Software development has changed fundamentally in the past ten years and drastically changed hardware lifecycles.
There used to be major releases every 2-4 years, and the “service pack” updates annually. Now, companies like Microsoft, Google, and Facebook release new features on a WEEKLY basis. Users expect features, fixes, and enhancements to be delivered in real time and not affect how they work. Welcome to network-based software delivery.
This change in software development cycles means less emphasis on testing across older technology stacks, specifically hardware, browsers, and out-of-support (legacy) applications. There is a trade-off between getting a lot of new features and functionality faster versus being able to run the same workstation with Windows 98 for FIFTEEN YEARS!
The latest version of Windows 10 is delivered more like an application that is continuously updated with new features and functionality on a regular basis. While you don’t *have* to update your Windows-based hardware, not doing so means that your experience will get worse over time. There is no opting out of the updates anymore.
Compressed software development cycles and regular updates mean we can no longer “stretch” out our hardware lifecycles. Developers are moving too quickly to go back and test all of the various “older” hardware stacks as they once did…now the expectation is that you are running on a platform that is updated at regular intervals.
