My Windows 10 updates had been failing for the past 6 months. When shutting down my PC I'd get the notification to "update and shut down", but the update would routinely fail. I thought the outstanding updates were the reason I wasn't given an option to update in place to Windows 11, but that was actually because my i7 7700k isn't officially supported. I ended up needing to create a Windows 11 iso that doesn't enforce hardware requirements with Rufus [0]. I was building a new gaming rig in tandem, so I reformatted the lone remaining SSD on the machine and left the new windows install unactivated as I plan to give it to a neighbor or family friend who can be tasked with buying a copy of windows. But this means I was left without any free Windows 10 -> 11 upgrade and had to buy a new license for the new rig. I didn't try to do anything other than browse the internet on the unsupported hardware, but things seem fine.
So far Windows 11 on the new rig has been very smooth/stable and I can't think of any issues I've had after 2 weeks of gaming and other typical use. But the amount of internet-driven widgets that ultimately are a medium for ads is frustrating.
The article doesn't say this explicitly, but I would guess the majority of the remaining Windows 10 population is not stubborn users that refuse to update, it's people who just can't because of the Windows 11 hardware requirements. I can't update my desktop without replacing the motherboard and CPU and I just don't want to to spend the time and money on that anytime soon. The computer works fine.
My desktop still dual boots windows 10 and ubuntu... 11 is acceptable compared to late 10, but it's a chore that will result in changes, and no benefits to me.
I might just go full linux, but 2-4 times a year this would make some friends sad when I can't play the crazy invasive anti-cheat games.
My Windows 10 gaming system is apparently compatible with Windows 11 but I don’t get an upgrade option in Windows Update.
And I’m sure as hell not going to pay for Windows 11 when Windows 10 works “fine” (about as well as Windows ever does, which isn’t exactly high praise).
Another option is to use the Microsoft Activation Scripts [1] to install Windows 10 LTSC. Good through 2032, it's what all my machines are running - including both the older models and the desktop that can't support the hardware requirements, and the newer (2019) workstation that would if I had any reason to want Windows 11. Gets rid of all the shovelware, ads, and other gunk that comes with a stock consumer Windows installation by default, and replaces it with a sleek, minimal OS that stays out of the way.
At work, I also have a number of industrial machines that have a Windows 10 PC attached, they're all running LTSC as well (sourced a little more legitimately through OnLogic). It's not likely that Microsoft is going to abandon all the kiosks and CNCs and digital signage with whom they have enterprise licensing agreements - at work, we have lawyers and contracts, and they all say we're covered through January 13, 2032.
Windows 7 is still the best version of Windows in terms of responding to keystrokes and being navigable using keyboard shortcuts. I don't know how they fumbled the design of both the logon screen and the start menu search box so hard in Win10/11 but apparently they forgot the concept of "buffering keystrokes".
I die a little inside every time I start to type my PIN on Win11, stop, wait for the lock screen to give way to the PIN screen, then type it again now that the keystrokes are going to the right place.
And I launch programs by hitting the windows key then typing eg. "putty" dozens of times a day. And mostly it's fine, and maybe 10% of the time it's like "what's that, boy? you wanna search the interweb for "putty" using bing on edge? YOU GOT IT!" No, friendo, I want to launch the same goddamn putty.exe that's in c:\bin\ and that I've run a bunch of times already in the past hour.
Linux has gotten pretty good lately. I wish it was better at running the game i want but other than that it's even better than macos in a lot of regards.
I can't upgrade due to hardware requirements. So I bit the bullet. New CPU and motherboard arriving tomorrow. Rest in peace to my i7-8600k, you were completely fine.
This will almost certainly go down as one of the worst mistakes in recent tech history. You can't tell 40+% of your commerical customer base "We could absolutely allow you to use your current computer with our new operating system! We just didn't want to. Sucks to be you, I guess." and not expect consequences for your public image and consumer confidence.
