That would be the knife in the back for them. People would flee from Windows if that comes about.

Well they would probably play it safe, if there is a windows 11 it will cost but I cannot imagine Microsoft charging a lot of money for it.
They are already under the microsope.

Quite frankly, I think that Microsoft Corporation would do well to take a few sobering lessons from Linux ... as Apple, long ago, has done. (And, for that matter, "ditto IBM!")

• "Ownership of a proprietary operating system" does not "give you prerogatives." In business, you serve your customers. It is never "the other way around."
• If you actually listen to your customers, they will tell you exactly what to do, and what they need(!) from you, and they will reward you very well for doing it.
• Let me repeat: your customers need you. They are (still!) your customers for that very reason, and said reason is not(!) likely to change.
• "In spite of yourself(!)," you have been a successful company for many decades. But you have also been "your bull-headed own worst enemy(!)" for approximately the same amount of time.
• "Therefore, methinks," your best(!) days could be "yet to come." . . .

Well as I mentioned on another board I think Microsoft doesnt want another Windows XP.
Windows 7 for many is the new XP, its stable, reliable and works as it should (well in my opinion, as I actually really like Windows 7).
Contrast that to windows 8 and well you get the issue.
And yes both Apple and Linux are a viable threat and always will be, but Microsoft in the end will still be its own worst competition.

The thread that I just posted, "You knew Microsoft was spying, but you never knew how much," is probably the closest thing to the truth behind Microsoft's "suspiciously desperate" actions.

The problem with that argument is they have snuck those spying features into windows 7 and 8, it plays a small role yes but not enough to justify the insanity of microsoft right now

Their scared of fre(w)e...

M$ is forcing windows 10 on everyone is because they don't trust what their customers are doing on their windows 10 platform. They think you're a baby and need monitoring. If windows 10 could speak it would say the following. For example


I see you are running a pirated M$ product

I see you are pirating mp3s and bootleg movies

I see your are watching porn

I see you are running linux in virtual machine

I got my eye on you. Naughty, naughty, you.

Oh, yes! I will be selling your habits to others. We need to make more money out of you.

There is a fragile line between profit based market and overdosed false sense of authority. Besides how can you call this selling method profit driven action? It is absurd! If you force people, even those who would still buy their OS, to use latest stuff, that is not even ultimatum - something worse mixed with stupidity. It is like tyre manufactures will suddenly say "You want to use our new tyres? You will have to buy new car aswell!"

This may be a string of stupid questions, but how does this actually work? Aren't the Skylake processors still amd64? And will this affect the ability of Linux to run on it?