Credit: Dreamstime Windows releases have a lot in common with Star Trek movies: they seem to alternate in terms of reception. Windows 7 was generally well-regarded at launch back in '09, as was Windows 10 in 2015. Windows 8, the awkward middle child that tried some huge user interface changes in 2012, was not. Windows 8.1, the last major update to the OS, will officially end support early next year. And Microsoft can't wait to tell you about it. As The Verge reports , anyone still using Windows 8.1 will get notifications about the end of software updates sometime next...