While some people upgrade their operating system whenever updates are available, there are people who do so only when there is an absolute necessity.
The reason why this second category of people usually does not opt for periodic updates is that they have only limited requirements and practically no use for all the latest features. The tech giant Google made a recent announcement that starting from the 8th of February, it is withdrawing its support for systems using Chrome 53 and lower builds. As a result, these computers will also stop Gmail support as well from the mentioned date. So, Chrome users are requested to update as early as possible to the latest and just recently released Chrome 56 build that is primarily noted for fast reloads, less power consumption and better security.
Although the support will be stopped with effect from the above mentioned date, people with Chrome 53 and lower builds can still continue to use Gmail at their own risk. The Mountain View search company mentioned in a blog post that apart from being vulnerable to security risks, users will not gain access to various bug fixes being made. They will find a banner being displayed at the top of their Gmail screen requesting them to update to the latest build. This is because this version has many essential security updates. Also, if you fail to make the update, you will automatically be directed to the standard basic HTML version of Gmail with only the fundamental features by the time the year 2017 draws to a close.
According to Google, the users who are likely to be most affected by its withdrawal decision are those who use the XP and Vista operating systems from Windows. This is because the last released version that supports these operating systems is Chrome 49, which lacks many vital features present in the later versions. Also, as declared earlier by Microsoft a couple of years back in April and November 2015, it is no longer involved in the maintenance of these systems and people were advised to move on to more supported and secure systems. In fact, the company is right now working on urging its users to upgrade to its latest version of Windows, namely, Windows 10. So, withdrawing support for Gmail is very likely to be a scoring point for Microsoft to get its fans to move away from Windows XP.