The Windows 11 racket

[buster poser]

I had the newest processor that was on the no-11 cutoff list and it was frustrating (i7-4790K, ~7 years iirc) but that's computers. Can't support stuff forever, and MS historically has sometimes done too good a job of keeping legacy crap going.

The thing that's actually annoying about Windows 11 is that it's just not very good. Lots of ads, very little that it offers unless you're a power user (WSL) or gamer.

Anyway if you want to extend the life of old hardware, there are plenty of Linux distros avaialble.

 

[FlarbNarb]

I finally made the jump back to Apple. As a kid an Apple IIe was my first PC then Commodore 64 and then on to Microsoft. I used to think the Apple thing was just overpriced status computing but after decades of fighting Bill the B*****d's crap OS, I went back to my roots and haven't been as stress free when it comes to my computer stuff. It integrates with my phone and every other tech gadget effortlessly (mostly) and the stuff just lasts. I'm finally getting ready to upgrade from my iPhone 6. Mostly because the charge port is getting too finicky. Some of my friends use Android phones and they are constantly getting new phones due to one stupid issue after another. I pull out my old Apple and they laugh at my antique but it's still going after all these years. Pay a little more now and save a whole lot of hassle and extra bucks later...

 

[chillybilly]

At the risk of a partial threadjack, Apple Silicon is impressively powerful and fast but I'm attempting to migrate my DAW from my old iMac to a Mini and it's been a slog due to software and hardware vendors being behind the curve relative to the new platform.

 

[buster poser]

At the risk of a partial threadjack, Apple Silicon is impressively powerful and fast but I'm attempting to migrate my DAW from my old iMac to a Mini and it's been a slog due to software and hardware vendors being behind the curve relative to the new platform.

Inexcusable at this stage for a developer to still be relying on Rosetta. Coming up on five years since the M1's release.

 

[thescarecrow]

I've begun migrating some of my pc's to Linux Mint because of Win 11 issues. It works great and zips right along. And.....there are security updates that don't mess things up. My main pc is still running Win 11, but that will change also, soon.

I ran Linux Mint on a laptop that would no longer run Windows 10 satisfactorily. I ran it for about 7 years without a hitch until the laptop literally broke. It's a great operating system. Plus I could find all of the applications I needed for my use.

I will be getting a new laptop soon. I'll get Windows 11 Professional on it, BUT, I will split the partition and install Linux Mint on it as well.

 

[Honga Man]

As previously mentioned, Linux is free and a great option for older PCs. I've been running Ubuntu Studio for several years with no problems at all. No ads, no popups, and it's fast! Fast as in if you click to open a window, it's open instantly. No spinning cursor while Windows thinks about it first.

I've also run regular Ubuntu and Linux Mint on older PCs to give them a few more years of life and have been very impressed.

My only - ONLY - complaint about Linux is that it can't (to my knowledge) run iTunes, which I use about once a month to keep fresh backups of my iPhone on my Windows 10 home computer, since I opt out of Apple's cloud backups.

I am not an IT guy, either. If I can install different types of Linux operating systems, ANYONE can.

 

[PC_Hater]

The clue is in the name...

Do try and install Windows 11 on the best of your PCs. Then try the others.
If you have Microsoft software you simply must have then give in and buy a new PC with Windows 11.

Most of what your other computers are used for doesn't need Windows. Linux is your friend!
Easiest for newbies are Ubuntu and Fedora.
Please do take a sharp intake of breath and try Devuan and choose the XFCE desktop. You might be surprised.

I have a 2006 Intel iMac still happily chuntering along running Devuan Linux - I mainly use it for audio work.

And if you want to sell any laptops that won't run Windows 11, well, I'm in the UK, send me a message!

 

[thescarecrow]

For all the things one could switch to linux to do, music production looks the least well supported ecosystem. Do any VST developers bother with it? It reads like a crap shoot as to which ones can be bridged, and which interfaces work fully supported.