Removed windows 10 from my gaming machine for EndeavourOS, an arch based linux distro. Works wonderfully and runs all the games I care about with minimal tinkering. I am now 100% windows-free on all my computers. More concerning though, is my grandpa, who is 89 years old, calling me kind of scared after seeing a classic Microsoft threat like "Upgrade now or else". I don't know what to do. I could probably upgrade his computer to 11 but I really don't want him to have to relearn everything he knows about his computer. Maybe just ignore it for as long as we can?
Windows 11 has many GUI failures. In my work I have to do screenshots: the Windows+Shift+S combo takes a noticeable time to come up, and when taking screenshots it doesn’t always bring the image to the foreground. I have had to wait as long as five or more seconds when on Teams calls for it to come up.
Also depending upon some variable, there are two different slow image editors that can display the image when you click on it. They work differently also!
In contrast the W10 experience worked much faster and more predictably.
I put Windows 11 on my new dev PC to better support my customers. But I don't notice any worthwhile improvements over Windows 10. I really resent that I have to keep endlessly paying for Windows and Office despite that fact I don't see any real improvements. Also, every version of Windows is nosier than the last.
I'm forced to use Windows 11 on my company laptop and it's so bad that it's insulting. Thinking about the salaries of the people who sign off on this trash makes me physically ill.
I'm not against a fresh coat of paint but the replacement should be better outright without compromise.
"Jerry Nixon, a Microsoft development executive, said in a conference speech this week that Windows 10 would be the "last version" of the dominant desktop software.
His comments were echoed by Microsoft which said it would update Windows in future in an "ongoing manner".
Instead of new stand-alone versions, Windows 10 would be improved in regular instalments, the firm said.
[...]
In a statement, Microsoft said Mr Nixon's comments reflected a change in the way that it made its software.
"Windows will be delivered as a service bringing new innovations and updates in an ongoing manner," it said, adding that it expected there to be a "long future" for Windows.
'No Windows 11'
The company said it had yet to decide on what to call the operating system beyond Windows 10.
"There will be no Windows 11," warned Steve Kleynhans, a research vice-president at analyst firm Gartner who monitors Microsoft."
As someone who refuses to upgrade from Windows 10, it's because all the new and invasive features that 11 adds are things I refuse to go anywhere near. I don't need ads in my operating system, I don't need a system to track every action done on the computer, I don't need a slower user interface rewritten in the latest shiny framework and I certainly don't want any more Copilot integration.
Unfortunately, a lot of niche communities have decided to stick to developing for Windows machines no matter what (especially game development and modding ones), so using Linux isn't that practical about now.
As a PC enthusiast, I can't remember a time when PC upgrades were less necessary than nowadays.
For the average user and even semi-enthusiast, 5+yo hardware with Win10 works just fine. I just upgraded last year, but it was probably the longest stretch I've gone between new PC's and even then it was as much FOMO as it was necessity.
It went into that good night pretty gently for me. I was only using it for amateur radio use and the occasional gaming session on my old T570. I put Bazzite Linux on it and I'll be damned, the thing launched and retrieved, from Steam, a Skyrim save from back in my college days. Now, it's not the most beautiful rendering of the game ever, but it plays.
I've got a backup of my files of course, but this mismanagement of what Windows 10 was supposed to be (the last Windows) combined with all of the new AI stuff in Win11 just wasn't worth the new hardware spend for an OS I only use occasionally. Most of my use is MacOS.
Switched to Linux because of Windows 10 EOL as had no intentions of becoming a spam target for its ad/spyware ridden future.
Was the push I needed to give up on 25 years on Windows which turned out to be a blessing in disguise as Linux ended up being a much better and more productive OS for Developers than Windows, esp. if you do all your deployments to Docker/Linux servers.
The average person does not care enough about the operating system they use to buy a tpm 2.0 module, install it on the motherboard, and then risk their personal data by upgrading the OS just for a marginally improved windows experience.
Microsoft, you guys need to give actual incentives to upgrade, not punishments for not doing so.
