Thinking About Ditching Windows? - Comments Page 1

Now would be the perfect time for someone to come out with a new operating system written from the ground up to be fast, secure, flexible and with the proper "hooks" to run software originally designed for other platforms. Oh, only if I had the skill!

So Bill Gates lied when he said windows 10 would be the last ever windows.??? I have a number of old machines that weren't compatable with windows 10 (but happily used to run windows 7 which was my favourite )which I have put various versions of Linux on eg Peppermint, mint(to name my 2 favourites) I won't be beaten into submission by Gates into buying a new PC just to fill his coffers so my current laptops will go the same way as my others(when he stopped win 7 support)and frankly I found that the Linux programs are far less problematic than windows(they don't shut me down in the middle of doing something to install updates and Linux starts up much faster than windows too).

My wife's laptop is not capable of updating to Win 11, so We will run Win 10 to its end then probably install a Linux OS. I have experimented with Linus Mint a few years ago but the old laptop I put it on totally failed so I moved on. But since she mostly works via online might think about the Chrome OS with an external HD for file storage.

I ditched Windows as my OS of choice years ago. I have a Windows 7 box in the back room that I really liked, and still use. But the main desktop has Ubuntu on it as the default booting OS. It does have Windows 8.1, 10, and 11 on it, should the need pop up. But very few times do I need to boot those, except to let updates do their thing.

There is some software out there, mostly for sale things like Income Tax programs, that get to be a problem running under Linux. But the wealth of software for Linux, for free, is outstanding.

Linux supports many different desktop managers, some of which mimic Windows very closely, so the learning curve to switch is not much! And, while Microsoft may have had an idea in their registry-based system, Linux does things in a much more straight-forward way that seems more efficient.

Without trying to trash Microsoft -- they are in business to make money. As such they devote a lot of their efforts toward keeping users from running multiple copies of a purchased OS. And, they need to keep making improvements, or simply changes, so they can sell new software.

Dumping windows is an issue for over 20 years for me. I've tried a few times, but problems with drivers and apps makes me return to Mordor. Now my son who was an infant when the issue began uses Linux successfully along with Windows. I'm showing my age, but I'm proud of my son's knowledge. I guess I'm too old and too lazy to use anything but Windows. I hate the thought of Win 11. It reminds me of Windows 8 and Windows ME along and other Windows dogs.

I've been running versions of Linux (and Unix) for a decade now, in addition to MacOS (the operating system formerly known as OS X) and Windows. (For most people shifting from Windows I'd recommend taking a look at PCLinuxOS with Plasma, but there are quite a few other great choices for converts.)

Our central Windows desktop (NOT capable of running Win 11) runs Quicken and TurboTax. Most of our other personal work is done on MacBooks or on our Linux boxes. We have laptops from our workplaces running Windows, so we both stay current on Windows as well.

I'll likely replace our main desktop PC with a Mac in the next year or two; my CPA spouse is not ready to give up Quicken.

Thanks Bob!

I am grateful for your pointing out this up-coming change in 2025 related to computers.

I made a copy of this to highlight some of the things so as to have something to help guide me when the change has to be made.

As a senior citizen, I am not up on all the technology involved in life today, so I appreciate the sharing of your knowledge and expertise.

There is only ONE reason to ramin using MS Windows: If you must use some software that is only available for Windows, and has no Linux equivalent.
I keep an old palmtop machine, running Windows XP, only to run some Garmin software to transfer maps to my GPS, and to run an Epson CD printer.
So it gets fired up two or three times a year.
For everything else, Linux works perfectly for me, and has done for now over twenty years.

I took an ancient laptop that had been sitting in my recycle bin for at least 5 years and installed google chrome on it. It was developed by a company called neverware (which was then bought by Google). It works like a charm and now this old clunker has a new life. If we every get to travel again this will be going with us. Sometimes a note pad or cell phone is just not enough. It is an easy install and if you have just a bit of geek blood in you it is a piece of cake.

great article bob. I am using a 20-year-old desktop
with win 7 will keep as long as can

I used PC health Check but it does not specifically tell me if my desktop PC is compatible. Since it invites me to download Win 11 (which I may not do) does that mean I can use Win 11 ?

I already ditched Windows after 40 years for a Mac and I wish I had done it sooner. I hesitated because I had some expensive software that I thought might not be compatible. However, it turns out there are now many IOS versions which I have been able to download. The initiial switchover was a bit of a learning curve, adapting to the keyboard shortcuts and finding where everything is stored but it's ease of use and intuitive design makes up for that inconvenience. I bought a refurbished MacBook Air, so that cut down on cost. I was able to migrate my Microsoft Office and Corel Draw Suite over in an IOS version, so I'm really happy about that!

I have an old laptop that was having trouble running Windows 10. I decided to install Linux on it to see if that would help. I tried several distros (they are free to download and try) and have settled on KDE Neon. I love it! Lots of software. Easy to use. Fast. No problems.
What more can you ask for?

In 2008,I picked a Linux magazine at a newsstand that was advertising the new Ubuntu version 8.I was intrigued and thought several times about how I was to run this OS on a computer I owned running Microsoft XP.

The machine was fairly new and I was leery about messing with the existing OS.The install instructions stated I could dual-boot my machine to run either OS which was new to me.I went ahead and installed Ubuntu alongside XP.

After a couple of months,I decided to eliminate XP altogether after careful consideration. I am glad I took that plunge as I never looked back and rarely use Microsoft products nowadays.

"Microsoft made it clear that it would support only certain “newish” computers that have the latest hardware security features." NOT wholly accurate:
I have all of the pre-reqruisites (UEFI, SecureBoot, TPM2,etc.) but that 'HealthCheck' utility once approved my hardware and then it had a change of mind. Microsoft seems to be appeasing the hardware/OEM manufacturers over the users, while rolling out Win11.
Since my current rig is 5 years old, I was planning to upgrade to the latest Intel Z690 CPU (AlderLake @12th Gen.), I will wait a while until the chip prices stabilize to finalize the upgrade (CPU/MoBo/DDR5/GPU).

Zorin is probably the best replacement for a Windows type experience replacement. It's been around since 2008.
For an experiment: I just installed Windows 11 Home on an old Asus X541S Laptop, w/workarounds (using Rufus) and it is running without any problems. It has gone through two patch Tuesdays without a glitch. I am anxious to see if Microsoft pulls the plug on updates in the near future as promised.

Cloud based computing is all well and good. But millions of users are in places where power or the internet, or both, are still not reliable. So offline processing is still very important.

Ron Mullard
18 Jan 2022
Bill Gates did not lie, he made a prediction, quite a different concept. BTW Bill Gates has nothing to do with Microsoft OS's for a few years now. So you'll want to take the issue you mentioned of "that being beaten into submission" with the current CEO, Satya Nadella.

I on the other hand am moving back to Apple soon

October 2025? Almost four years from now? Too early to start worrying.

Win 11 may well go the way of Millenium Edition, Vista, and Win 8, ie, make a small splash and then gone from sight.

I think I'll wait until the death knock to make any decisions. A couple of friends have downloaded Windows 11 and said .... wait.