Your Windows 10 PC will soon be ‘junk’ - users told to resist Microsoft deadline::If you’re still using Windows 10 and don’t want to upgrade to Windows 11 any time soon you might want to sign a new online petition
These people… “please, let me continue being a Microsoft slave!”.
Free yourselves and install Linux.
What do you mean bro? Linux runs a shit ton of games and some even better than windows.
It depends on the type of games you play. If you’re more like me and you enjoy playing single-player games, then yeah you’re all set. If all you play is Valorant and Fortnite and PUBG and League of Legends, you’re much more likely to have a hard time. Anticheats are a special kind of evil.
The only modern games I’ve ever had issues with were a few select DX12 games (and that’s due to my GPU). Outside of that, some old games outside of Steam game me trouble, but that’s usually just a matter of fiddling with some settings in Lutris. Even then, those are usually games that also have trouble on modern Windows versions, and they often require less tweaking on Linux to get them running.
My fiancée’s games all run much better on Debian (with KDE) than on Windows.
I’m so sick of hearing this and I use Linux on a daily basis
Installing Linux for us nerds is just something we know how to do. Asking a computer “normie” (which is, basically everyone else) to change their operating system is just not happening.
I couldn’t imagine trying to step my mum through installing Linux if I stood next to her, and I wouldn’t class her as stupid.
I maintain that for Linux to obtain mass adoption it either needs to be preinstalled or make it no different to install than a regular Windows program (which is damn near impossible).
My 11 year old son does his homework and research on Linux Mint. After that, he sometimes plays some Minecraft or Valheim with his friends or does some drawings on his graphics tablet and listens to music or audio drama on Deezer. What else does your mom, that she cannot use Linux Mint?
My soon to be 4 year old is getting really good with the mouse and keyboard so we intend to set her up with her first computer for Christmas. I’ve got an old Lenovo Tiny with an i5-6500 and 8gb of RAM that I snagged from the junk pile at work that I’m going to setup with Mint or even just plain Ubuntu. I’m curious to see how long that PC lasts before we have to swap it out for something more powerful. Probably whenever she starts playing more demanding games that aren’t just running from PBSkids.org
Installing Linux has been painless for over a decade, its as easy as clicking next. You’re telling me Windows users can handle all the stupid bullshit Microsoft throws at them, but a couple different icons and a different name is really gonna stop them from understanding the basic desktop metaphor that has been in use since the 90s?
They weren’t talking about using linux, they meant installing it. They were referring to downloading a disk image, writing it to a flashdrive such that it’s bootable, making sure your bios is set to let you boot from removable media, pressing the right key for your device to select the boot media, picking the flash drive, and then navigating the installation interface.
There are definitely places where I see folks getting stuck in that process if they’re not a technical user and/or familiar with linux
I’d consider myself a nerd but still prefer Windows.
Some years ago I was in a Vocational college for IT and I had to deal with Ubuntu, Debian and Opensuse. I hated every second of it. I also had to deal with iMacs but that’s another story.
I’m a computer nerd. I do tech support for everyone in the family. I keep trying Linux intermittently and end up uninstalling it and find I can’t use it as a daily driver. Although the day I will be able to use it is getting closer. The Steam Deck is helping with this. Also Chat GPT is great for finding solutions for things that either require trawling though tons of online forums or getting shamed for asking.
I disagree with this because for 20 years both the Ubuntu and Debian GUI installer ran like a practical joke from hell. Even Linus himself said he couldn’t get it to work. Only Debian really improved while Ubuntu continues to somehow explode every time I try it
Every other distro besides hardcore ones like Gentoo and Arch have pretty basic installers that greatly outshine the crappy windows 8/10/11 setup screen.
Fedora has an auto installer tool so all you really need is a USB and not some magic funky thing called rufus.
There’s even entire DE setups dedicated to looking and functioning exactly like windows to the point that the average person wouldn’t even recognize nor care to know the difference.
Yes actually getting someone to replace an OS is hard no matter how easy you make it because it involves doing something unknown or new. But by the same token, we used to run DOS and install windows from floppy disks like it was no big deal back before windows owned the desktop market. Talk to anyone who was a college student in the 90s and they’ll probably recognize the word UNIX, even in unrelated non CS fields.
