Posted on 11/08/2025 11:24:27 AM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
Microsoft has officially ended Windows 10, marking the end of an era, but what comes next might completely change how we use Windows.
In this video, we break down what’s happening behind the scenes with Microsoft’s next move, how Windows is shifting toward cloud-based systems, and what that means for you.
You’ll learn:
It was the platform that brought technology to the world. But somewhere along the way, Microsoft lost that spark. Windows didn't die overnight.
It faded slowly, one bad decision at a time. And now, what's left feels less like a tool for creativity and more like an ad platform wrapped in AI features that no one asked for. So today, let's talk about it.
How we got here, what really killed Windows, and what's coming next. There was a time when Windows was untouchable. Windows 95 changed the world.
It gave everyone a digital front door, the start menu, the task bar, the simple joy of clicking something and watching it work. Then came Windows XP, arguably the best version of Windows ever made. It was stable, simple, and reliable.
Businesses built entire infrastructures around it. XP didn't need constant updates or cloud sync. You bought it once, installed it, and then it was yours.
No telemetry, no ads, no bloat, just performance and predictability. Back then, Microsoft wasn't just selling software. They were selling empowerment.
You weren't leasing technology. You owned it. And in a way, that's what built the entire modern business world.
Offices ran on XP. Microsoft will pull the plug on technical support for its Windows XP operating system. But a lot of people still rely on XP.
I haven't had a need to change because it didn't break. Up to 25% of consumers and businesses are estimated to still be using the 12-year-old operating system. But Microsoft, on its website, is counting customers down to zero hour at midnight tonight.
Networks were built around it, and productivity was defined by it. For a while, it felt like Windows would last forever. But that kind of comfort always sets up for the next disruption.
The cracks started to show with Windows 8. Oh, brother, this guy stinks! Instead of improving what worked, Microsoft tried to reinvent the wheel and made a square one instead. They threw out the start menu, plastered the screen with tiles, and built an interface that made no sense on a desktop. It wasn't built for users.
It was built for metrics, for app installs, for engagement, for control. Microsoft was chasing Apple's App Store revenue and then forgot what made Windows powerful in the first place, familiarity. They stopped solving problems and started chasing trends.
Then came Windows 10, the last version of Windows. It was supposed to fix everything, a service that would evolve forever. Except service turned into subscription, and then Microsoft spent years calling Windows 10 a service, not a product, something that would evolve and not expire.
But apparently service now means subscription. They pulled the same crap with Microsoft Office, forcing everyone onto 365 whether they wanted it or not, and now they're doing it again here. It's the same playbook.
Take something people already paid for, strip away the ownership, and sell it back as a monthly bill. In the business world, we call that vendor lock-in. You build reliance, then move the goalposts.
And if you've ever had to migrate an entire team off a bad system, you know once you're locked in, they own you. The real death of Windows isn't about software. It was about trust.
Microsoft started treating its users like data points instead of customers. Updates broke more than they fixed, and ads appeared in File Explorer. Privacy settings became more like a maze of off-but-not-really-off toggles.
And then they pulled the hardware lock stunt. Perfectly good machines, still fast, reliable, they still worked, and then suddenly labeled as unsupported for Windows 11. That's when users realized this wasn't about innovation.
It was about control. The company that once sold ownership now sells permission. And that permission comes with strings attached.
Analytics, advertising IDs, and constant online verification. That's not progress, that's control. And it's a hard sell to businesses who actually rely on the consistency.
The modern Microsoft doesn't sell software anymore. It sells subscriptions, access, and telemetry. The Windows of today feels more like a marketing platform and less like an operating system.
Your taskbar promotes Edge, your start menu suggests apps, and even Outlook upsells for storage and co-pilot integrations. They've completely monetized productivity. And now AI is the newest obsession.
Recall, co-pilot, and intelligent everything. But here's the truth. AI isn't what's ruining Windows.
Their business model is. Microsoft's not building for users, they're building for retention. Keep people inside the ecosystem, feed them just enough innovation to justify another subscription, and then collect data along the way.
