Windows 10 is 10 years old today

July 29, 2015. This was an important day, it was the day Microsoft released Windows 10. Today, Windows 10 turns 10. Happy Birthday!

Microsoft surprised many users by offering Windows 10 as a free upgrade from Windows 7, and Windows 8/8.1. Windows 9 was skipped because there were compatibility issues if apps detected the operating system version string as Windows 9 but mistook it as Windows 95 or 98.

I have fond memories of Windows 10, aka Windows Threshold, and remember installing the first preview of the operating system back in 2015 on my old PC. It felt like a real upgrade over Windows 8.1. The new Start Menu was welcome relief from the infamous Windows 8 full-screen menu. Windows 10's UX design felt like a breath of fresh air compared to Metro UI.

Windows 10 introduced Windows Hello, the Xbox PC app, to name a few. But the OS didn't have the perfect debut, there was some criticism about Cortana, the Settings app, the Photos app, Microsoft Store, and also about the various stock apps that the operating system shipped with such as OneDrive, OneNote, Maps, etc. There were also concerns about privacy due to various telemetry settings.

Windows 10 also introduced Project Spartan, the successor to Internet Explorer. It was later revealed as Microsoft Edge, then running on the Edge HTML and ChakraCore Engine, before it was eventually moved to Chromium's Blink engine in 2019/2020.

Windows 10 will reach its end of support on October 14, 2025. There are ways to extend software updates for a further year. Those with computers that cannot be upgraded to Windows 11, due to strict system requirements, will need to look at other options like moving to Linux, or upgrade their PC, or buy a new computer that can run Windows 11 to stay protected online.

In 2015, Microsoft's Jerry Nixon called Windows 10 the last version of Windows. What he meant was misinterpreted, as suggesting Microsoft is exploring the idea of Windows as a service. Those words have a different meaning now, they seem to fit Windows 11's unpopularity.

Enjoy your birthday, Windows 10. You were the last good Windows, o7

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