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>Releasing new CPUs doesn't make older ones unusable; making an OS incompatible with them without good reason does. All those Windows 7 computers didn't become

• squarefoot 5y ago
  That's because Windows 8 wasn't incompatible with the same hardware that could run windows 7. You're making my point. The article criticizes Windows 11 insane hardware requirements, not Microsoft for making a new version of Windows.
  • Hamuko 5y ago
    >That's because Windows 8 wasn't incompatible with the same hardware that could run windows 7. That only matters if people actually upgrade their Windows 7 installs to Windows 8 installs. And since it was a paid upgrade to an OS that was arguable worse than what people had, people probably skipped out. How Windows upgrades worked before Windows 10 was that you upgraded to a new version of Windows when you bought a new PC. Every other means of upgrading was minor at best, since it wasn't available through Windows Update for free.
• roelschroeven 5y ago
  They became unusable, practically speaking, when support ended (unless they're off the grid, or if you don't care to be part of a botnet). Microsoft now says support for Windows 10 will end in 2025; all those unsupported computers became landfill at that point, even if they still run perfectly fine.