Windows 10 support extended by 364 days

[Random_User]

Microsoft has pushed the end of mainstream and extended support for Windows 10 back 364 days.

Mainstream support for Threshold will end on October 13, 2020; Extended support will end on October 14, 2025.
Mainstream support for Redstone is scheduled to end on October 12, 2021; Extended support on October 13, 2026.

Currently, whether or not the new end of support dates will apply to Redstone 2 and 3 is unknown. However, the change had no effect on Threshold 2 (the November Update).

The effect of updates on the end of support dates for Windows 10 differs from the effect Service Packs and Windows 8.1 had on the end of support dates for Windows NT 3.1 - Windows 7 and Windows 8, respectively as previously such updates had no effect on the mainstream and extended support of the main product; but only resulted in earlier end of support for RTM, earlier Service Packs, and Windows 8.

While the above is not definitive proof of the truth or falsity of the rumors regarding Windows 10 being the final version of Microsoft Windows NT, it nonetheless supports such a "theory" (I put the word in quotations since its not currently a theory in the scientific sense...at least not yet).

[AlphaBeta]

While the above is not definitive proof of the truth or falsity of the rumors regarding Windows 10 being the final version of Microsoft Windows NT, it nonetheless supports such a "theory" (I put the word in quotations since its not currently a theory in the scientific sense...at least not yet).

Windows 10 being the "final version of Windows" is pure marketing. Just that.

[Random_User]

By that being "pure marketing", do you mean that you think that Microsoft may be planning a successor with a higher version number than 10.0 and that the statement is false, or do you mean that you think that Microsoft will continue releasing updates like TH2, RS1, RS2, RS3, and others beyond that (like Apple did with Mac OS X) (in which case the statement in question is true)?

[hounsell]

How is it the final version if you keep releasing updates to it? Just not bumping the major/minor any more doesn't mean anything in practice.

My guess is they'll, sooner or later, just drop the 10 entirely from their public branding and it'll just be called Windows / Windows Mobile / Windows Server / etc. And the only time they'll refer to version numbers is for support purposes.

[Overdoze]

My guess is they'll, sooner or later, just drop the 10 entirely from their public branding and it'll just be called Windows / Windows Mobile / Windows Server / etc. And the only time they'll refer to version numbers is for support purposes.

I see this as the most likely possibility. And it's not a bad idea IMO.

[MrFreeman]

My guess is they'll, sooner or later, just drop the 10 entirely from their public branding and it'll just be called Windows / Windows Mobile / Windows Server / etc. And the only time they'll refer to version numbers is for support purposes.

I see this as the most likely possibility. And it's not a bad idea IMO.

Yeah sure, creating confusion is a good idea.

[longhornwhistler]

Well and you have to consider that they are releasing new version of 10 semi-annuallyish so they are only going to extend support for the current build and not Windows 10 itself.

[Random_User]

How is it the final version if you keep releasing updates to it? Just not bumping the major/minor any more doesn't mean anything in practice.

"Windows 10" refers to the original Windows 10 and all of its updates. The fact that a particular version of Microsoft Windows is being updated does not render said version with a later update being a different product from the version in question with an earlier update.

This is similar to how Windows 7 RTM and Windows 7 with Service Pack 1 are both the same product. The licensing of the Windows 10 updates is similar to the licensing of service packs for all versions of Windows NT up to and including Windows 7 (still free for licensed users of the underlying product, and no new product key is required).

That is, if you have a valid Windows 10 license, you can legally use any prior version (and possibly future version) of Windows 10 with the same product key (just like with service packs).

Keep in mind that the following two statements mean very different things:

Windows 10 is the final version of Windows NT

and

Redstone is the final version of Windows NT

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Yeah sure, creating confusion is a good idea.

Considering the facts that most Windows 10 users are going to have the latest Long-Term Servicing Branch update installed at any given time, and that most users neither know nor care about the exact version number, I doubt there would be much confusion.

[hounsell]

But when Windows 10 is still really very much a 6.x kernel in all ways but the version number, and MS have a policy of no longer changing the Major/Minor no matter how big the changes are - MS considered the update from 8 to 8.1 a minor new release, complete with a minor version bump. And yet TH1 to TH2 is about as big a shift, and TH2 to RS1 is definitely larger, but they're "not new releases"?

For what it's worth, Monthly CUs are far more closely in line with the traditional Service Pack model, except now they're monthly.

Microsoft are just playing a marketing game. To my mind, just because you call each new release the same thing as the previous release, doesn't stop them being new releases. That'd be like claiming the tradition of naming a son after the father meant that a single person just lasted multiple lifetimes.

[mrpijey]

By that being "pure marketing", do you mean that you think that Microsoft may be planning a successor with a higher version number than 10.0 and that the statement is false, or do you mean that you think that Microsoft will continue releasing updates like TH2, RS1, RS2, RS3, and others beyond that (like Apple did with Mac OS X) (in which case the statement in question is true)?

But Apple never did that as they use version numbers, and still do. Apple never had a naming scheme with OSX like Microsoft does with Windows 10. Common Mac users today don't say "Hey, I got Mac OS X 10.11 installed", they say "Hey, I got El Capitan installed" because that's what they see in the ads, on the box and in the OS itself. Along with a clear and visible version number. OS X El Capitan, Version 10.11.5 as it's written on my iMac screen right now.

