6 ms·

I wonder what route existing Windows power users should take after Windows 10 support ends next year.. I don't care about these features at all, I just need a W

I wonder what route existing Windows power users should take after Windows 10 support ends next year.. I don't care about these features at all, I just need a Windows OS, bare, where I can install the tools I need, not what Microsoft thinks I need, and so it also serves as a decent, performant gaming PC. I know for the first point Linux is my obvious choice, which is totally fine, but gaming support on Linux never likely will be on par with Windows... though now that they are ruining even that with Windows 11 and likely 12, I have no idea what to do.

5e92cb50239222b 2y ago
LTSC IoT will get you to 2032, and something is likely to change by that date. Of course, if you absolutely insist on using a "genuine" license (even though we're taking about a company that has zero respect for its users — eye for an eye IMHO is a suitable option), there is no choice but listen to the overlord.
Zardoz84 2y ago
> I know for the first point Linux is my obvious choice, which is totally fine, but gaming support on Linux never likely will be on par with Windows... though now that they are ruining even that with Windows 11 and likely 12, I have no idea what to do. I keep using the last 4 or 5 years using Linux as my gaming OS (and everything). this includes AAA games, and I don't had issues. Plus, I can update my whole system at same time that I'm playing Stellaris without any issue.
Am4TIfIsER0ppos 2y ago
Keep using it. There isn't a kill switch that microsoft is going to throw on that date. Probably.
abrookewood 2y ago
The only thing that kept me on Windows on my personal machine was gaming and the Steam Deck has pretty much solved that. I've been running Kubuntu for ~10 months and can't think of anything I really miss. That's not to say that there aren't issues (I rushed the Nvidia drivers and that resulted in a blank screen), but I'm definitely less annoyed - no more constantly trying to get rid of OneDrive only for it to re-appear, no more removing apps that I never asked for etc
jprete 2y ago
I have exactly the same question. I'm most likely to switch to Linux; I've heard that game support is a lot better than it used to be, and Valve has given developers an extra incentive to be compatible with Linux because of the Steam Deck. I've heard that MS will offer paid security patches for three years, albeit with the cost doubling each year, so something like $70/$140/$280. I personally wouldn't want to do that for more than a year.
- forbiddenlake 2y ago
  I switched to full time gaming on Linux (Arch) about six months ago. It is very good, and improving, though it will still often require tinkering (ProtonDB is very good for user reports). And certain games, like those with "kernel anti-cheat", probably won't work at all, indefinitely. I can say that if you stick to Steam Deck Verified games, you will have very few problems; and if you enable compatibility (Proton) for non-Verified games, then almost every game will work, possibly with some tinkering. I'm less familiar with non-Steam games, though I know Proton is not intended to be used outside of Steam. I guess that gaming outside of Steam would require more tinkering.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
brudgers 2y ago
I wonder what route existing Windows power users should take after Windows 10 support ends next year. I no longer think of myself as a power user and that seems to make my life easier and more productive. I think about it like cars on the road. Getting from A to B is the point. Sure sometimes the complexity of an alternate route is more efficient but oftentimes sitting in the slow down is the fastest way. That's different from making a hobby of driving backroads. There's nothing wrong with making computers a hobby "also." It's also ok to choose other hobbies and just treat computers as tools. As cattle not pets. Have a cow that doesn't connect to the itnernet. Have a cow that runs Linus. Have one that doesn't pretend it can outgun Microsoft. You'll have more surfaces to put stickers on for aesthetics. If I gamed, I'd buy a console. But that's me. YMMV.
- flohofwoe 2y ago
  > I think about it like cars on the road. Getting from A to B is the point. That's also a reasonable requirement for power users, I don't even consider myself a Windows power user since I mostly live in the terminal, browser and IDE - and play games of course, but gamers are hardly 'power users' either). But Windows has been on a long downward spiral both for 'regular' and 'power' users (unless one counts stupid ideas like displaying ads in a desktop OS as a useful feature).
  - brudgers 2y ago
    Windows has been my primary OS since 3.1 except for six or eight years when I drove Linux everyday. I went back to Windows when I stopped believing myself a snowflake. Sure there's a bunch of bullshit in Windows. But I see ads on my desktop when I browse the internet anyway. I'll live.
- lostmsu 2y ago
  I don't really play any games that would not need mouse. Strategies, MOBAs, and and FPS are shit without one. So a console is useless to me.
daveoc64 2y ago
I was really concerned about the direction Windows 11 was going in, but after trying it out, there's really not much I don't like. I don't even have to use any of the third-party tools that remove OS functionality - just changing easily accessible settings and Group Policy is enough to get it working how I want it. Windows 10 feels dated in comparison now.
glimshe 2y ago
I really don't understand the Windows 11 hysteria. As a long time Windows user, I did wait for Windows 11 to support the old taskbar style before upgrading, but now that it does... It's basically Windows 10 with a few new useful bells and whistles and a bunch of things that I don't care about but are trivially turned off. I'm yet to see the huge problems people talk about after using it daily for months - for me, at least, it's just a faster Windows 10 with a very slightly different look and feel.
- whywhywhywhy 2y ago
  The panic of not changing things windows users freak out about is why windows only got a filter-able task manager last year, why command prompt was garbage for decades and so on. The problem is now they’re finally changing some things that objectively sucked the ad people in the company are also along for the ride. But they always had the power to change things, now things that sucked are finally getting fixed. Praying explorer gets a rewrite cos it’s slow jacked garbage
  - Zardoz84 2y ago
    The last time that I chekeded Windows 11 was far worse that Windows 10 or 8. They are breaking the things for worse, not for better.
  - delfinom 2y ago
    Personally I wonder if the loudest individuals are just on the spectrum and terrified of change. We still get abuse here and there at our OSS project because we don't support Windows XP, let alone 7.
- anamax 2y ago
  Windows 11 won't run on my current desktop. Also, Windows 10 is the last Windows OS that supports many "not subscription" services. (Desktop Quicken 2016/2017 does everything I need, so why should I pay for a subscription?)
  - delfinom 2y ago
jareklupinski 2y ago
when LTSC stops being supported, I'm just going to install Debian as my primary OS it was the News popping up uninvited in the Start Menu that ended Windows for me i was just about to get into a groove for a project, and a News article popped up with a headline that totally knocked all the wind out of my sails
CLiED 2y ago
I held the 'upgrade' from 7 to 10 for more than a decade, when I did I had to remove a lot of stuff to get back my baseline usability, so once more unto the breach when I get around doing that methinks.
- integricho 2y ago
  wow, that was brave, were you disconnected with that PC from the internet and so had no concerns, or just behind a good firewall and you browsed the internet sensibly?

