this post was submitted on 24 Jan 2024
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Gentle reminder to everyone that support for #windows10 ends in about 90 weeks. Many computers can't upgrade to Win 11 so here are your options:

  1. Continue on Win 10 but with higher security risks.
  2. Buy new and expensive hardware that supports Win11.
  3. Try a beginner friendly #Linux distro like #linuxmint. It only takes about two months to acclimate.

@nixCraft @linux @windowscentralbot

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[–] [email protected] 110 points 11 months ago (5 children)

I know people like to hate on windows here but come on: 90 weeks is another ~18 months. It's near the end of 2025.

While absolutely true, what you're saying, saying 90 weeks instead of any alternative (630 days!) Is just trying to make it sounds worse than it is to push an agenda.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

You're leaving out the context that the time limit should be way longer given how long previous versions of Windows have been supported. Ending Windows 10 support when they are is a deliberate effort to force adoption of Windows 11 and avoid the embarrassment of Windows 8's failure. They learned it's better to scare users into compliance than to actually attract them with well developed, feature rich software. The hardware requirements just make it more egregious.

Stop giving Microsoft the benefit of the doubt, they have demonstrated more than enough times they don't deserve it. This is them strong arming users into doing something they don't want to do, and it should be rightfully called out for what it is: shitty.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 11 months ago

the time limit should be way longer given how long previous versions of Windows have been supported.

What version would that be?

  • Windows XP: 2001-10-25 to 2014-04-08, ~12.5 years
  • Windows Vista: 2007-01-30 to 2017-04-11, ~10 years
  • Windows 7: 2009-10-22 to 2020-01-14, ~10 years
  • Windows 8/8.1: 2012-10-26 to 2023-01-10, ~10 years
  • Windows 10: 2015-07-29 to 2025-10-14, ~10 years

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Microsoft_Windows_versions

[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

the time limit should be way longer given how long previous versions of Windows have been supported.

The lifecycle of Win10 is actually pretty similar to that of the previous versions, which is about ~10 years. The only difference with Win10 is that it went without a successor for so long, that they've basically skipped one major release, leading to this relatively small timeframe between a new Windows and the EOL of the previous version.

I agree though. Given the circumstances they should've made an an exception and increased the lifespan for at least one or two years.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago (2 children)

90 weeks is more like 20 month and i could calculate that off of my head by knowing that a year has 52 weeks. I would have struggled more with days.

You could make this criticism about any date metric that it gets more or less easy to translate into a different metric.

Weeks are perfectly fine and most commonly used in the business context.

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[–] [email protected] 102 points 11 months ago (3 children)

How long until Steam drops support on W10?

That's the important event, lol

[–] [email protected] 22 points 11 months ago (4 children)

Probably around the time developers to start requiring W11. That TPM requirement is going to be abused to hell and back.

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[–] [email protected] 74 points 11 months ago (2 children)

I missed the "90 weeks" bit - you made it sound like it was coming soon, you cheeky scamp.

Windows 10 will reach end of support on October 14, 2025. The current version, 22H2, will be the final version of Windows 10, and all editions will remain in support with monthly security update releases through that date.

from Microsoft's lifecycle website

[–] [email protected] 20 points 11 months ago

Yeah who measures that timeframe in weeks, sheesh

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[–] [email protected] 54 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (3 children)

But...but...I was told W10 was the last OS I'd ever have to install!!

Edit: context

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[–] [email protected] 35 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (5 children)

I understand you want people to switch to Linux but

  1. 90 weeks is far away. It drops in October 2025
  2. You'll still get security updates for a few years
  3. After that there will be paid support which people will get around and find ways to install
  4. Windows 10 LTSC (best version of Windows IMO) still exists. The Enterprise LTSC version will have support till 2027 and the IoT version will have support till 2032. You can get them if you know how to look around
[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago

Plus, you can actually install Windows 11 on the same hardware as Windows 10 pretty easily. Microsoft just does not want you to.

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[–] [email protected] 33 points 11 months ago (3 children)

So just a minute ago I thought "Get fucked, HP" and now I'm thinking "Get fucked, Microsoft". What a day.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 11 months ago

These are both thoughts you should hold in perpetuity anyhow.

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[–] [email protected] 31 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I'm sorry, what?....Oh, all I heard was that my linux home server is going to be running on new hardware in about a year and a half when all these used computers go on sale. 😁

[–] [email protected] 20 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Except that realistically people will continue to run the same machines just without security updates.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago (1 children)

People will, but most businesses won't, so you can expect a wave of cheap server hardware and business notebooks.

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 11 months ago (4 children)

I don't get why people are removing support for Windows 10. Nobody likes Windows 11 and Windows 10 is the most popular operating system with no change of that in sight.

