: FaikEee

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