Seriously, the paranoia is amazing. 

http://www.anandtech.com/show/9964/microsoft-to-only-support-new-processors-on-windows-10

(note.. the title of the article was edited to: Microsoft Will Not Support Upcoming Processors Except On Windows 10)

not sure if it's news or completely expected. for example... installing win7 on skylake machines needs fiddling (win7 doens't support usb3, skylake doesn't natively support usb2)

Genius! Sounds like they are chasing the people who have no idea what they are doing to Win10 and chasing many of those of who have been Windows fans ("power-users" - basically the free support for non-technical Windows users for years) to other OSs completely, likely Linux. Well done MS! I don't think there will a mass migration, but I think this and some of the other points from this thread will start more and more heading in that direction.

Actually, Windows 7 doesn't ship with USB 3.0 support, but the drivers can be added to 7 from the device's MFG site.

Your link isn't working.

yes, i know. which is why i said installation needs fiddling... as you supposedly need to mod the iso to install, whether from usb stick or from dvd.

(is there a plain text editor for this forum? don't need all the fancy stuff that copy/paste extra bits like link/font sizes and what not)

that said, we all know that the majority of (consumer) windows users get it with new machines, and only a tiny minority go around buying the os, nevermind using older versions on new hardware. and for those, there's always linux. the article seems to think it'll be the business users that'll suffer the most.

I don't think it's about paranoia. It's about privacy. Microsoft has gone to extreme measures to collect data:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVzc5wK2-pc

As someone who used to like Microsoft software I am alarmed about the direction Microsoft is taking with Windows 10. If this becomes the new normal then the world is in a pretty sad state.

Adding driver support for new hardware in Win7 is called making them auto update with windows update, it's got nothing to do with the hardware actually working, that's all on the manufacturers.

Precisely!  And when much of that data collection is more about targeted advertising than improving Windows, it is even more of a betrayal.  It's not bad enough that we're confronted with advertising at every which turn, now Microsoft has added it to Windows by way of those ghastly looking tiles on the start menu..  I mean, where is it going to stop?   With popups in Windows Explorer.... in the dialogue box during 'copy and move'... or while you're waiting for defrag to finish??

Yes, Microsoft has gone too far.  Well if it hasn't [in the minds of some] it WILL.

That should be entered in every dictionary as "the very essence of paranoia"

just curious without lamenting whether or not Win10 is good. Do you really believe that the privacy policy in not intrusive?

Yes.

It is all about the modern 'need' for cloud computing...interactivity between all your other hardware like phones...tablets...to enable them to be synchronized, etc.

Data needs to be transferred....which means it needs to be compared...eg old vs new versions etc.

Simple synchronizing backup software does that.

Everyone has software that 'looks at' their files...and as we get into a truly global/infusive technology lifestyle more and more information will be read to maintain connectivity and function.

All these Facebooks, Twitters et al ... are the blame for most of it.

If you took out the cloud.... 'connectivity' apps [facebook] and browser searching functions not only would idiot-paranoia go away...but so would modern computer connectivity and function.

Exactly NOTHING has happened between the release of 8 and 10 to LEGITIMATELY scare anyone.

....other than the potential for breaking an OS via 'forced updates'.

The forcing people to upgrade to Win 10 has taken on a new look.... and it's NOT a good look, either.....  see here.

Okay, so I have done this now.... and my opinion of Win 10 remains the same. 

I have now spent several hours with Win 10 on Shaunna's new laptop, and frankly, I just don't like it.  For a start the Start Menu is an abomination, which thankfully Start10 can fix... if only the system icons could be fixed as easily.

Not only that, MS has unnecessarily changed the names and places of things, thus making familiar tools and apps more difficult to find/use than need be.  Then there's all the privacy settings that need tweaking.... not that all can be.

Put in a nutshell, I don't like 10 at all.  True, 3rd party apps can fix 'some' of its woes, same as in Win 8, but 10 has far more wrong with it than 8 ever did.

I spent little time deleting (most of) the default Mickey Mouse stuff and loaded it up with some useful small-sized links and ended up with a decent Menu/Launcher dock style combination.  Good for those times when a person wants to "run lean".

For me WB10 and ObjectDock and Start10 is all I need. No fancy this, that or the other thing. I got a clean start menu, access across the board and then some. W10 may start butt fugly but you can change that up real quick. IMO...the only advantage it has over 8.1 is that its a bit faster.

I absolutely hate windows 10 i much rather vister or 7, 8 mmmm, i reckon windows should make it that if someone  prefers a particular OS then then they should be able to re write if they so choose IMO

Microsoft's EULAs since XP I have found horrific.  They can and will freeze the OS so WIndows will no longer run, essentially bricking your computer if you make too many hardware modifications to 'your' computer, then you have to get their special permission to unlock it so you can continue to use your PC.  I'm not so terrified of Defender, but the EULA is atrocious.

It was worse when XP first came out and they've eased slightly since then, but they still do it if you change graphics cards, hard drives or other hardware on your computer too many times.  I consider that every bit as bad as obtrusive DRM on a game, except given its the operating system, I find it less tolerable -- I can (and do) resist the urge to buy a game if I read it has always-on DRM, but you can't do that with Windows without losing access to all the games and software I've become accustomed to.

I keep telling myself, and yeah I do need to use and acclamate to Linux ... and I think Windows 7 will probably be the end of the Microsoft line for me.  Hopefully SteamOS will make Linux a more viable option, if for no other reason than Valve putting the weight of Steam's popularity behind Linux games development.

WELL........... I put WIN 10 on my WIN 7 machine and it's a lot better than my WIN 10 on my 8.1 laptop.. Big difference in fact!

These words coming back to bite you in the arse yet? ....

[and auto-correct....stop underlining 'arse' .....it's how 'ass' should be spelled .... ]