So you are saying a PC and the files in them are a disposable product. When MS goes from XP to 8 you should have to trash a perfectly good piece of equipment. They could integrate the systems but where the profits in that. You can have your opinion but I know when I'm getting screwed
Operating systems have never, ever been load and forget. Never. You could get away with it in the "old DOS" days before the advent of AOL and the rudimentary start of the Internet, but once the Internet took off in the early 90s, there was no such thing as a "load and forget" machine that talked online. Even more so today, security is paramount and using a machine that no longer receives security updates is foolhardy and asking to have your personal information stolen.
As far back as 2011, Microsoft let it be known that XP was fast approaching EOL and users should start thinking about upgrading. That they extended security support into 2014 should have been a wake up call to upgrade to at least Windows 7 (which should have been easily accomplished on most XP machines).
Considering there were 2 OS versions between XP and Windows 8, users who flat refused to upgrade from XP are now pretty much screwed. Windows 7 will be supported to 2020, but pretty much any legitimate source to purchase that OS is gone now. Windows 10 is very stable, but the bargain basement PCs that ran XP will most likely struggle with Windows 10.
Claiming Linux will solve all that is also false. Outside a server environment, Linux versions change anywhere from every 6 months to every 1-2 years. Even Long Term Release versions tend to change every 1-2 years. And once a Linux version goes EOL, there are no security updates provided to the repositories.
While the PC may not be a disposable product, the Operating System must be maintained in order to provide proper security for your information. Again, there has never, ever been a load and forget OS. There will always be updates, and there will always be a newer version of the operating system to install if one wishes to remain secure on today's Internet. Otherwise you might as well disconnect and go back to using "sneaker net" (otherwise known as walking).