Here’s your first reminder: On January 14, 2020 Microsoft is ending support for Windows 7. We went through this a while ago when Windows XP reached end-of-life (no one really cared when Windows Vista reached end-of-life). Windows 7 was a very popular release as it was much better than Vista. It also didn’t help that Windows 8 was not liked at all with its many UI changes.
But the time has come to start preparing to update. You will definitely want to update to Windows 10 and not Windows 8. Windows 10 is actually really nice and is updated regularly. I think you’ll find transitioning from Windows 7 to Windows 10 relatively painless. In fact, early last year Windows 10 overtook Windows 7 in usage per StatCounter. Sadly you can no longer get a free update to Windows 10 so you’ll have to purchase it, but since Microsoft has said that Windows 10 is the last version of Windows, you shouldn’t need to purchase it again.
What happens if you don’t update and want to stick with Windows 7 after January 14, 2020? According to Microsoft:
You can continue to use Windows 7, but once support ends, your PC will become more vulnerable to security risks. Windows will operate but you will stop receiving security and feature updates.
For the time being you can continue to use Windows 7 as you plan your update. Of course Xojo itself and apps made with it also continue to work on Windows 7, although you’ll want to make sure you have installed Service Pack 1.