I’ve often heard that the reason Windows has suffered from bloat and so much has been built on top of ancient underlying technologies, partially to ensure compatibility with old software.
If something like Windows 11 requires specific hardware in order to install it, why does it need to accommodate compatibility for archaic devices/software?
Would it not be preferable for Microsoft to start from scratch with an OS that is considerably more efficient and cut-down for newer devices, similar to something like Apple’s MacOS transition from Intel to Apple Silicon, and just provide security updates for the legacy operating systems that would be in use on un-upgradable hardware?
This is true and might be an argument that windows 11 is actually is moving away from its archaic foundations, slowly. But hardware isnt always a limitation. Companies will refresh laptops and workstations with better hardware yet still require use of legacy software. Its a tug of war between a companies financial spending, want for the latest tech in other areas of the company, tolerance to security vulnerabilities, etc. If microsoft tells them that they cannot use their essential legacy software on windows 11, and drop support for their older versions because of their own financial review, then they risk losing their largest customers.
I do think the legacy bloat is more to do with its foundations in software, being based on windows NT, moreso than legacy hardware. And with hardware improving, software gets faster for free just by running with more overhead. Its led to an inefficiency boom which you can see with games becoming less optimized because they dont need to be. Same could be applied to window’s with respect to new hardware.