Also, Windows 10 is not the last version of Windows, use your thinking machines people... you really believe that Windows 10 will be still "10" in 20 years? 30 years? In 20 years Microsoft wouldn't want to associate their brand new OS as "Windows 10" for pure marketing reasons as the general public (i.e those that don't bother knowing about the history or development cycle of Windows) as it would have seen old and outdated. As a common user would you feel comfortable buying "Windows 3.1" today if you knew your parents had the same OS (by name) when you were a kid? Microsoft will either move on with new numbers (Windows 11), do an Apple and mix it: Microsoft Windows Bullwhip (10.1.1311) or they will do a Vista thing and give it new names every now and then: Microsoft Windows Teapot.

As for Apple, Mac OS X is at the moment just a brand name, just like Windows. It's what comes after the brand name part that matters, and Apple has both version numbers and names for their OS to separate it from older versions. Microsoft just as "Windows 10" which will create issues in the future when they want their new OS to stand out from the old... Unless they do what I said above. You can't name your product the same for decades without anything changing to differentiate it from the old.

[Overdoze]

Yeah sure, creating confusion is a good idea.

Evidently they're preparing for this change, with the "Version 1507/1511/1607" thing in Winver and other places. I can hardly see any confusion if a user calls support and tells them there's a problem with Windows; "Which version are you using?"; <user checks version> - "1607".

That's for home users anyway, companies have IT personel for this sort of thing. But if you can't check the OS version yourself, then frankly you're not fit to use a computer anyway.

[dae52591]

The support extended only for Enterprise LTSB editions. I visited.

Windows 10 being the "final version of Windows" is pure marketing. Just that.

The final? Maybe it's Microsoft strategy - not to develop new Windows from scratch, but add new feautres to existing OS. When Microsoft changes leadership, everything may change.

[MrFreeman]

Maybe it's Microsoft strategy - not to develop new Windows from scratch, but add new feautres to existing OS..

Dude, that's been microsoft's strategy from the beginning, since even before windows was a thing.

[Tootles]

By that being "pure marketing", do you mean that you think that Microsoft may be planning a successor with a higher version number than 10.0 and that the statement is false, or do you mean that you think that Microsoft will continue releasing updates like TH2, RS1, RS2, RS3, and others beyond that (like Apple did with Mac OS X) (in which case the statement in question is true)?

But Apple never did that as they use version numbers, and still do. Apple never had a naming scheme with OSX like Microsoft does with Windows 10. Common Mac users today don't say "Hey, I got Mac OS X 10.11 installed", they say "Hey, I got El Capitan installed" because that's what they see in the ads, on the box and in the OS itself. Along with a clear and visible version number. OS X El Capitan, Version 10.11.5 as it's written on my iMac screen right now.

Also, Windows 10 is not the last version of Windows, use your thinking machines people... you really believe that Windows 10 will be still "10" in 20 years? 30 years? In 20 years Microsoft wouldn't want to associate their brand new OS as "Windows 10" for pure marketing reasons as the general public (i.e those that don't bother knowing about the history or development cycle of Windows) as it would have seen old and outdated. As a common user would you feel comfortable buying "Windows 3.1" today if you knew your parents had the same OS (by name) when you were a kid? Microsoft will either move on with new numbers (Windows 11), do an Apple and mix it: Microsoft Windows Bullwhip (10.1.1311) or they will do a Vista thing and give it new names every now and then: Microsoft Windows Teapot.

As for Apple, Mac OS X is at the moment just a brand name, just like Windows. It's what comes after the brand name part that matters, and Apple has both version numbers and names for their OS to separate it from older versions. Microsoft just as "Windows 10" which will create issues in the future when they want their new OS to stand out from the old... Unless they do what I said above. You can't name your product the same for decades without anything changing to differentiate it from the old.

I've always had the impression that they were going to drop the version designation and just call all their Windows-bases systems "Windows." At this point, version numbers don't matter - and the names don't either, any more. Average people who've bought new W10 boxes aren't thinking about whether they're running TH1, RS1, whatever... they want Facebook, Office, and their porn.

So, with new Windows builds being distributed via the normal Windows Update channel now, the very concept of a version number is pretty much moot other than for technical reasons (making sure incompatible software doesn't try to run where it won't work, or having a clear build number for error reporting). But other than that, it makes more sense in pretty much every way I can think of to just call it Windows, with no version designation except maybe a build number or even just a build date.

[xelloss]

So, with new Windows builds being distributed via the normal Windows Update channel now, the very concept of a version number is pretty much moot other than for technical reasons (making sure incompatible software doesn't try to run where it won't work, or having a clear build number for error reporting). But other than that, it makes more sense in pretty much every way I can think of to just call it Windows, with no version designation except maybe a build number or even just a build date.

Agreed. The concept of "10" being the last version of Windows isn't about the marketing designation as much as it is about licensing: with a Windows 10 license, you get a right to use, on a given system, any future release of Windows that system is capable of running. In other words, the distinction between updates (which do not require a new license) and releases (which do) is blurred.