I am a long time Start8 user.  Frankly it's a necessary, critical piece of software on any Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 machine I use, and to date the only mod I've had to do was to restore the actual official flag icon.  Other than that, it just works.  I often forget it's third-party software.

I noticed Start10's release from a news article.  Looks great.  One problem: "Minimum: Windows 10".

Why?  Besides the obvious.  Why can't you release this look and feel back to Windows 8/8.1?  It doesn't make sense why you can't when you can restore an XP or Windows 7 style on Start8.

I have no immediate plans to upgrade to Windows 10.  It's not an option.  At least not until Microsoft fixes the critical defects with it (privacy problems, BitLocker compromised, unwarranted downloads of updates with no way to stop it, nerfed Admin rights, etc).  The real deal breaker is the "free upgrade" is really a downgrade: I have Windows 8.1 Pro on my Dell, but the upgrade puts you back on Home.  That's not acceptable because it's not a like-for-like tradeoff.  Too many features and functionality lost.

Given that I will be stuck on 8.1 for what I feel will be a VERY long time, I do like the look and feel of what you've done with Start10 and I'd like to use it.  Just not on Windows 10.

Can you explain why this is not doable?

Side note: asking $4 for the Start10 initially annoyed me, but it's $4.  I do think you should consider a free upgrade path though.