Windows 11

[Hook#3287]

So Windows tells me I need to upgrade to Windows 11.

My computer isn't compliant.

Support for Windows 10 ends in 10-2025, whatever that means.

I need to upgrade my computer and Windows has conveniently offered many retailer links which I'll ignore.

So my choices are.

1) Continue as presently set up and lose the support of Windows for "10", which might not be a bad idea.

2) Purchase a new desktop.

3) ????????

Any suggestions?

[98valk]

I'm still running Windows 7 Pro. no problems. Microsoft is still supporting their security essentials for it.

[carolinarider09]

Two things.

First, about 10 or so years ago, I switched my computers to Apple based products.  They are still pretty good and I don't have to put up with all the "oversight" from the Windows products.  Yes, an iMac or MacBook costs more.  But, as I said there is an advantage (at least to me) in the more user friendly operating system.

Second, I still have one IBM based laptop that runs Windows 7.  I kept it operational because, at the time, I had a program I wanted to keep using that ran only under Windows.  That program was Microsoft Streets and trips.  It is what I use to plan my motorcycle trips.

After I got the Mac's up and running I found a piece of software, VMware Fusion.  It allows me to run Windows 7 on my iMac and MacBook so I can still use Microsoft Streets and Trips 2013.  And yes that may seem a bit weird and yes the software (VMware) costs a few bucks, but it works. 

And yes there would be a learning curve for the Mac but......

Just my two cents. 

[Hook#3287]

Two things.

First, about 10 or so years ago, I switched my computers to Apple based products.  They are still pretty good and I don't have to put up with all the "oversight" from the Windows products.  Yes, an iMac or MacBook costs more.  But, as I said there is an advantage (at least to me) in the more user friendly operating system.

Second, I still have one IBM based laptop that runs Windows 7.  I kept it operational because, at the time, I had a program I wanted to keep using that ran only under Windows.  That program was Microsoft Streets and trips.  It is what I use to plan my motorcycle trips.

After I got the Mac's up and running I found a piece of software, VMware Fusion.  It allows me to run Windows 7 on my iMac and MacBook so I can still use Microsoft Streets and Trips 2013.  And yes that may seem a bit weird and yes the software (VMware) costs a few bucks, but it works. 

And yes there would be a learning curve for the Mac but......

Just my two cents. 

Jim, thanks for the response.  I'm turned off of Apple after they stopped supporting my I-pad that was relatively new and it's now just a expensive book reader I don't use.

What I don't understand is by Windows non support, wil I have difficulty accessing web sites.

I'm still running Windows 7 Pro. no problems. Microsoft is still supporting their security essentials for it.

My understanding is the main issue with continued use of Windows 10 is security?

No longer updated as new risks pop up.  Right?

[Serk]

If I were to lay out my full thoughts on Windows 11 this thread would quickly get moved to the PAM forum, or deleted entirely.

Support officially ends next year, but you can pay for an extra year of updates for around $30 as I recall...

And my full thoughts on Apple would also get this thread removed. Apple, the company, is pure evil. They make Google, Microsoft, Meta and others seem like good honorable companies they're so pure evil.

Also take into account what your uses for a computer really are. If all you do is use a web browser, if you do need to get a new computer at some point look into something like a Chromebook. It's basically an inexpensive laptop that's nothing but a Chrome browser and Chrome based apps; there's talk Google will be merging Android into Chrome books giving you access to the ecosystem of Android apps too...

But yeah, I recently purchased a new gaming laptop that came with W11. Against my better judgement I decided to not upgrade it to Windows 10 to give W11 an actual try, and my opinion on it hasn't changed. It's awful. After a few months I've almost beat it into submission but it's still just awful...

I personally think Microsoft will relent and extend support for Windows 10. Even now, the number of Windows 10 installations is still going up, and Windows 11 installations are going down. No one likes W11.....

As always, all just my opinion and worth what you paid for it. 

[Jess from VA]

I also run an outdated system (and it limits what I can do).

Regardless of any security issue, what I've read is that everyone hates Windows 11.  (I dunno)  (Serk beat me to it)

My new(er) laptop has 10, and I'm not crazy about it either.  (old guys  )

[Serk]

My understanding is the main issue with continued use of Windows 10 is security?

No longer updated as new risks pop up.  Right?

That is correct. As a test, someone recently put a Windows XP computer directly on the Internet (No firewall, no NAT).

It took 10 minutes for it to be pwn3d... (Taken over by nefarious types.)

https://www.extremetech.com/internet/it-now-takes-just-10-minutes-for-trojans-to-infect-windows-xp

[scooperhsd]

My experiance (and yes - I was an IT type while I was still working) is that Win11 is not that much different from Win10. AT THIS TIME - MS is saying you need faster, more capable hardware to run it on, but I've also seen YouTube videos on how to make your non compliant hardware run Win11 (not for the faint of heart). I'm currently using Win11 on MY laptop . Garmin's update software runs on Mac and Windows (only), which is one reason I'm still running Win11.