For some small businesses trying to stay efficient and secure, that's a nightmare. Because instead of stable, predictable tools, you're now managing an ever-changing ecosystem of forced features and hidden costs. Windows doesn't feel personal anymore, and it feels transactional.
But here's the thing. People are waking up. 10 years ago, switching operating systems felt impossible.
And then today, most of what you do is in the browser. Email, file sharing, chat, project management, everything's online. The operating system is no longer your ecosystem, it's just your gateway.
And that's why we're seeing more MacBooks and Offices that used to be all Windows. Even Linux? Yeah. The nerd OS is quietly building momentum.
Distributions like Ubuntu, Fedora, and PopOS are all polished, secure, and they don't try and sell you things every five minutes. And for a lot of companies, this change isn't rebellion, it's efficiency. They're realizing that they don't need to be tied to one vendor.
Their workflow's in the cloud, and the OS is just the wrapper. Microsoft trained people to depend on Windows. The cloud trained people not to care.
The next Windows moment won't happen on your desktop. It'll happen in the cloud. Microsoft knows this.
That's why they're pushing hard into the cloud PCs, the virtual desktops streamed from Azure that run anywhere. It's convenient, sure, until you realize that that convenience means you're giving up control again. When everything lives on Microsoft servers, you don't just lose ownership of your software, you lose ownership of your work environment.
And it's not just Microsoft. Apple's heading there with on-device AI that syncs everything through iCloud. And then Google's already there.
You live in the browser, not on your machine. We are moving to a world where your device is disposable, and your identity is the product. It's efficiency for the vendor, not the user.
And while this makes perfect sense from a business perspective, it's dangerous for innovation. Because monopolies don't innovate, they optimize revenue. But here's where it gets interesting.
Users still have power. If you're tired of being milked by subscriptions, there are real alternatives. macOS, Linux, and even cloud PCs from independent providers, they all work, and most businesses won't miss a beat.
Your tools are already in the cloud, your files are already synced, and all you really need is a system that's secure, stable, and something you actually enjoy using. And if Microsoft's direction keeps going this way, more people will move simply out of principle. Because in business, trust and reliability are currency.
And once that's gone, it doesn't matter how advanced your AI is, people are going to leave. The best tech doesn't trap users, it earns them. Say what you will, Windows changed the world.
It put a computer in every home and every office. It connected people, it built industries, and it made the modern economy possible. But somewhere along the line, Microsoft forgot that success came from empowerment and not control.
Windows used to represent creativity and ownership and possibility, and now it represents surveillance, subscriptions, and lost trust. And it's just so sad because Microsoft didn't have to lose the people who helped them build their empire. They just stopped listening to them.
Windows didn't die because it failed, it died because it became unrecognizable. So what's next? Probably cloud PCs, subscription models, and AI baked into everything. Microsoft's going to keep doubling down on control, and people will keep deciding if that trade-off is worth it.
But here's the beautiful thing about technology, it always finds balance. Every time a big player overreaches, something new rises. Linux is maturing, macOS is stable, even Chrome OS is finding its footing.
And then new platforms, later open source and privacy first, are already being built by people who grew up frustrated with the same problems we're talking about right now. So maybe Windows isn't dead, maybe it's just evolving out of relevance. Because as history shows, when a company forgets about why people love its product, that product eventually stops mattering.
So yeah, the Windows we grew up with is gone. The startup chime, the simplicity, that feeling that your computer worked for you, all replaced by AI prompts, cloud sync, and subscription reminders. But maybe that's not the tragedy, maybe that's the lesson.
Because Windows taught us everything about computing. And now it's teaching us one last thing, that no company or system or platform lasts forever. Technology moves forward, users adapt, and maybe it's time we take back a little bit of that control we've been handing over.
Thanks for watching. If you've ever used Windows, you're part of this story, and I would love to hear your take. Do you think Microsoft can turn this around, or is Windows truly gone for good? Drop a comment below, and I'll see you in the next one.
bump for later
Curiosity bump
Opinion piece without much substance.