I switched from Win 10 to Ubuntu this year. The Ubuntu installer was easy as hell. I’d argue easier than windows.
It got tricky when I needed the non-latest CUDA drivers for pytorch fun, but most folks won’t be doing development.
Also, most folks don’t install windows. They’ll give it to their nerd nephew or their local Compu-Hut.
My biggest gripe is Snaps can make for confusing permission bullshit when saving files or using the clipboard, but this isnt a debate about snaps… the installer is great
Most people don’t install windows or ask a family member or friend to do it for them, they buy a device that has windows already on it. The number of people who put windows on a device themselves is a miniscule fraction of windows users
The installation has always been easy enough for me, but what I struggle with is updating drivers and installing new software. Granted, I’m not the brightest bulb in the box, so there’s that. I did really like the insane variety of distros and all the needs they cater to. Like if there’s something specific you need your OS to specialize in, there’s probably a Linux distro for it.
Just follow the handy dandy Microsoft guide to installing Linux https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/linux/install
But seriously. Yes, it’s true that installing a new OS is a level of effort the average person is unlikely to want to put in. But they’re going to have to start because I believe the situation this Windows monopoly is causing is far worse than it appears on the surface.
It’s estimated that around half of PCs in the world won’t be able to run Windows 11 https://www.computerworld.com/article/3657628/more-than-half-of-pcs-cant-upgrade-to-windows-11-report.html
Sure, a good chunk of those machines probably can’t even run Windows 10. They’ll still be on earlier versions of Windows, even going back as far as XP in some cases.
Because of the “latest Windows” benchmark PCs depreciate only slightly slower than bananas. Part of the reason I got into Linux as a young and poor nerd was because it could run on much older and significantly cheaper hardware. But most people and organisations aren’t going to bother trying to resell their computers for the measly sum they’d get when they bite the bullet and upgrade, adding millions of still perfectly usable machines to the ever building toxic soup of e-waste and using more resources than necessary when creating new Windows compatible devices.
On top of that those who are unable or unwilling to upgrade end up with an OS full of more holes than swiss cheese that diminishes cyber security for everyone.
At this point, not switching to Linux (which is really the only viable Windows alternative) and getting the longest lifespan possible out of your hardware in a safe way is frankly irresponsible.
Linux (which is really the only viable Windows alternative)
It’s just wild to me how BSD has basically entirely fallen off the map. Back when I first was farting around with Linux the server marketshare was pretty evenly distributed between Linux, BSD and Windows Server, then it was half Linux, and now Linux simply dominates the server space
I think this is ultimately Microsoft being irresponsible, because most people will either stick with the then insecure Windows 10, or just buy a new device that can take Windows 11. Most would rather do either of those than install Linux, if they even know about Linux at all.
It’s actually not a big lift for “normies”, and I’m considering switching my parents to Linux after Win10 support ends. They don’t really know how to use Windows, so I just have to pre-install a Linux that looks similar (probably Mint) and then put Firefox, Libre Office and VLC shortcuts in the same place they expect. As long as Firefox still can get them to youtube and facebook, it doesn’t really matter what the rest of the OS can do. I’ll have to find an alternative remote support solution though.
Or just try linux. It’s pretty great
I work in a linux shop.
You couldn’t pay me to use Windows for development, sysadmin, backend services, etc.
But on the desktop? Hell no. We maintain a modern debian desktop environment for our users, and it’s a pain in the ass. Mediocre UX, mediocre integration of mixed-bag third-party apps, and too many workarounds and gotchas you need to Just Know About. I just don’t have the energy.
I use windows at home, and for my underlying work environment - and I just SSH into linux boxes for the actual tappy-tappy stuff.
If only there was an OS with an excellent graphical user interface and a direct UNIX pedigree, where you can drop into a full zsh and POSIX user land directly after install at the touch of a button.
If there’s one thing that both windows and Linux users agree on, it’s how weird and annoying macs are.
So… today?
I’m a Linux user. Been one for a long time.
