Have there ever been efforts at forcing upgrades? I mean beyond the normal withdrawal of support that Microsoft uses, has there ever been any greater effort at making people change their OS?

I can't think of forceful OS upgrades, but I remember feeling like the world was going to end if I didn't get one of the service packs for Windows XP. I think it was service pack 2, and really, with the notifications and warnings, I felt like my computer would be inoperable if I didn't install the service pack!

I'm with you, Hamlet. I have never been told that I would have to upgrade in order to continue to use my system but I have gotten some notices that have made it sound like my computer would crash and burn without them.