On the other hand, there's no real point in supporting Windows 7 now. It's only two years away from EOL.

Firefox ESR still supports WinXP, and it will be supported until the end of 52ESR which I think is in March.

The point of supporting Win7 is that about 50% of Windows users are still on it. That's not going to change quickly even if support ends. https://www.neowin.net/news/windows-7-loses-market-share-in-...

There is Edge for Windows. It's called Edge. Windows 10, is believe it or not, Windows. Any computer running Windows 7 or 8.1 can still (yes, it can) be upgraded to Windows 10 for free. So the only Windows PCs which cannot run Edge were those manufactured prior to 2009.

Contrary to popular belief, there is no good reason to be running Windows 7 or 8.1. All of the telemetry anti-features were backported into those versions, Windows 10 is inherently better at security, and trust me, if I can get the legacy software I have running at work running on Windows 10, legacy app issues aren't a problem either.

I’m one among many I know who upgraded my work system from Windows 7 to Windows 10 and regret it even after a year! The upgrade process was smooth, but every once in a while, it won’t allow me to login - it will just repeatedly throw an error saying my credentials are invalid (though they’re not). The solution is to try switching login methods, turn off the network, wait for several minutes or some combination of these. The number of times I’ve been away, returned to my system to get into a Skype for Business call, only to find I can no longer unlock my system is not even remotely funny anymore. I have learned to be around several minutes before any call so I can fight, if necessary, to get in! I’ve read forum posts on many sites, but don’t have any solutions. My system is set to auto-update Windows. So it’s not that I’m not on the latest or that MS has fixed it.

So no, there are very, very good reasons, IMO, to stay on Windows 7 or 8.1 (where this problem didn’t exist). I actively recommend others not to switch to Windows 10 because of this. Of course, YMMV!

You're arguing in favor of OS segmentation on a developer forum. Please no!

Disclosure: I work for Microsoft.

Because developer comfort is all that matters and users be damned?

I would bet there would be less bugs overall if everyone was always using the latest version since it would reduce the test matrix.

He's arguing in favor of a working system. If MS can't get win10 to work properly, then OS segmentation is the solution, not the problem.

90 percent of Windows 10 users that I know updated from Windows 7 unintentionally and most of them complained about it. Such updates form Microsoft have quite bad reputation. You can't just say "Hey do this irreversible software change and trust us, that you will be satisfied". I am ready to accept it e.g. from Chrome OS, but not from Microsoft.

While I agree that most users (of Windows, Chrome, OSX, iOS etc) are forced/tricked onto the auto-update treadmill, atleast with Windows and OSX I can re-install the older version. With iOS and such it is _impossible_ to downgrade. With Chrome I suppose if you get some kind of non-web installer, you can go back and then disable the update service, but that probably is an unsupported configuration and very likely going to break at some point.

To your last point, I would say I am ready to accept it from anyone except an advertising company whose only primary means of making money is by sifting through my personal data and spying on my online activities. With MS, I have little doubt that they "would if they could", but at-least for now, they wont, since they're making more money selling actual products.

People will complain if the colors change. I mean it's not great when things change from under your feet, but it's a OS update is a "we're doing this for you"-kind of deal. People who upgraded knowingly are generally satisfied.

You can reverse any Windows 10 upgrade for 30 days, whether it was an upgrade from 7, 8.1, or a different version of Windows 10. The revert process works... most of the time.

> All of the telemetry anti-features were backported into those versions

You don't have to install them, installing only security updates was still am option last time I checked it.

On top of it, even if you install them they can be turned off completely, and they are turned off by default, contrary to Windows 10 where you can't turn off telemetry.

> Contrary to popular belief, there is no good reason to be running Windows 7 or 8.1.

Yes there are. Windows 7/8.1 performs better and more snappy.

Windows 7 (and 8.1 with a classical standard menu extension to hide "modern" parts) has a more consistent interface unlike Windows 10 ui which is all over your face with inconsistent menus, colors, sizes etc. stinking out of everywhere. Half baked app choices with some modern and some classical apps and you don't know which one will open from which settings menu.

Forced updates whenever Windows feels like. There is no option out because pesky users can't be trusted.

How does the free upgrade happen these days? I thought that was over in 2016? If it is still available somehow I have some machines I would upgrade.

If you use assistive technologies, you can still upgrade for free [1]. In practise this allows anyone to upgrade as it doesn't seem to particularly test for active use of an assistive technology.

[1] https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/accessibility/windows10upgra...

The "Get Windows 10 app" is no longer available, but the Media Creation Tool will upgrade any PC running Windows 7 or 8.1, and you can fresh install Windows 10 on any PC using a valid Windows 7 or 8.1 key and it will activate. This is true even for versions of Windows 10 released after the "end" of the upgrade offer.

The only thing stating the upgrade offer has ended is "The Windows 10 free upgrade through the Get Windows 10 (GWX) app ended on July 29, 2016." Which is technically true, but the free upgrade is still offered through other methods.

"The funny part is, that there is NO EDGE FOR WINDOWS. Precisely, Edge is for Windows 10 only, which is the minority of all Windows devices today."

Bizarrely, Microsoft Edge is not supported for Windows Server, which is the edition that Microsoft license for virtual desktop infrastructure. Want a modern browser on your remote Windows desktop? You can't have the Microsoft one.