The Takeaway: Windows 10's big change -- 10 years of support from day 1
"Microsoft's intention is that you will get 10 years minimum of updates for Windows 10, both feature and security updates, from when you get it," said Gartner analyst Steve Kleynhans, who tracks the Redmond, Wash. developer and was briefed by the company on its plans. "They intend to provide the full 10 years of support, which means giving feature and security updates for that computer for 10 years, provided the OEM continues to support the device."
Kleynhans has been pushing Microsoft for clarity on its statements about Windows 10 support and paraphrased from an email Microsoft sent him Tuesday about its support plans. He would not share the exact contents of the email.
The details from Microsoft mean that the usual retirement dates for support announced in the past for previous versions of Windows will no longer be used.
In brief, here's how the new support structure will work:
"When they talk about changing the servicing model for the OS, moving it forward, keeping it updated, they are rethinking the whole process," Kleynhans said. "It's significantly different than what we've had in the past."
With reports by Gregg Keizer at Computerworld.