| - Windows 8.1 had 7 years of support after Windows 10 was released. - Windows 7 was supported for 7 years after Windows 8 came out. - Same for Vista after 7 and Windows XP after Vista. - Windows ME had 5 years of support after the release of Windows XP - Windows 98 had 6 years after ME. - Windows 1, 2, 3.0 and 3.1 all had 6 years of support after Windows 95 came out. Only 4 years of support after the release of the next version of the operating system is highly unusual for Microsoft. They have always supported previous versions long enough that you could skip one version without running out of support, usually even two entire releases. Instead they follow the schedule introduced in the "Windows 10 is the last Windows" era where two new versions are released each year and each version has three years of support. But this only makes sense if you treat Windows 11 as a rebranded Windows 10 that got a new name for legal reasons. Which Microsoft pretends it isn't, so I don't feel compelled to follow that reasoning when it benefits them. They can't have it both ways |