Product Life Cycle and Windows OS Support

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms related to product life cycle, OS support policies, and Windows lifecycle and updates.

Product life cycle

The stages a product or OS goes through from launch to end of life, including mainstream and extended support, ending in legacy status.

Mainstream support

Initial guaranteed period (typically at least five years for Windows) during which the manufacturer provides patches, security updates, and features.

Extended support

Additional years after mainstream support during which security updates and patches may continue for eligible products.

End of life (EOL)

The point at which a product is no longer supported by the manufacturer and will not receive patches or updates.

Legacy operating system

An OS that is no longer supported by the manufacturer and is considered outdated for security updates.

Abandoned / orphaned OS

Synonyms for a legacy OS that is no longer maintained or supported by its developer.

Windows XP

A legacy Windows version that reached EOL and end of mainstream support in 2015; still used in some ICS/SCADA contexts due to upgrade costs.

ICS / SCADA

Industrial Control Systems / Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition; critical systems sometimes run legacy OS like Windows XP to avoid retooling.

Retirement date

The date when a Windows version ends mainstream/extended support, signaling end of lifecycle.

Enterprise adoption effect

When large organizations adopt an OS, Microsoft often provides longer support timelines, benefiting home users via patches.

Feature updates

Regular updates (roughly every 6–12 months) that add new features and changes without a full OS replacement.

PC Health Check

Microsoft tool to verify hardware compatibility for the latest OS version or feature release.

End-of-support risk

Risk that vulnerabilities discovered after EOL remain unpatched, leaving systems exposed.

Legacy risk

Using a non-supported OS exposes systems to security vulnerabilities since patches are no longer provided.