As part of its new "Windows as a Service" model, Microsoft elected to provide users with a guaranteed, steady stream of updates with virtually no clear, hard-defined EOL. However, Microsoft took refuge, as well it should, from an increasingly difficult support for different hardware sets: a little footnote, saying that you are eligible for Windows 10 for the "supported lifetime of the device." Yes, it's true you now don't have to purchase a new Windows version. But that also means that your devices potentially won't be supported for Microsoft's previous 5 + 5 policy (meaning, 5 years of feature and security updates, and 5 extra years for security updates only.)

The systems in question - built around Intel's Clover Trail Atom processors - are generally low-cost, low-power machines (mainly 2-in-1) released between 2012 and 2015 under Windows 8 and 8.1. These systems were deemed ready to receive Windows 10; however, they are currently blocked from installing Windows 10 Version 1703 - the "Creators Update." Attempts to install result in a message saying that "Windows 10 is no longer supported on this PC." The problem is that each Windows 10 update receives security fixes for just 18 months. Version 1607, the latest that these Clover Trail machines can install, will drop out of support in early 2018 - after which they'll cease to receive any patches at all.This problem may yet be temporary, however, since Acer has issued an official support response to this issue, which I transcribe below:

"The following Intel Clover Trail processors are currently not supported on Windows 10 Creators Update:

• Atom Z2760
• Atom Z2520
• Atom Z2560
• Atom Z2580

Microsoft is working with us to help provide compatible drivers to address this incompatibility. If you install the Windows 10 creators update, icons and text may not appear at all, or may show up as solid color blocks or bars. If you have already installed Creators Update and are experiencing problems, you can use Windows 10 recovery options to restore your system to the previous build."

Even if this problem is temporary, though, it begs the question: how temporary is it? And how soon will these systems (or others, for that matter) start encountering compatibility problems again? Because as hardware evolves and Windows 10 carries on with its updates, the amount of possible hardware configurations will only increase - hardware configurations, and hardware platforms, for which the Redmond company will have to bake in support. And it stands to reason that Microsoft will continuously prefer to support new and newer systems, choosing to prioritize these over older hardware configurations.