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[–] possiblylinux127 27 points 11 months ago (12 children)

Once Windows 10 loses support I'm moving to XP for security

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[–] [email protected] 27 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (4 children)

it's gonna be "funny": I won't create a personal account to login to crap 11 (because why should I, if you can't login to a desktop OS without a 3rd party account, that's not an OS, but a gatekeeper shit), which is mandatory. So, my work machine will become unusable, therefore in fact Microsoft put my work therefore my livelihood in danger..... [edit: typos]

[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago (4 children)

Just this week I installed W11 on a laptop (temporarily, I just wanted to see how it ran on this hardware), and despite being connected to the it asked me, by default, for a username for the local account. I don't know why, but it didn't ask for a MS account first.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago (6 children)

It's not mandatory to have an account to run win11. Press shift+f10 during the install to open a command prompt. Enter OOBE\BYPASSNRO into the prompt, system will reboot, disconnect the internet, when it prompts you for internet click "I don't have internet".

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[–] [email protected] 25 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Anyone that still wants a supported version of win 10, look into Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC (2021) - supported until 2032 and can be activated by MAS with HWID

[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago (1 children)

You said a lot of things I don't understand

[–] [email protected] 15 points 11 months ago (1 children)

It's a version of Windows 10 targeted at businesses that choose to run Windows on "Internet of Things" devices. It is a "Long Term Service Channel" release that receives primarily security updates (little to no features updates), because the devices that will use this need to be in service for a very long time. Enterprise Windows typically activates with a licensing server that's subscription based. But you can use the "Microsoft Activation Scripts" to activate it as if it were a retail copy you pick up the store.

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[–] [email protected] 24 points 11 months ago (6 children)

90 weeks? I guess I can have another baby, and then after a while make a decision on what to do with my W10 VM installation

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 11 months ago (8 children)

I’ve seen non-tech users in Linux many times. It doesn’t take them 2 months to acclimatise, at most 2 weeks but typically just 2 days. If there’s a blocker, there’s a blocker (like “my shitty bank requires some shitty software installed and they don’t support Linux”) but if there are no blockers it’s really quick. 95% of normal users just need a browser. The next 4% need LibreOffice. It’s only the last 1% that have some need that doesn’t sit in an office package or the browser.

We, the gamers, the geeks, the golems, WE have needs that may not be satisfied with Linux. But we are not normal users. So about 3% of us can be bothered to try and accept the missing software (and learn to love the new - God there are some apps I miss when in Windows), the remaining 97% either try and can’t accept the new habits required or don’t try.

But normal users?! Stick them in Mint Linux and show them where the browser is and they’ll be fine.

IMHO.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 11 months ago (2 children)

People can also get an extra 3 years of extended updates, at that point TPM 2.0 integration in consumer devices will be close to 10 years old...

It's also possible to install W11 without TPM 2.0 and from what I've seen, it works without any issues.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 11 months ago

Yep, when you make a Windows installer USB with Rufus it has the option to disable TPM requirement and the need for a Microsoft account.

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 11 months ago (6 children)

I'm a certified Microsoft hater, but man, 90 weeks? I get it, we want Gnu-Linux to be more streamlined, but his is certainly not the way. This is tech fearmongering.

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (3 children)

Seriously considering the switch. I already have basic familiarity because of work with raspi.

In the past, it's been support for adobe suite that has stopped me. My livelihood depends on it. Afaik theres still no native version. Can it run on wine? If so, is there a performance hit?

[–] [email protected] 11 points 11 months ago

Older versions of some Adobe software will run, but generally no.

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 11 months ago (4 children)

A thing I wish more Linux enthusiasts were more up front about: And prepare for PAPER CUTS! Because they're there. Most Linux folks ^1 probably do 5-6 things a day that new folks would find confusing or infuriating, just because they Get Used To It.

A perfect example: My Linux desktop is a System76 Thelio-r2 running Manjaro KDE latest, which I LOVE. Every time I boot it up, if I want to use my BT speakers or headphones ^2 I have to go into the BT settings panel, wonder why it says "Bluetooth Disabled - Enable Bluetooth", click the button, and move on with my day.

Turns out this is because of a kernel bug in the latest kernel versions with Intel bluetooth hardware. The driver times out at system boot, and thus the system is disabled by default. By the time you're fully booted, that time out never happens so if you just click Enable, you're good to go.

And these things are additive. They pile up and increase frustration for end users who aren't savvy enough to know which forums to search on or what search terms to pump into their search engines.

This does not mean you shouldn't try Linux. Please do! It can be a life changer and a serious power up! But be aware that the path will have many small roadblocks that need to be traversed, so just set your expectations accordingly, explore and have fun!

^1: I use Windows, Linux and Mac as need dictates. Let "tool to task" be the whole of the law :)

^2: Perfect example: Many Linux users wouldn't use Bluetooth speakers! They'd get wired ones or one of those RF thingies that has long time Linux driver support. But if you're new, you don't know that!

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Friendly tutorial for those looking to swap to an easy-to-use modern distro!

[–] [email protected] 11 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Option3: give and give hard to reactos and hope for a usable product by win10s death

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Today I watched a video about some information on Windows 12 hardware support. Video concluded with basically saying that if you own a laptop you will be forced to throw it away and buy another one. It's sad because it isn't true.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Here's hoping it floods the market with really cheap new and used "old" laptops

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