"What Microsoft needs to do is to move to different cycles for consumer versus enterprise, since a faster pace has mostly consumer repercussions," Michael Silver of Gartner said then.
Windows 7 has been a successful replacement for the aging Windows XP, which falls off the support list in April 2014. According to the latest data from Web metrics company Net Applications, Windows 7 powered 48.5% of all Windows PCs in January.
Windows 7 SP1 can be downloaded manually from Microsoft's website, or retrieved by turning on Automatic Updates. To check which operating system is currently installed, users should follow the instructions Microsoft has posted here.
Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general technology breaking news for Computerworld. Follow Gregg on Twitter at @gkeizer, on Google+ or subscribe to Gregg's RSS feed. His email address is gkeizer@computerworld.com.
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