Considering the state of current Windows I'm not sure that's actually an endorsement.

Care to unpack that? Windows 10 is the first Windows OS I've felt comfortable using since Windows 2000.

Out of curiosity what do you prefer in it when compared to Win7?

For me Windows 10 has been a huge step backwards. Settings are spread out in multiple UWP style apps and the classic settings programs. The update scheme is annoying, and Microsoft is pushing out more buggy updates than ever before. Clicking “check for updates” surprise enrolls you into their beta channel. The telemetry is forced and they regularly reset your preferences.

I absolutely hate Win10, and this is coming from a guy who didn’t mind Win8.

I'm not OP, but I much prefer the window management in 10 to 7. You can tile windows by keyboard (you could do this in 7, but it's improved in 10), and resize tiled windows together to keep their relationship to each other. There are virtual desktops without third-party utilities now.

The console is better than it was, but still not good enough to be called adequate.

I wouldn't use it at home, but I'm happier with it at work than with 7.

To be honest, I didn't seriously use Win7 much, so I probably agree with everything you said. I've used 10 a lot more (switched to a Windows-centric company and finally built a gaming rig at home). So maybe I would have liked 7 as well. I do find the settings to be confusing—I assume they're mid-transition on those.

I have also yet to be bitten by a bad update. I'm sure my time will come.

In my experience Windows 7 was clearly the pinnacle so far. The only real new feature since then that I liked was the ability to scroll in windows that aren't in the foreground. In exchange the privacy and update issues basically exploded with Windows 10, to a point where the frequency of my system reinstallations went from "maybe once in the lifetime of the PC" to "about every 6 months". It's the main cause for my full switch to Linux and the number of reasons to not go back is only growing over time.

There's 1 app called Settings. In the current Windows 10 it does nearly everything (the most recent thing they added was battery levels for Bluetooth devices and fonts).

Yes File Explorer needs an update but that's about it.

Don't mix the Linux kernel with POSIX.

Microsoft is only caring about Linux to the extent that Linux kernel ABI nowadays is more relevant than POSIX.

Managed runtimes make the underlying OS almost irrelevant.