While I can't answer your question, I just wanted to throw this bit of information out.
I installed and successfully ran Reaper on a linux laptop. It worked fine for my modest testing. I had the laptop connected to an Allen & Heath mixer.
Just for testing, I installed Reaper on a Windows OS as well as a MacBook Pro. They all worked fine and I could see no real difference.
Of course, I wasn't doing any hard core recordings. I did, however record several projects with several tracks using a few of the default Reaper "ReaPlugs".

 

[ChicknPickn]

I ran Linux Mint on a laptop that would no longer run Windows 10 satisfactorily. I ran it for about 7 years without a hitch until the laptop literally broke. It's a great operating system. Plus I could find all of the applications I needed for my use.

I will be getting a new laptop soon. I'll get Windows 11 Professional on it, BUT, I will split the partition and install Linux Mint on it as well.

Yep. I have Mint as the primary, Windows 11 Pro as a VM. Mint is a project I happily support with money contributions.

 

[Trenchant63]

Yes.
That's what they said they were going to do. Windows 10 is the last Windows they said. They lied.

I might be wrong, but I don’t think Microsoft has ever offered unlimited/perpetual support/security patches for anything they’ve ever released.

 

[Nogoodnamesleft]

Indeed - - the upgrade spiral.

1) We now have the horsepower to run our software optimally. Whew! It was tough and a long slog, but we made it.

2) The vendor of our core system has just released a full version upgrade. Things are running slowly. Users are complaining.

3) Upgrade hardware.

4) We now have the horsepower to run our software optimally. Whew! It was tough and a long slog but we made it.

Exactly it.

I could see value if it was some groundbreaking new set of features that were a must. But overwhelmingly it isn't.

I remember seeing William Gibson, famed science fiction writer, in an interview. He was used outdated hardware - I think a 286 and a dot matrix printer. The guy who wrote "Neuromancer" of all things.

I read a couple of years ago the camera industry was starting to sweat about sales tapering off since camera tech has reached a bit of a plateau. The incremental upgrades aren't enough to convince people to upgrade camera bodies like it was when low resolution, terrible low light noise, sluggish performance were commonplace. I'm certain if there was a means of licensing your camera tech into obsolescence, someone would do it. Lens mounts and body repair seem to be the drivers for new camera purchases lately.

And yet here we are, on a site devoted to old tech - 1950s designed musical instruments and, in many cases, amps or the attempt to sound like those amps.

Maybe someday we'll be upgrading our hardware to run the latest and greatest "286 with a dot matrix printer" modeler to crank out our own Neuromancer.

 

[11 Gauge]

Oh boy, I am so screwed. In order to access Outlook and similar for my work on my personal laptop requires a VDI. TTBOMK, they've currently only got that configured to work with Windows 10. I hope I'm wrong.

My personal laptop was a light-duty machine that I got back in 2018. The intention back then was just to use it for personal development. The stuff I ended up building on it (especially during the pandemic years) was really unbelievable.

Anyway - even though it says I should be able to upgrade to Windows 11, I just don't see how. The laptop is just too old.

If I didn't have to use Microsoft anything for work purposes, I'd switch to Linux tomorrow.

I did get a new Mac Mini a little over a year ago. Even though there's supposedly not a Windows-based VDI offered from my work, I wouldn't be surprised if there was something, minus instructions on how to install and configure it.

 

[TomBrokaw]

I might be wrong, but I don’t think Microsoft has ever offered unlimited/perpetual support/security patches for anything they’ve ever released.

I don't disagree with what you have said here, but they did say "Windows 10 is the last version of Windows" , link below. That statement was taken at face value by a lot of people, right or wrong, and frankly it's a pretty clear statement that would appear to preclude caveats or clarifications. Should people have taken it with a grain of salt, coming from a single employee at a for-profit company? Yes. Was their conclusion a reasonable one, based on the apparent unambiguity of the statement? Also yes.

So I get the frustration, and frankly for all of win11's improvements under the hood, it's a step back for most users in terms of ease of use. Things are moved, hidden, or flat out removed for no discernable reason. Users are told that features that have existed for decades aren't feasible, while the amount of included advertising (for a paid product!) and telemetry/spying is egregious.