5e92cb50239222b 2y ago

LTSC IoT will get you to 2032, and something is likely to change by that date. Of course, if you absolutely insist on using a "genuine" license (even though we're taking about a company that has zero respect for its users — eye for an eye IMHO is a suitable option), there is no choice but listen to the overlord.

Zardoz84 2y ago

> I know for the first point Linux is my obvious choice, which is totally fine, but gaming support on Linux never likely will be on par with Windows... though now that they are ruining even that with Windows 11 and likely 12, I have no idea what to do. I keep using the last 4 or 5 years using Linux as my gaming OS (and everything). this includes AAA games, and I don't had issues. Plus, I can update my whole system at same time that I'm playing Stellaris without any issue.

Am4TIfIsER0ppos 2y ago

Keep using it. There isn't a kill switch that microsoft is going to throw on that date. Probably.

abrookewood 2y ago

The only thing that kept me on Windows on my personal machine was gaming and the Steam Deck has pretty much solved that. I've been running Kubuntu for ~10 months and can't think of anything I really miss. That's not to say that there aren't issues (I rushed the Nvidia drivers and that resulted in a blank screen), but I'm definitely less annoyed - no more constantly trying to get rid of OneDrive only for it to re-appear, no more removing apps that I never asked for etc

jprete 2y ago

I have exactly the same question. I'm most likely to switch to Linux; I've heard that game support is a lot better than it used to be, and Valve has given developers an extra incentive to be compatible with Linux because of the Steam Deck. I've heard that MS will offer paid security patches for three years, albeit with the cost doubling each year, so something like $70/$140/$280. I personally wouldn't want to do that for more than a year.

