Since I don't have money to throw around on support, I am disappointed that Windows 7 support will no longer be free. However, on the flip side, Microsoft has never solved any issues that I have had with their product. My recent fiasco, which was caused by the automatic downloading of updates, as opposed to the "Show me, but let me select which ones I want" option, resulted in me having to do a complete system restore.
Did I find out through Microsoft that the fiasco was due to their updates fighting each other for space on my computer at the same time? No, I found this and the solution through my computer manufacturer and my own online research on non-Microsoft sites.
In addition, I couldn't find out, nor could Windows 7 free help tell me why my image was appearing upside down on my webcam software. At first I blamed other software on my computer, then I uninstalled and reinstalled my webcam drivers, nothing helped, except by trial and error and eventually using Windows Movie Maker software to display my image correctly.
When I had to to the system reinstall and set up my laptop all over again, I found out that the culprit was a Windows Update, although I was not able to isolate it to one specific update. (I installed a few of the 150+ updates at a time, rechecking my web cam after each install. All went well, until about the third or fourth set of installs -- at at which time my image once again appeared upside down.
I know I went a bit off the subject, but I thought I would share my experience with others just in case it would help!
Have a nice day!