its also worth noting that CORE stop supporting windows versions when windows stop supporting their old versions
windows 7 bbecame unsupported in 2020 so windows 8 is min standard core devs find viable for bitcoin now
windows 8 was first released in 2012. and 3TB hard drives in 2012 were only $150 back then.
You do realize that Windows is a far more popular desktop OS (compared to Linux) due to the fact it offers backwards compatibility with multi-decade old apps (like 32-bit apps from the 90s), right?
Hell, sometimes you're even allowed to install old drivers, just because the Windows kernel offers a stable ABI (unlike the Linux kernel). Good luck doing that with Linux closed-source drivers/binary blobs.
32-bit Windows OSes still support running 16-bit apps. Same for x86 CPUs. Are they superior compared to RISC CPUs? Not really.
Windows is not a superior OS compared to Linux, but
it offers the best backwards compatibility out there.
I've experienced every kind of IT debate you can possibly imagine (Windows vs Linux, CISC vs RISC) and let me tell you that
backwards compatibility always wins, for better or worse. Even game consoles these days offer BC.
I get it that some people prefer using superior solutions, but it's all
a matter of network effect (aka
Metcalfe's law).
Even the IBM PC won against Amiga... where is Commodore now?
People (especially those that claim to be "old" enough, let alone youngsters) should read some IT history.