Another option (not for the faint of heart) is to switch to Linux. There are some distributions out there that work about as well as Windows, and if all you need is a browser ... Ubuntu is using Firefox - I keep another laptop around running it.

CHromebooks - except for the fact that they expire your whole machine (and they are pretty underpowered for any real OS) - they could be an option for many. They are mostly browser based (Google Chrome). I'd personally run the Ubuntu option, as Chrome is mostly running a Linux kernal underneath. If you keep computers running 10 years or more (like me) - you will not like this "feature" on Chromebooks).

I'd like to see MS keep Win10 going - it has a large (and apparently growing still) userbase. My wife is running an older laptop that is running Win10 (and it is HW incompatible with Win 11). I've been trying to push her into something else.

[Jess from VA]

This stuff is completely GREEK to me.  (I bet I'm not alone)

I know about 30 words in Greek. 

[Serk]

One of the big requirements for W11 over W10 that MS won't budge on is the computer MUST have a TPM 2.0 compliant chip in it.

They've also eliminated the ability to use BIOS to boot, you must use UEFI (Which ties into TPM (Trusted Compute Platform).

(The last few years as I've been upgrading friends and relatives new computers from W11 to W10, I've made sure to switch the computer to BIOS boot to make sure W11 didn't sneak in via Windows Update, as it likes to try to do otherwise.)

I KINDA get where they're coming from, this makes boot related/BIOS related attacks far more difficult, but it also kinda locks things in too, leaves a bad taste in my mouth...

[Chrisj CMA]

I have a Dell CPU that I use once every couple months. I’m pretty sure it’s W-10. Really all I need it for is to scan and print. Printing from my phone never seems to work. If Microsoft makes my computer stop working. I’ll use Staples for scanning and printing and let the CPU go. I’m tired of mandatory upgrades. I’m at the age I can’t be bothered. I hate buying new stuff just because there’s new stuff.

[Oss]

anyone else have an old computer running word for dos?

it does have a joystick port (to play chuck yeagers air combat)

[cookiedough]

not looking forward to going back into office come Jan 2025.  IT dept. is going to be updating my company PC laptop from windows 10 to windows 11 and will suck for sure, but is required to keep up with microsoft updates at work unfortunately. 

[Hook#3287]

not looking forward to going back into office come Jan 2025.  IT dept. is going to be updating my company PC laptop from windows 10 to windows 11 and will suck for sure, but is required to keep up with microsoft updates at work unfortunately. 

Yeah, I believe I will have to get on board with Windows 11 because the offices I run will probably have to update.

But my home computer, I'll kick and scream before updating.

This is all a bunch of crap I don't want to deal with.

Serk, I believe you're right about Apple. When my iPad stopped being what I paid for, I thought maybe Steve Jobs must have read the Ralph Nader book, Planned Obsolescence and used it as a business model.

I appreciate your replies , as your way more into it than me, but I don't see myself committing to anything google.  I'm almost exclusively useing duck duck go for browsing, but still use the google maps.

I also use google for YouTube,  but copy& go the vids to DDG to view w/o ads.

Any I watch I give a "like", but some tubers restrict DDG views, so I don't watch them and I certainly don't "like" them

I hate ads.

Also, recently either Windows or google did an unauthorized update on my system and I now have weather, news , and other crap boxes on my desktop screen.  Probably Windows.

Got to figure out how to shut the down.

Guess I'll wait it out and see what happens with Windows.

[scooperhsd]

I watch Youtube with Firefox, and I have a pretty effective AdBlocker, and I usually use DDG for a search engine. I don't see very many ads on youtube (except the ones embedded in the clips), and to date, none of my subscriptions have been canceled.

[carolinarider09]

I am a little slow (or old) but just now figured out what DDG was.

I have used DuckDuckGo for quite a while now.  While they (DDG) have had some recent changes, I'd be hard pressed to use another search engine.  Goggle will never get used by me intentionally.  But sometimes it seemly can't be helped. 

[98valk]

yep DDG for me. shut off internet explorer on my computer yrs ago. 

[F6Dave]

I still run a Windows 7 Pro PC to maintain software I wrote years ago. Some of the software authoring tools I used were developed for Win XP, and those can be very difficult to install on later versions (even Win 7) because XP had such weak security. I considered Microsoft's Extended Security Updates, but those double in price every year, and then get dropped after 3 years or so.

Then I found a European company called 0patch. They've been around for 8 years and provide security patches for Win 7 as well as Office 2010 and 2013, and versions of Win 10 and 11 that Microsoft no longer supports. Their patches don't replace any files; instead they're applied to memory instantly when needed. This has an added benefit: no reboot is necessary when new patches are added to your PC.

0patch has a free version that protects against a few threats, but the Pro version covers just about everything, even unsupported versions of Edge. They just raised the price to about 25 Euros, or a little over $25. It was about 23 Euros when I started using it 5 years ago.