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Microsoft is edging closer and closer to dropping support for Windows 10(even a computer I built in 2017 that's still running perfectly fine can't upgrade). But
by r2_pilot 3y ago
Microsoft is edging closer and closer to dropping support for Windows 10(even a computer I built in 2017 that's still running perfectly fine can't upgrade). But for many users, changing to another OS besides Windows is tantamount to not functioning, so planned obsolescence continues apace.
- babypuncher 3y agoThat's not happening until 2025, GP said "this year".
- Workaccount2 3y agoI wish there was a linux distro made by people who love windows, not linux.
- spsesk117 3y agoI've always felt that $BIG_BRAND_DISTRO+KDE got pretty close. It's still Linux, so not quite the same, but as far as look and feel, it's pretty close I think.
- ilyt 3y agoI remember some videos where people pretended some KDE theme is how new windows version looks and people had no problems believing it.
- somat 3y agoThere is a aphorism. Bsd was made by people who love unix, linux was made by people who hate windows.
- Aleklart 3y agoI think they hate unix, not windows, because they dragged all legacy nonsense unix had for hardware reasons straight into modern times so everyone can laugh on it.
- asynchronous 3y agoIf I may suggest, ZorinOS is about as close to windows on Linux as it gets. Found it through a HN comment myself.
- PrimeMcFly 3y agoThere have been several, but what makes Windows Windows is the ecosystem, and no distro can replicate that.
- galangalalgol 3y agoWhat is that ecosystem now? What do households with windows use that isn't on the cloud?
- PrimeMcFly 3y agoA lot of stuff is moving to web/cloud stuff, but we are not there entirely. As one example, I had to take a proctored exam recently, and the only supported OS was Windows or MacOS. Linux was not an option. Then there is games, Proton is great but plenty of AAA titles are still not compatible. Just for starters.
- galangalalgol 3y agoGames for sure, the exam software is disappointing.
- officeplant 3y agoThe problem with the cloud is how often I've run into blanket linux/bsd support bans. Especially when it comes to professional certifications done online. I had one website refusing to work on my FreeBSD or Debian installs. It would just get to a certain point and not let me proceed and multiple buttons refusing to work properly. Got on the phone with support and they were dumbfounded. Got the idea to just spoof my user agent as a windows box on edge and it worked perfectly afterwards. Even if not done on purpose there is a lot of crufty shit online that breaks in unsuspecting ways when I'm on a linux/BSD box. Especially if interfacing with the government websites and webapps. Our state fire code website looks straight out of 2002 and has multiple warnings about making sure to use IE6... in 2023. Maybe its just my use case (fire industry / local government), but it helps to have a mac or windows machine lying around as backup.
- red-iron-pine 3y agoUse any Unbutu distribution with MATE or Cinnamon. Like shit dawg, I got my grandma using Linux Mint with MATE. Changed the background to match the same one on her old laptop and added some desktop icons, and boom 99% of her experience was the same. Had to help her a little with the LibreOffice -- that's a little different -- but otherwise functionally similar to Windows 7 / Win10. I'm using linux as a daily driver and at this point there isn't anything I can't do on Windows. The hold out for a while was games, but Proton w/ Steam works well and I can play big titles like Cyberpunk 2077.
- xxpor 3y agoThis is what I ran in 2002 or so: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linspire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linspire
- MisterTea 3y agoSounds like the last time you used Linux was 20 years ago. Linux been as easy as Windows to install and use for at least 10 years now. My mothers laptop runs Linux Mint and she doesn't know its not Windows even though the colors are all wrong. Why? It's all about the DE - if it looks like windows, walks like windows and quacks like windows, its windows. If she can click on the menu and find the internet then it's a win. Installation was was as easy as windows and everything worked out of the box. Hell, I installed the Chicago95 XFCE theme on my main system to see how well it emulated the look and feel of Windows 95 and wound up liking it. Why? Because even though it looks dated, the icons were immediately familiar and I felt navigation instantly become easier. Do not underestimate the power of familiarity. Many of us grew up on DOS/Windows playing games and typing school work up in Word so moving away from those familiar waters is HARD. It's like being an immigrant moving to a new country - you have to put in extra effort to learn to adjust to culture and language. Some can, some cant. YMMV.
