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Comment by locusofself | Hacker News Reader

So I work at Microsoft and will admit that the company has had many Own-goals over the years, but think about it this way. Apple provides software updates for a given model of mac for 7-8 years on average. Windows 10 came out more than 20 years ago. How long should they put resources into it?

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>Windows 10 came out more than X years ago.

You're framing this completely wrong. I have a gaming PC that runs Elden Ring, but it lacks TPM 2.0, Secure Boot, and the right generation of CPU from Intel or AMD. So Windows 11 literally cannot be legitimately installed. And now, Windows 10 is being purposely left with security holes. Microsoft is dictating that an Elden Ring‑capable gaming PC belongs in a landfill. Does that not sound absolutely ludicrous to you? Microsoft is free to obliterate its compatibility and shun its customer base if it wants to. That's its right. But whoever has convinced you that TPM 2.0 is so important that millions of gaming PCs should be turned into zombie‑virus‑infested abandonware—sorry, I just do not sympathize. The fact that there’s a third‑party hack to flip the bit that requires TPM 2.0 just proves that Microsoft could fix this situation with no effort whatsoever.

>You're framing this completely wrong.

Why? Old Mac hardware are also powerful enough to run Apple's latest OS, yet they won't bother backporting it. You have to throw away your Intel Macs.

Same for ChromeOS hardware.

I mean, you're right, but Microsoft's planned obsolescence here is a shorter cadence than Apple's.

All the newest Mac hardware that came out in 2018 still gets security updates to this day.

But there's plenty of brand-new Windows hardware that came out in 2021, which now must be thrown away because it didn't qualify for a future operating system they had planned.

So we can gripe about it for the next three years before "what about Apple" becomes totally valid. Still feels messed up that the global monopoly holder for PCs decided e-wasting a billion of them would fly under the radar. Hopefully most people realize they can download a little bit flip hack to undo Microsofts check.

>All the newest Mac hardware that came out in 2018 still gets security updates to this day.

Yeah but that's because Apple also made the HW and sold it to you directly so they're responsible for both SW and HW. Microsoft did not make or sell you the HW in most cases, they sold you an OS (unless you bought a prebuilt with an Windows OEM license, in which case Dell/Lenovo/etc is responsible).

I'm not excusing Microsoft's behavior, I'm just saying why they're not comparable to the way Apple does it.

>But there's plenty of brand-new Windows hardware that came out in 2021

Like which?

First, they released it only 10 years ago, and second, Microsoft marketed it as the last windows version. So yes, this is a own goal)

They never did that. It was an offhand comment by a developer which was picked up by the media.

Picked up by the media and Microsoft did absolutely nothing to correct until they decided they wanted to create Windows 11. They were completely aware of what was in the press and if the media message was "Microsoft says switch to Linux" they absolutely would have corrected the message. That they let this misconception to become as widespread as it did shows they were happy for people to believe it. That makes them absolutely 100% responsible for it.

Why let facts in the conversation when we can have FUD dominate it?

Three other comments are dunking on the OP writing "Windows 10 came out more than 20 years ago". It's probably a typo for "10 years ago" and OP is comparing it by saying Apple does 7-8 years.

Must be insider information. I thought Windows 10 came out 10 years ago.

The problem for me is the 11 interface is rubbish. It seems badly designed and unfinished. Everything was just shuffled around with no thought to usability. There is a limit to the number of icons on the start menu. The taskbar works differently in arbitrary ways and has less features than 10.

Windows 10 didnt come 20 years ago. You work for Microsoft and didnt know this? Win 10 was released in 2015 fyi

Are you ai? Windows 10 is a decade old.

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