Dear LPG readers,

I wrote this in advance in the hope that LPG will be able to post it on this rather sad day…

I am no computer expert and I have to admit that there are a lot of things that happen on my lap top that I don’t really understand and tend to ignore.  While I know how to order and buy the odd item online, Skype family who live abroad, get my emails and write the odd document, there is not much else that I need to do.

I retired before I learned anything at all about I.T. and was given the lap top about ten years ago together with a lot of instruction about how to use it from my children.  I thought I would never get the hang of it at the start but I will admit that it has become an old friend over the years.  My children have tried to keep me up to date and I now have also mastered some basic functions of the smart phone and I have a tablet, but I am happier with the lap top that I have grown accustomed to.   

So you can imagine that I was very upset to learn that there will be no more support from Microsoft for my beloved and cherished computer device even though I am not actually sure what losing support means. 

I first thought it would mean we would have to have new computers the day after the cut-off point but it is not quite that bad. 

Those times when you turn it off and it instructs you not to plug it out while it ‘updates’, will stop happening, and from what I understand the security aspect of being online will be the biggest problem.

When I first heard the news, and while I was sure that I would still be able to use my lap top to do so, I decided to search for the facts.   My children gave me varied versions of what the consequences will be but one thing I have learned is that the internet is always the place to go when something troubles you. So, for those ‘Window 7’ computer owners who like me aren’t fans of change, I would like to share what I have learned and suggest that if you are one of these people who will never get on with a tablet, it might just be time to start adding to your new laptop fund. 

I have to say what I found was somewhat technical but it was easier to ask the kids to explain the small print that I didn’t understand, than to get their version of the whole story.  

NS, Beckenham

NS offers the information learned during the writing of this post…

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