forbiddenlake 2y ago
I switched to full time gaming on Linux (Arch) about six months ago. It is very good, and improving, though it will still often require tinkering (ProtonDB is very good for user reports). And certain games, like those with "kernel anti-cheat", probably won't work at all, indefinitely. I can say that if you stick to Steam Deck Verified games, you will have very few problems; and if you enable compatibility (Proton) for non-Verified games, then almost every game will work, possibly with some tinkering. I'm less familiar with non-Steam games, though I know Proton is not intended to be used outside of Steam. I guess that gaming outside of Steam would require more tinkering.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

brudgers 2y ago

I wonder what route existing Windows power users should take after Windows 10 support ends next year. I no longer think of myself as a power user and that seems to make my life easier and more productive. I think about it like cars on the road. Getting from A to B is the point. Sure sometimes the complexity of an alternate route is more efficient but oftentimes sitting in the slow down is the fastest way. That's different from making a hobby of driving backroads. There's nothing wrong with making computers a hobby "also." It's also ok to choose other hobbies and just treat computers as tools. As cattle not pets. Have a cow that doesn't connect to the itnernet. Have a cow that runs Linus. Have one that doesn't pretend it can outgun Microsoft. You'll have more surfaces to put stickers on for aesthetics. If I gamed, I'd buy a console. But that's me. YMMV.

flohofwoe 2y ago
> I think about it like cars on the road. Getting from A to B is the point. That's also a reasonable requirement for power users, I don't even consider myself a Windows power user since I mostly live in the terminal, browser and IDE - and play games of course, but gamers are hardly 'power users' either). But Windows has been on a long downward spiral both for 'regular' and 'power' users (unless one counts stupid ideas like displaying ads in a desktop OS as a useful feature).
- brudgers 2y ago
  Windows has been my primary OS since 3.1 except for six or eight years when I drove Linux everyday. I went back to Windows when I stopped believing myself a snowflake. Sure there's a bunch of bullshit in Windows. But I see ads on my desktop when I browse the internet anyway. I'll live.
lostmsu 2y ago
I don't really play any games that would not need mouse. Strategies, MOBAs, and and FPS are shit without one. So a console is useless to me.

daveoc64 2y ago

I was really concerned about the direction Windows 11 was going in, but after trying it out, there's really not much I don't like. I don't even have to use any of the third-party tools that remove OS functionality - just changing easily accessible settings and Group Policy is enough to get it working how I want it. Windows 10 feels dated in comparison now.

glimshe 2y ago

I really don't understand the Windows 11 hysteria. As a long time Windows user, I did wait for Windows 11 to support the old taskbar style before upgrading, but now that it does... It's basically Windows 10 with a few new useful bells and whistles and a bunch of things that I don't care about but are trivially turned off. I'm yet to see the huge problems people talk about after using it daily for months - for me, at least, it's just a faster Windows 10 with a very slightly different look and feel.

whywhywhywhy 2y ago
The panic of not changing things windows users freak out about is why windows only got a filter-able task manager last year, why command prompt was garbage for decades and so on. The problem is now they’re finally changing some things that objectively sucked the ad people in the company are also along for the ride. But they always had the power to change things, now things that sucked are finally getting fixed. Praying explorer gets a rewrite cos it’s slow jacked garbage
- Zardoz84 2y ago
  The last time that I chekeded Windows 11 was far worse that Windows 10 or 8. They are breaking the things for worse, not for better.
- delfinom 2y ago
  Personally I wonder if the loudest individuals are just on the spectrum and terrified of change. We still get abuse here and there at our OSS project because we don't support Windows XP, let alone 7.
anamax 2y ago
Windows 11 won't run on my current desktop. Also, Windows 10 is the last Windows OS that supports many "not subscription" services. (Desktop Quicken 2016/2017 does everything I need, so why should I pay for a subscription?)
- delfinom 2y ago

jareklupinski 2y ago

when LTSC stops being supported, I'm just going to install Debian as my primary OS it was the News popping up uninvited in the Start Menu that ended Windows for me i was just about to get into a groove for a project, and a News article popped up with a headline that totally knocked all the wind out of my sails

CLiED 2y ago

I held the 'upgrade' from 7 to 10 for more than a decade, when I did I had to remove a lot of stuff to get back my baseline usability, so once more unto the breach when I get around doing that methinks.

integricho 2y ago
wow, that was brave, were you disconnected with that PC from the internet and so had no concerns, or just behind a good firewall and you browsed the internet sensibly?