> [..] Windows 10 LTSC. And killed it off quite qucikly

They really didn't.

Full disclosure: I installed Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2021 on a brand new laptop earlier today :)

For this specific device, my wish is a Windows-compatible OS that's going to shut up and stay out of the way, and it seems the LTSC variant of Win10 is the closest Microsoft are willing to provide at the moment.

That LTSC doesn't come with Edge, Cortana or the Windows Store, well that's just the icing on the cake.

>And killed it off quite qucikly.

Evidently not, considering there were 4 such releases. The earliest was on July 29, 2015, and the latest was on November 16, 2021 and will be supported until January 13, 2032.

It was gimped from the start, LTSB/LTSC was never available to the general public

It hasn't been killed off. Microsoft has confirmed publicly that Windows 11 will have an LTSC release.

Curious what they will do about Microsoft Store apps in such a release. It's becoming more of a pressing concern. Maybe Windows 11 LTSC will have a "filtered flathub" situation similar to Red Hat / Fedora?