Google enables OS upgrades for older PCs post-Windows 10 support cutoff

Reuters ^ | 02 14 2024 | Staff

[dayglored]

Windows 11 Google ChromeOS ... PING!

You can find all the Windows Ping list threads with FR search: just search on keyword "windowspinglist".

[SgtHooper]

Yup! They’ll clean up in the unwary fools who install that crap.

[dayglored]

With regard to installing ChromeOS: I've used it, it's cool, it's functional, and can do a lot of useful things.

But beware: ChromeOS is NOT Windows and is incompatible with most Windows programs

Replacing Windows 10 with ChromeOS is an "upgrade" of sorts, but it's not like you're getting Windows 10 "extended support". If you want that past the EOL date, you probably have to be a big company with a Windows Volume License, and you have to fork over some pretty big cash to Microsoft.

[Paal Gulli]

"Put a Linux o/s on ‘em ....

ChromeOS is Linux. Or at least Linux-based. There's been so much inbreeding between the UNIX variants that they've created the umbrella term "UNIX-like" to cover them all.

[dayglored]

> Windows 10 pre-installed and do NOT want 11
Your choices are:
1.) Run W10 without security updates
2.) Upgrade to W11
3.) Replace W10 with another OS

Strictly speaking, there's one more: You can try to negotiate with Microsoft for extended support past EOL, but you have to have some serious pull (big company, volume licensing, pallets of cash,...).

[Paal Gulli]

G**gle is the largest and most pervasive censor and manipulator of information that has ever existed ...

... at least on this planet.

It exists solely to invade your privacy and manipulate your thought processes. If you use any G**gle product (without first making some technically-astute modifications), you're as much as begging for a proctological exam every time you fire up a PC or handheld digital device.

[Billthedrill]

I just had to transition off my old Outlook 2013 email app because that's now out of support (and suddenly started throwing authentication errors like magic!) - so the only thing I really need Microsoft for is a few legacy games. The main workstation is now 12 years old and there's nothing wrong with the hardware except that Win 11 won't run on it. The article estimates 240 million workstations that will be hitting the landfills but I strongly suspect it's a lot more than that, and it won't be landfills at all, it'll be a market share just waiting for someone to fill. If new hardware is inevitable, I'm sure Apple is watching this one very carefully.

This old machine will make one heck of a Linux box, which conversion will take all of about an hour, Lord knows I've done that a few dozen times. And the games will run fine on a standalone or a virtual box. It's not even as painful as it used to be. Microsoft wants a divorce, I won't contest.

[MikelTackNailer]

I read about that but appreciate the heads up. I was doing well with Linux Mint on the old machine (2011 is computer old) and this new one is a $1200 screamer from Amazon marked down to $260.

So I’ll probably shuffle partition and go Penguin again, retaining Windows for off-line use like games and snobbish applications.

[Dead Corpse]

Neither Mint nor Unbuntu will feed most of your metadata back to Google’s servers...

Just sayin’...

CentOS used to be in that category as well... :-(

[dayglored]

> ...I’ll probably shuffle partition and go Penguin again, retaining Windows for off-line use...

Yep that's the ticket.

I run Mac hardware and use MacOS as my on-the-metal OS, but have VMware VMs of Linux and Windows. I often have all three running simultaneously on different monitors and copy/paste between, etc.

For offline use I have Windows 7 and Windows 10 VMs. I don't intend to use Windows 11 myself; enough is enough. My job may require Win11 in the future, but they will pay me well to mess with that. :-)

[Paal Gulli]

"Neither Mint nor Unbuntu will feed most of your metadata back to Google’s servers......"

It most certainly will if you're foolish enough to use a G**gle-branded browser (or most anything else that's G**gle-branded).

[Dead Corpse]

Iceweasel, Brave, and Libre Office. GIMP for a photo editor...

Life is good.

[MikelTackNailer]

Yep that's the ticket.

(who he's seen naked.)

The good ole days when SNL was funny (sigh).

That's a good setup - people here continually badmouth Apple but you get dependability and support that's not figuratively shaking you upside down to snatch up the last coins falling from your pockets.

Bad enough my pre-installed Windows 10 has an app sitting in the tray wanting me to install Win 11 - and they've got that in there so hard I'd have to fool around with the registry to remove it. So I defer and leave it be as a reminder why I don't like nor trust them.

[TexasGator]

“Now why would a PC World article need a headline like that?”

PC World? Link is Reuters.

[goodnesswins]

Iff subject...isn’t there a Tech Group on FR? I want to see if ppl have ideas about secure “cloud” services, ie mega and sinc

[yesthatjallen]

Ask dayglored.

[goodnesswins]

Off subject...isn’t there a Tech Group on FR? I want to see if ppl have ideas about secure “cloud” services, ie mega and sinc

[dayglored]

> Off subject...isn’t there a Tech Group on FR? I want to see if ppl have ideas about secure “cloud” services, ie mega and sinc

Contact ShadowAce who runs the Tech Ping List.

[dayglored]

Follow-up. I run the Windows Ping List, so if your topic involves specifically Windows you can direct it at me as well.

[goodnesswins]

Thanks