Did they ever explain why they skipped from 7 to 8 to 10?
Yep. Because windows 95 and 98 exist, and there is a bunch of software which would do a check for the operating system version you were running with something like, if the operating system name starts with “Windows 9” etc
I have heard, but never in any way verified, that there was code that tried to identify whether you were running 95 or 98 by looking for a version starting with 9. If true, it would mean some code might treat Windows 9 as 95/98.
I could totally believe that. Sounds like something I would do.
Because Windows 7 8 9
Nein.
8.1 used build numbers 9xxx (7 used 7xxx, 8 used 8xxx, and 10 started out using 10xxx), so you could argue it was technically Windows 9.
8.1 was a lot more different under the hood than it appeared. It was much more than a tweak or a patch. I’ve always felt like it was more of a Windows 9 with a retro 8 theme.
They wanted to be able to call it Windows X for religious reasons but then decided it was too obvious a tell. ☯️🔺x🔻☤
Elon on the other Hand is not that thoughtful.
Also 12-94