Most of that can be turned off or mitigated with third party apps, but it shouldn't be necessary to do so in the first place.

Why Microsoft is calling Windows 10 ‘the last version of Windows’

The Verge is about technology and how it makes us feel. Founded in 2011, we offer our audience everything from breaking news to reviews to award-winning features and investigations, on our site, in video, and in podcasts.

www.theverge.com

 

[Dukex]

LOL, I was perfectly happy with Windows 98.

 

[Nogoodnamesleft]

At the risk of a partial threadjack, Apple Silicon is impressively powerful and fast but I'm attempting to migrate my DAW from my old iMac to a Mini and it's been a slog due to software and hardware vendors being behind the curve relative to the new platform.

I seem to remember similar when OS 9 users were crippled from upgrading to OS X. Some big players at the time, like QuarkXPress plugins that weren't ready for the new world yet.

In that phase of IT drama, it meant sticking with old hardware to stay on OS 9.

 

[ChXpensiveVintage]

Yep, definitely racketeering. One-time sales aren't enough to support market-share/company growth any more, so now you either upgrade or subscribe...

No Microsoft here. If a Windows PC was the only computer I could have, it'd be formatted and running a Linux distro within the hour.

We can moan about Apple all we like, and believe me I don't hold back on doing that either, but been running their kit exclusively for the last four years and never had to do a clean install. Nor have there been any program/app compatibility issues or need for any resource-hogging antivirus software, the firewall and baked-in system protection alone have been up to the job (so far anyway).

 

[thescarecrow]

I finally made the jump back to Apple. As a kid an Apple IIe was my first PC then Commodore 64 and then on to Microsoft. I used to think the Apple thing was just overpriced status computing but after decades of fighting Bill the B*****d's crap OS, I went back to my roots and haven't been as stress free when it comes to my computer stuff. It integrates with my phone and every other tech gadget effortlessly (mostly) and the stuff just lasts. I'm finally getting ready to upgrade from my iPhone 6. Mostly because the charge port is getting too finicky. Some of my friends use Android phones and they are constantly getting new phones due to one stupid issue after another. I pull out my old Apple and they laugh at my antique but it's still going after all these years. Pay a little more now and save a whole lot of hassle and extra bucks later...

I get what you are saying, and you are right. With that said, most folks "need" the latest and greatest, and they will find any excuse to get it. As you know (as is evident with the fact that you are still using a 6) a LOT (most) of it is user. I say that as I am still using a perfectly functioning Galaxy S8.
It was my experience, during my career, that the Apple/Mac stuff just worked! I had very, very few issues with any of our Apple/Mac hardware or software.

 

[Deeve]

If it's constructive for anybody to have a clean Win 10 saved for re-installation after an abortive attempt at W11, see below for a process for restoration.
Following the instructions, I've saved a clean Win 10 64 on a 8GB flash drive, in case things get weird.
The goal (as I understand it) is to have a file identified as "MediaCreation_Tool_22H2"
Peace - Deeve

 

[sadfield]

I don't disagree with what you have said here, but they did say "Windows 10 is the last version of Windows" , link below.

It doesn't appear that they, Microsoft, made any such statement.

Should people have taken it with a grain of salt, coming from a single employee at a for-profit company?

Yes, entirely.

On person saying "Right now we’re releasing Windows 10, and because Windows 10 is the last version of Windows, we’re all still working on Windows 10." is far from any sort of corporate statement. It's ambiguous at best. Last, could quite easily mean latest, most recent release. Last week, doesn't signify there will be no more weeks, does it? It very much reads as here's Windows 10, it's a work in progress.

 

[telleutelleme]

There are a number of installers that will work for windows 10 to 11 for the unsupported PC's and even ones that let you bypass logging into microsoft every time. I've done 3 desktops and 2 laptops for family and friends. However the new motherboards and processors with large capacity SSD NVME drives, better graphics all make upgrading worthwhile. You can still bypass the microsoft login if desired. It's a hack during the initial install. I have no interest in rental software.