DmitryKo:

1) new minimum system requirements - 64-bit CPU, UEFI; recommended system requirements - 8 GBytes of RAM, NVMe SSD, CPU with AVX/AVX2, video card with Direct3D 12 / WDDM 3.0 drivers

legacy boot is not going anywhere, UEFI doesn't support a quarter of the amount of option roms that a legacy board can execute.

Spets:

As long as they're announcing DirectStorage coming out this month!

direct storage is not coming out this month, or even this year.

Astyanax:

legacy boot is not going anywhere

I wish it was. UEFI Secure boot (and a GPT disk) has been a requirement for new OEM systems since Windows 8, which was released in 2012. And running Windows 10 on any Intel system made before 2012 (Sandy Bridge), or AMD system before 2017 (Ryzen), is really an excercize in futility. Recent builds require an NVMe SSD and a 4-core CPU to improve boot times and responsibility of system tasks and applications like Windows Defender andyvirus, Windows Search indexer and Windows Update servicing stack (which is finally problem-free since 20H1 Vibranium. It's time to let go of the legacy systems. Apple does it regularily with their OSX/macOS, where support typically ends 5-7 years after the release of each Mac/iMac model. You can't expect an entry-level 2010 computer to run a Chrome-based Edge browser even you only have a few open pages. UEFI-enabled desktops can be easily upgraded to boot from with NVMe disks by installing M.2-PCIe adapters into spare expansion slots. Cheap entry-level laptop /all-in-one / nettop computers are not really upgradeable, so it's best to simply replace them with a newer model.

Hypothesis: Windows versions Windows 10 as in new Windows without legacy and some stuff, geared towards new systems and hardware, targeted at gamers and content creators. Windows 10 L as in legacy with all the support and cruft. More stable, less prone to breakages. Targeted at some business segments. Windows H with a subscription model (H for Help me I'm clueless) an on-line installation who determine what user wants/needs based on hardware, some generic questions and licencing based on users usage. About server, enterprise and cloud models and versions not a clue, I don't know even to extrapolate. Better to say what my limits are than to brag in stupidity.

anticupidon:

Hypothesis: Windows versions Windows 10 as in new Windows without legacy and some stuff, geared towards new systems and hardware, targeted at gamers and content creators. Windows 10 L as in legacy with all the support and cruft. More stable, less prone to breakages. Targeted at some business segments. Windows H with a subscription model (H for Help me I'm clueless) an on-line installation who determine what user wants/needs based on hardware, some generic questions and licencing based on users usage. About server, enterprise and cloud models and versions not a clue, I don't know even to extrapolate. Better to say what my limits are than to brag in stupidity.

I wonder what the odds are of Microsoft wanting "Windows H" to be the only Windows. (゜-゜)

DmitryKo:

UEFI Secure boot (and a GPT disk) has been a requirement for new OEM systems since Windows 8, which was released in 2012.

Get a legitimate point.

DmitryKo:

Running Windows 10 on any Intel system made before 2012 (Sandy Bridge), or AMD system before 2017 (Ryzen), is really an excercize in futility. Recent builds really require an NVMe SSD and a 4-core CPU to improve boot times and responsibility of ststem tasks and applications like Windows Defender andivirus, Windows Search indexer and Windows Update servicing stack.

You have no idea what you're talking about.

DmitryKo:

You can't even expect a 2010 computer to reliably run a Chrome-based Edge browser even a few open pages. It's time to get rid of the legacy systems. Apple does it regularily with their OSX/macOS, where support typically ends 5-7 years after the release of each Mac/iMac model .

Educate yourself, you're spewing nonsense.

Try to stay on topic without using personal insults.

PrMinisterGR:

What if they open source big parts of it

They've open-sourced some of their frameworks, but the core OS probably contains a lot of copyrighted 3rd-party code from IBM, Intel and DEC.

and keep the legacy stuff on a "legacy" extension that doesn't come installed by default

Microsoft already tried it with Windows S / S Mode and recently Windows 10X. Nobody wants or needs Windows OS that cannot run real Windows applications, not just toy UWP 'apps' or casual mobile games ported from iOS / Android.

anticupidon:

Windows 10 as in new Windows without legacy and some stuff Windows 10 L as in legacy with all the support and cruft. More stable, less prone to breakages.

Less stable Windows that cannot run real Windows applications! Yes, that will be an enormous... well, you know 😉 Microsoft does not consider WIn32 'legacy' anymore, and internally UWP has been built on top of KERNEL32/USER32 and Direct2D/DirectWrite, so it would take a lot of effort to remove this 'legacy'. Their new application model is Project Reunion - Modern Windowing, which would unify USER32/GDI and UWP codebases under WinUI3 framework. That's essentially UWPv2 - though without the outdated mobile phone-centric application lifetime model, where all background apps are forcibly stopped and unloaded from memory by the OS.

Windows H with a subscription model

Why would anyone install a new OS only to wipe the disk clean to restore the factory-default version a few months later? Microsoft gets OS revenue mostly from OEM licenses, i.e copies of Windows preinstalled on new computer and not retail sales. So I'd think Windows 11 will remain a free upgrade for end-users.

anticupidon:

"We present you the very next best thing. The new Windows. Evolved. At its core, runs a Linux kernel that we perverted in such a way that even a pimp could blush. Nevertheless, we made it so that can strip every bit of personal information of the entire block, house, community, person, group, whatever. Fret not, it is free, as YOU are to be sold. And before you ask, we will gladly shove it down your throats without any remorse whatsoever." /S

I'd like to suggest they'll simply drop the 'Windows' and call it just 'Eleven', '24/7 (Max)' or something like that 😎 EDIT: 'Winux' would cover everything 😀

FatBoyNL:

I'd like to suggest they'll simply drop the 'Windows' and call it just 'Eleven', '24/7 (Max)' or something like that 😎 EDIT: 'Winux' would cover everything 😀

Well, I have a feeling it will be quality meme material.

As long as i can still play games from the late 90s i don't care what they do.