Windows 7 wasn’t Microsoft’s choice. It was the last version they produced under the injunction from the late 90s that prevented them from bundling services with Windows. Otherwise Microsoft actually had Microsoft Accounts (then called .Net Passports) ready to go for XP but had to make it optional. They had planned to tie activation to an account back then.
This also represents the last time the US gave a shit about antitrust.
I could have lived with Windows 7 for a long time before leaving the platform.
Windows 7 wasn’t Microsoft’s choice. It was the last version they produced under the injunction from the late 90s that prevented them from bundling services with Windows. Otherwise Microsoft actually had Microsoft Accounts (then called .Net Passports) ready to go for XP but had to make it optional. They had planned to tie activation to an account back then.
This also represents the last time the US gave a shit about antitrust.
It was so funny, too, because even back then, they had already set an end-of-life date for 2025.