34 comments
[ 4.4 ms ] story [ 58.7 ms ] threadSo far Windows 11 on the new rig has been very smooth/stable and I can't think of any issues I've had after 2 weeks of gaming and other typical use. But the amount of internet-driven widgets that ultimately are a medium for ads is frustrating.
[0] https://github.com/pbatard/rufus
But they still work and honestly, I don't see much downside to running them without any updates for a while.
Eventually I'll replace them and maybe they will get win 11 or 12. Or Linux as that's what everything else is already running.
I might just go full linux, but 2-4 times a year this would make some friends sad when I can't play the crazy invasive anti-cheat games.
https://www.reddit.com/r/missoula/comments/1nvfvwc/linux_tra... s/
And I’m sure as hell not going to pay for Windows 11 when Windows 10 works “fine” (about as well as Windows ever does, which isn’t exactly high praise).
At work, I also have a number of industrial machines that have a Windows 10 PC attached, they're all running LTSC as well (sourced a little more legitimately through OnLogic). It's not likely that Microsoft is going to abandon all the kiosks and CNCs and digital signage with whom they have enterprise licensing agreements - at work, we have lawyers and contracts, and they all say we're covered through January 13, 2032.
[1]: https://github.com/massgravel/
How to keep it going into that good night.
I die a little inside every time I start to type my PIN on Win11, stop, wait for the lock screen to give way to the PIN screen, then type it again now that the keystrokes are going to the right place.
And I launch programs by hitting the windows key then typing eg. "putty" dozens of times a day. And mostly it's fine, and maybe 10% of the time it's like "what's that, boy? you wanna search the interweb for "putty" using bing on edge? YOU GOT IT!" No, friendo, I want to launch the same goddamn putty.exe that's in c:\bin\ and that I've run a bunch of times already in the past hour.
Look for support at https://endof10.org/
(Full disclosure: I used to work at Microsoft in the Windows team; obviously the culture there has shifted considerably).
Also depending upon some variable, there are two different slow image editors that can display the image when you click on it. They work differently also!
In contrast the W10 experience worked much faster and more predictably.
I'm not against a fresh coat of paint but the replacement should be better outright without compromise.
> https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-32658340
"Jerry Nixon, a Microsoft development executive, said in a conference speech this week that Windows 10 would be the "last version" of the dominant desktop software.
His comments were echoed by Microsoft which said it would update Windows in future in an "ongoing manner".
Instead of new stand-alone versions, Windows 10 would be improved in regular instalments, the firm said.
[...]
In a statement, Microsoft said Mr Nixon's comments reflected a change in the way that it made its software.
"Windows will be delivered as a service bringing new innovations and updates in an ongoing manner," it said, adding that it expected there to be a "long future" for Windows.
'No Windows 11'
The company said it had yet to decide on what to call the operating system beyond Windows 10.
"There will be no Windows 11," warned Steve Kleynhans, a research vice-president at analyst firm Gartner who monitors Microsoft."
EDIT: Another article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2015/05/08/microsof...
Unfortunately, a lot of niche communities have decided to stick to developing for Windows machines no matter what (especially game development and modding ones), so using Linux isn't that practical about now.
For the average user and even semi-enthusiast, 5+yo hardware with Win10 works just fine. I just upgraded last year, but it was probably the longest stretch I've gone between new PC's and even then it was as much FOMO as it was necessity.
I've got a backup of my files of course, but this mismanagement of what Windows 10 was supposed to be (the last Windows) combined with all of the new AI stuff in Win11 just wasn't worth the new hardware spend for an OS I only use occasionally. Most of my use is MacOS.
Was the push I needed to give up on 25 years on Windows which turned out to be a blessing in disguise as Linux ended up being a much better and more productive OS for Developers than Windows, esp. if you do all your deployments to Docker/Linux servers.
Microsoft, you guys need to give actual incentives to upgrade, not punishments for not doing so.