Windows 10? Sheeeeeyit. I’m still using Windows 7.
Bkmk
No substance?
The real laugher is when you ask technical information about a product. You provide a detailed issue, the exact model number, and what usually comes back is some variation on "look in the manual".
Complete joke.
Bravo!
Bellisimo!
I have a Windows 7 installation disc. It does everything I need.
My brother is looking into installing Linux. Does anyone have any tips?
I have no idea what any of that computer mumbo-jumbo means. I just recently learned that I can get on the internet on my cell phone. Did anybody else know that? It’s pretty cool.
I still have an extended warranty on XP.
I’m a tech idiot, no clue what this means. I do know that I need a new Mac mini, which will be set up by Dennis, computer shop owner and brilliant about everything.
So should I wait to buy new Mini? Or?
“My brother is looking into installing Linux. Does anyone have any tips?”
“Mint Cinnamon” is the go to for a first time user. I have been using Linux for ten years now and have test driven just about all of the best major players. It operates almost like Windows 7. If you have used Win 7 you will be able to fly right away.
1. First download and install a program called “Rufus”.
It is the top option: rufus-4.11.exe
2. Download the Mint Cinnamon .iso file from the Mint site. The “James Madison University” Mirror source is known to be a clean download.
https://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=322
3. Insert a USB stick that is empty or that you do not mind being wiped clean of current data.
4. Start Rufus and go select the Mint .iso from your downloads. It should autodetect the USB stick as the destination for the .iso to be installed, MAKE SURE THE TARGET DRIVE “IS” THE USB STICK!. The default settings in Rufus are all fine. Just answer yes to any options it asks and then select create.
5. When done close Rufus and power your computer off.
6. With the Linux stick inserted power on your Computer, stay right there and be ready to hit the key that will give you your boot options for that computer make. When the Manufacturer’s logo comes up tap that key. Depending on make it might be the Esc key. F2 key, F9 key, or on a Dell it is the F12/Star key. Select the USB as the boot option.
7. Be patient because the screen may go Black a few times as the Linux boots up. And from a stick it is a bit slower to do this.
8. If it does not boot from the stick as it should then there will need to be some configuration in the bios that needs to be done. That can be addressed later as a separate issue.
But it should Boot for you if you did everything above step by step. Now you will be in Linux and running from off the stick completely isolated from your internal drive and Windows. It should auto detect your internet connection and you will have to put in your password to access your internet source. Bottom right in the same place it is in Windows 7.
It will tell you when it makes the connection. Then you can use the Firefox browser to access the net if you like and check out all the stuff it comes with and what can be done with it. Basically you are in test drive mode. But nothing can be installed, and while you can make temporary changes they will be forgotten and it will go back to default when you shut down.
Run it for awhile from off the stick when you have extra time and check it out, Go explore and discover what the apps are and what they do, go look at the System Settings and how they work. Then after you feel comfortable with it then you can install it if you like. There are two options, wipe the drive completely and install only the Linux, or you can install it “Along Side” (Dual Boot) the existing windows and have both. Back up your existing important stuff first...
The installer will do all of the partitioning and disk work for you during the install. So no need to worry about complicated partitioning and disk preparation first, it does it all for you. Just take your time and read the options well as you step through it. Just one note when it asks you if you want to “unmount” the target drive agree.
Internet on the phone!
Katie bar the door!
Be very, very careful.
The next thing you know, you will be ordering shhhhhhhhhtuuf on the Internet.
Oh, the Humanity! .
That's just crazy talk. But, have you seen this thing called Woodoku? It's like a mash-up of Soduku and Tetris. Amazing. Computer games have come a long way since Space Invaders and Donkey Kong. No, seriesly.
Will all this fit in the memory of my Vic-20 computer?
Linux.
Ditto with the exception for one laptop that’s using W10Pro.
I just recently learned that I can get on the internet on my cell phone. Did anybody else know that? It’s pretty cool.
If a joke...LOL
If not, Dost thou kiddeth me???
I just had a funeral for my working win98
Hard drive failure
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