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Microsoft begins cracking down on people dodging Windows 11's system requirements
(www.xda-developers.com)
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
The difference is, that you could just continue using XP until Win7 was released or continue using Win7 until Win10 was released. Win10 will reach end of life next year and then the only supported Windows will be Windows 11. Vista or Win8 were never as forced as Win11 is now.
I used XP until Windows 8 was released. At least I got a cheap Windows 8 key from Microsoft back then. And upgraded to 8.1 and later to 10. So I got my money's worth out of it.
Such a shame things will never be as good as they were again.
The timeline for the lifecycle is 10 years. That's ample time for an OS generation.