When I’m doing dev-work, shelling into remote VMs and stuff yeah I have to get nitty-gritty with the command-line.
But on my regular daily-driver OS? I only use the terminal because I want to; or sometimes I think it’s more efficient. But I haven’t absolutely needed to for a long time now.
Linux GUI has really come a long way. It’s not at MacOS level (yet), but it’s very functional and aesthetic. Give it a try.
Hundreds of commands is just not true with many distros. Everything is gui based these days. The command line is worth getting familiar with, but it’s not necessary.
If you haven’t checked out linux in 5+ years, I recommend that you check out something user-friendly like Mint. No commands needed!
I love Linux. I have it installed on 3 machines, have been using it for over 3 years, and would install it right away if I ever got a new computer.
A couple weeks ago, I was feeling pretty exhausted and just wanted to play a game thru Proton on my laptop. I got it running, but it was unplayable because it was using my integrated GPU instead of my discrete one. I spent the night switching compositors, cables, and drivers, but none of it fixed the issue.
The next day, feeling exhausted from fruitless debugging, I tried to launch another game via Proton that I knew had worked in the past, but it crashed on launch. I spent the whole day going thru the same steps I did the day before, but also consulting ProtonDB and trying software that would force usage of the dgpu.
The next day, I installed Windows 10 to an external hard drive and spent the day debloating it. Drivers got installed automatically, I downloaded both games on Steam, and they just worked. So I guess I now dual-boot Windows just for the games that don’t work thru Proton. Loading game worlds and booting up take ~75% longer, but that’s to be expected because it’s running on a 4 year old HDD connected over a USB cable.
As mentioned earlier, I love Linux a lot, and if all games had native binaries or Proton worked 100% I’d format that god-forsaken hard drive. But when real life has got me down, I don’t need Linux to get me down further. I don’t like Windows, and I feel incredibly dirty whenever I press F7 on boot to get to Windows. But when my choices are “spend 8 hours on fruitless quest to get >2fps” and “press play button”, I’m going to take the path of least resistance.
iGPU+dGPU, esp with Nvidia is pretty bad on Linux. It’s pretty flawless these days if you’re using only one vendor and it isn’t Nvidia.
Don’t know what you are talking about. I use an Nvidia GPU with a Wayland compositor/Window manager (Hyprland to be exact) and I’ve never experienced any issues whatsoever.
The first game mentioned was Bille Bust Up. I liked the demo that was off of Steam (and it ran fine using the proton-call command), so I subscribed to the developer’s Patreon (which gives a Steam key) and it wouldn’t use my dgpu.
The second game was A Hat in Time.
Wait windows 10 was not junk before? Since when?
I think you’re probably in the minority on this one. It was generally accepted that Win10 was pretty good.
I still had plenty of frustrations with it. I ended up switching to Linux finally last year when it became clear Microsoft was going to force my pc to update to 11.
It was regarded as good in the beginning, at least in comparison to Windows 8. In the beginning it ran leaner than Win7
Then update after update it got more and more bloated and unstable, more crammed with ads, etc. Windows 10 aged very poorly imo.
A bit clickbait’y. Windows 10 will still work just fine for another decade at least, even without support.
In the Enterprise we ran 10+ year old PC’s with XP still on them because the CNC program only runs on XP. No issues but of course you wouldn’t use the internet on that machine.
Does having support really make a massive difference, especially if you’re running AV anyway? A good AV suite will still be updated for years to come.
The government sector like hospitals etc will pay for extended support so not to worry.
It’s only Enterprise that might have an issue because they want patched systems but may not be able to afford Win 10 Enterprise. Especially small to medium business.
As for the home user, it’s not a massive issue.
Personally I don’t care because I run Linux exclusively. I only gave win 10 running in a VM for printing. Canon said on the box that the printer supports Linux, then after I bought it, officially stopped all Linux support on their site. The original Ubuntu driver only support black and white. So I’m forced to use Windows in a VM for printing. But it’s not connected to the net so it will fulfill this role forever.
