It’s free to do, I think at one point it was $30 but now it’s free, so long as you’re updated to the most recent version. It’s worth a shot if it’s not in your means yet to switch over to a foss alterative.
It’s free to do, I think at one point it was $30 but now it’s free, so long as you’re updated to the most recent version. It’s worth a shot if it’s not in your means yet to switch over to a foss alterative.
This seems more like delaying the problem rather than a solution. What will you do in 1 year, 3 years, or 7 years when Microsoft stops offering extended security updates to businesses?
Windows is only going to get worse from here. Windows 10 forces software onto you without your permission. It forces updates and installs AI bullshit. The best time to switch to GNU/Linux is today.
Linux isn’t a solution for everyone. Some people have software and hardware that absolutely will not run on Linux. I hope that in the next 1-3 years, either Microsoft wakes up and extends 10 service life, or they make 11 tolerable. The likelihood of the latter is virtually zero.
That is not the fault of GNU/Linux. That is the fault of the those software developers and Microsoft. Microsoft and developers of Windows software prevent their software from running on GNU/Linux, not the other way around.
By continuing to use software which blocks GNU/Linux usage, you are enabling them to manipulate you.
Windows is never going to get better. People who used XP said they were never going to use Windows 7, at the EOL of XP. People who used Windows 7 said they were never going to use Windows 10 at Windows 7 EOL. Now, people who use Windows 10 are saying they will never use Windows 11 at Windows 10 EOL.
Each Windows release was worse than the last. Each Windows release had more bloat and telemetry and other malicious features than the last.
Either you’re going to stop using Windows or you will capitulate to the spyware of Windows 11.
Never said it was Linux fault for software and hardware not working.
Some of the friction is legacy systems that the developers no longer support for anyone, or can’t support Linux. Audio equipment and cnc equipment are just 2 of the notoriously difficult categories of hardware to support on anything besides Windows (and mac but thats not the convo), especially if it’s older.
Linux is great, but I’m so tired of hearing that the ONLY solution is to install it. It is not, and will not, be the solution for everyone.
The primary competitor to GNU/Linux is FreeBSD. So I will say that FreeBSD can be another solution. Besides that, every other freedom respecting OS is in beta.
The truth is that Microsoft Windows was NEVER a solution and will never be a solution. Microsoft was designed to not be a solution, ever since Bill Gates sold his first piece of software in 1976. Before 1976, software was not protected by copyright and written software was freely exchanged between computer users. After 1976, Microsoft and Apple invented the ways to restrict users from controlling their software. The software is intentionally designed to hurt you. Microsoft always intended to dominate the market, spy on their users, limit what their users can do, going back 50 years. The only difference then and now is that there is new technology that allows Microsoft to be even more exploitative.
GNU/Linux Distros are based around the GPL (GNU Public License), which is the complete opposite of Microsoft principles. The license says that software must allow the users to understand how the software works, run the software however they want, make changes to the software, and share changes to the software. On top of that, the GPL says that developers can’t use GPL code to make software which is non-GPL. This promotes the creates of more freedom-respecting software.
Also, older systems tend to be better supported by Linux than Windows. Windows 10 is no longer officially supported. Windows 11 doesn’t support computers made before 2015. New GNU/Linux works well on computers made before 2015 and even going back to the mid 2000s.
The closest OS to Windows that doesn’t try to exploit the users would be ReactOS, but it is still considered to be in Beta after 27 years of development.
They’re not going to extend Windows 10’s life indefinitely. They didn’t do it with XP, so why would they do it with 10?
The only real options are:
Installing a different OS.
Running an unsupported OS.
Bending the knee and kissing the ring.
Running your debloating Powershell scripts and fiddling around with regedit was never a real solution because even during Windows 8, Microsoft would constantly readd shit back in or introduce more shit that the scrappy debloating Powershell script devs have to account for. Microsoft have been giving warnings about how tampering with the registry means security patches may not go through, which is just them putting their foot down on debloaters.
Installing a different OS
Different OS are, of course, MacOS, Linux, BSD, and ChromeOS (lol) among others. I also lump in people forsaking their desktops for smartphone/tablet OS like iOS, Android, GrapheneOS, and so on. For many reasons, people suggest Linux over other options, but it’s not like Linux is the only option. I would also make a note that a lot of the arguments Windows users have over not adopting Linux completely fall apart when MacOS is considered. For one, the vast majority of enterprise software (Office, Photoshop, Acrobat) run perfectly fine on MacOS. There’s also VMs that could be used if there’s particular software that can only run on Windows. There’s nothing wrong with running a Windows 7 VM while the actual host OS is Linux.
Running an unsupported OS
This has all the pitfalls of running unsupported software. Assuming there isn’t some major malware people cooked up specifically to fuck over unsupported Windows 10 machines, there won’t be a major degradation in user experience until web browsers and popularly used software like Steam drop support. And considering the proliferation of SaaS, I am extremely skeptical that you can get away with running an older version of that software that was still compatible with 10 and not have it automatically update to the current version that is only compatible with 11. At a certain point, the Windows 10 machine can’t run anything modern and can’t even use the Internet without being hit with malware.
Bending the knee and kissing the ring
Pretty self explanatory. They will piss and moan, but they will bend the knee. They will turn their perfectly fine machine into e-waste, spend more money to build a Windows 11-compatible machine, and install that AI-infested trash malware known as Windows 11. Most will not learn a single thing from this experience, and when Windows 12 gets released with bullshit that makes Windows 11 look like Windows 2000, most will piss and moan some more before bending the knee and kissing the ring once again.
They actually did extend XP service life BECAUSE everyone held on for so long. It was one of the only OS versions to go beyond initial EOL timelines. They have already made it pretty easy to extend a year of updates on 10.
Yeah, and people still had to dump XP in the end because no software vendor supports an old version of their software forever. Microsoft isn’t going to have a change of heart and un-fuck up Windows 11.
I’m still mad XP died. It was the last good Windows there was.
it was quite the XPerience
Okay, that’s a good dad joke.