- doubled112 3y agoI did find it odd that my Ryzen 7 1700X (8 cores, 16 threads, 3.4GHz) was suddenly "not good enough" to run the OS.
- bo1024 3y agoReally crystallizes how what matters is "good enough" for Microsoft's goals, not the user's.
- tester756 3y agoIsn't this about Spectre/Meltdown vulns instead of the perf. specs?
- CircleSpokes 3y agoIIRC it has more to do with that series of chip not having GMET (AMD Guest-Mode Execute Trap for NPT) which is used in Windows 10/11s virtualization based protection. Microsoft requires this option for all new PCs from their partners but you can install windows 11 and run it fine without this CPU feature (there is a performance hit if you leave virtualization based protection on though since it has to be done in software).
- jeroenhd 3y agoIt'll work fine, Microsoft even explains how to upgrade: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/installing-windows-11-on-devices-that-don-t-meet-minimum-system-requirements-0b2dc4a2-5933-4ad4-9c09-ef0a331518f1 https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/installing-windo... They chose an arbitrary cut-off date for hardware support for their new OS. They decided not to support old stuff anymore and they had to pick a date/technology platform. It was always going to be arbitrary. In my opinion they should've picked a clearer distinction (i.e. require a certain level of AVX support so all binaries can be built with AVX optimizations enabled) but I can see why they chose to do this. After all, they're going to have to support the OS for ten years, that four year old CPU is fourteen years old by the time Windows 11 goes out of support.
- 3y ago
- reisse 3y agoDropping support, so what? That does not make these PCs obsolescent in any way. People still use Windows 7, and even Windows XP. Especially in the many contexts where "security" is not important at all.
- nly 3y agoYou can install W11 without a TPM with a workaround. Microsoft should be forced to allow it by default.
- criley2 3y agoMicrosoft said they were ending support in 2025, which is what 8 year life for the OS? I don't even think Apple hits 8 for OSX updates. They obsolete the laptops more quickly than that, even if they do hit 6-7 years regularly.
- daveoc64 3y agoWindows 10 was released in 2015, so they will have offered 10 years of support, which was the standard policy in place ever since Windows Vista (Windows Vista, 7, 8/8.1, 10). Apple does not support any macOS version for that long, and is unlikely to support a current version of macOS on any given device for that long.
- Aleklart 3y agoYou say “support” like the moment they stop it, OS cease to work. OSX Leopard is usable for most of tasks. Lot of people still running Windows 7 and Windows XP without any need for “support”. Windows 10 will be even better without constant “support” reboots. Can’t say this for Windows 11, as it so tightly stuffed with spyware and online integrations, it might just not boot if MS plug some server switch.
- daveoc64 3y agoI would not want to run an unsupported OS of any variety. Modern web browsers will stop working on older operating systems - so will other apps. Not only is it a massive security risk, but it will simply become impractical for most users. Besides, if you're afraid of the TPM vulnerability described in this article, you ought to be more worried about running an out of date OS!
- BlueTemplar 3y agoWindows 7 is only starting to get obsoleted now : while Microsoft is still updating it with critical security fixes, Qt and Chromium dropping it is pretty much the end for non-legacy usage. (Good bye Windows I guess...)
- ekianjo 3y agoDon't reward them for that. The only solution is to move to another OS, that's the only thing they will ultimately understand - no matter how inconvenient it might be.
- gambiting 3y agoThat's not an option if you use your machine for work and your Dev tools only work on windows. PS5/Xbox toolchains only work on windows, as a gamedev I don't really have a choice.