If you’re a regular home user and don’t use any special proprietary software like Photoshop, I highly recommend you try Linux Mint. It will also breathe new life into your machine
Not having security patches on a system you do things like go to your banking website on is actually a pretty big deal, and I don’t think it should be dismissed lightly. Also AV is mostly snake oil, and is in no way an adequate substitute for a properly patched OS.
It’s not as big a deal as you think because most banking hacks are done via browser vulnerabilities rather than OS vulnerabilities. The exception being if you’ve somehow managed to install a keylogger, in which case the issue is the user and a decent AV should detect and block the keylogger.
As long as you use a browser that gets the latest updates (Firefox, Vivaldi, Chrome), run a decent AV, and don’t install dodgy software you downloaded from some dodgy site, you should be ok.
AV is definitely not snake oil. I worked in Enterprise IT and a robust AV alongside other security measures is a must and does catch alot. More than the built in Windows security catches. Plus the AV normally incorporates a virus/malware removal tool which tends to be better than Windows built in tool.
Would you advise your enterprise clients that running Windows unpatched is ‘not a big deal as long as you have patched web browsers and AV’? Of course not. Because that’s dangerous advice and could even open you up to legal liability.
So why would you advise otherwise to home users, who are often more vulnerable in the first place?
Hi, someone that worked on banking stuff in the past.
You are not safe, nothing is even half as secure as it should be and you are most likely just using a web based front end puppeteering a much much older system. The browser you are on is normally the second weak point after your own dumb self and I have not even heard of one case (not saying there are none) of a OS related vulnerability with online personal banking.
I’m with you there. It’s all layer upon layer of vulnerability and false security, and then at the bottom of all of it lurks the Ken Thompson hack.
Still bad advice to tell people it’s okay to use an explicitly vulnerable OS, I think.
Last winter I ripped my DVD collection to my NAS. Problem: Neither my current daily driver laptop or desktop have optical drives. So I hauled out my father’s OLD Dell XPS. This thing has a Core i7 with three digits in the part number, I think it was built in 2008 or so. Felt like absolute sluggish crap running Windows 10. It feels perfectly modern running Linux Mint. And I have the old box a pretty hot supper ripping and transcoding all those DVDs all winter, but it did it.
Computers don’t slow down, Windows does.
I’m running windows 10 on a first Gen i7-930. I’ve upgraded my ram and video card over the years but still on a crappy hdd. Windows isnt lightning fast by any means. But it’s not unbearable. Perhaps my mind will blow when I finally upgrade.
My pc isn’t eligible for upgrade to eleven. Guess I’m sol then.
Have you tried installing CUPS ? And setting up your printer using the web UI ? Worked for me perfectly for every printer I threw at it.
I could not get CUPS working in a docker container for the life of me. So now I have a stupid little CUPS server.
It does work great, even though it feels like they finished dev in 2003 and never revisited it.
Why is that a “big worry”? Windows 10 was released in 2015. So 2025 would be over 10 years of support. That’s a more than valid amount of time to support an OS.
The big worry is that most computers running Win10 don’t meet the requirements to run 11. If they drop support for 10, then a huge number of computers that are functioning just fine suddenly start becoming increasingly less safe to use and the only fix is to throw them away.
Yeah, that’s true, but many people will wonder “Can I still be able to access the Microsoft from a Linux?”
Yup, i run a 9900k with a rx6900, perfectly fast computer, can’t upgrade to 11.
Are you sure about that? The minium CPU I thought was an 8th gen Intel or 2nd gen Ryzen.
And https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/design/minimum/supported/windows-11-22h2-supported-intel-processors has your CPU listed.
It’s the more recent computers that can’t run Windows 11. So that’s what 5 years of support?
Windows 10 came out in 2015 and eighth gen Intel and 2nd gen Ryzen came out in 2018. So it would be 7 years of support unless you bought an older computer then.
It’s not when compatible chips started selling, it’s when you could still buy non compatible chips and computers. If I could go to Best Buy last year and buy a new computer that’s not compatible with Windows 11, then that’s 1+ 2 more years for a total of 3 years support.
So the question is: when could you still buy a computer that wasn’t compatible. That’s the support length for many people.
