Microsoft Says the Days of Free Windows 7 to 10 or 11 Updates Are Over
tomshardware.com
tomshardware.com
MS had a program to allow Windows 7/8 keys to be used for Windows 10/11. That program officially ended seven years ago, but the servers kept working, so you could keep using Windows 7/8 keys for the newer versions. MS is turning that off.
While I don’t at all like what they’ve done with Windows, it’s not related to the article.
OTOH, Windows usually comes for free on PCs (not all offer discounts for not running Windows).
Remember Microsoft IP infects everything, from SDCards to EFI/UEFI.
There is simply no better way for me to express exactly what I mean. It gaslights, assumes, auto-updates, blames the user, and really eventually leaves you in an abused state where you think you need it, just because youre so used to its complications and way of doing things that everything else seems backwards.
See people switching to Linux from Windows who go "I tried installing this program by downloading and running it from AwesomeSoft.co.uk.com.to and it complains libraries are missing! This OS sucks, why isnt there just an installer?".
So, I hope people learn to see that the OS is designed to be abusive, unless you have the entreprise-y versions, and stop praising it. Is there really anyone who is upset that its now no longer nagging you and using bad UX to trick you to upgrade to Windows 11?
Sad that’s the only way to tell Microsoft to fuck off.
What seemed to work for me was a group policy (requires local admin, and probably the non-'home' version of win10):
gpedit > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update > Windows Update for Business > Select the target Feature Update version
Then, set "product version" to 'Windows 10', and "Target Version" to '22H2' (or whatever you want).
Seems to work; after that, the Windows Update pane will say "Some of these settings are managed by your organization", and (for me, so far, at least) there isn't any more browbeating for Win11 installation.
Lol. The way monopolies work is precisely like this. You will have fewer ways to ask them to fuck off.
Every time I sit at the computer it's a "zen garden" type experience.
Yes there are bugs here and there but a bit of patience helps and, because it's open source, you can even contribute to maintaining the zen garden, which is also beautiful.
I don't want to be forced to do that whenever I find something missing, though. Sometimes I'm just trying to get something done and don't have the time to dive into an unfamiliar project and recompile parts of my system.
In open source software, you can report it and get feedback on your report, and even see progress/timeline (or lack thereof) of it being fixed. The fact that you can say "well i can tell this is a one line fix, let me just PR it" is just an added bonus.
On Linux it varies widely by software, but a ton of maintainers don't have time for your issue because they're busy fixing their own, and they expect you to fix your own as well.
Neither one is perfect.
Things have improved a lot.
As for the last time I used Linux, it was just earlier this year when I tried Fedora Silverblue. The Nvidia driver just Broke when I swapped motherboards, and since the system is immutable, I couldn't even attempt to debug or fix the problem.
Of course, immutable distributions are the only ones that have that specific problem, but I haven't found a distro yet that doesn't have some problem.
I will admit, though, that GNOME Wayland is a better DM than Windows, for sure. And its trackpad support is comparable to macOS. (As in it has plenty of convenient gestures, supports right-click-drag, which Windows does not, and even supports middle-click-drag, which neither Windows nor macOS do.)
IIRC, the new driver is "open source" because they moved the important bits into the firmware
The Linux model would never scale to the vast quantity of existing Windows software.
Instead of the Python foundation creating one universal Linux Python installer, you have each major Linux distribution needing a package manager for Python. Good luck if you use some obscure software.
In a way, containers are exactly what Windows installers are - one self-contained universal way of running a piece of software, packaged by the creator.
There is also this huge tendency for everything to become a "software suite" which tries to do everything and the kitchen sink in Windows and app store OSes while you can still find "do one thing" packages in distros.
We have flatpaks and snaps. We also have AppImages. The last one feels the most like the experience I had in my Windows days just downloading software from random websites, except it's still better than Windows, because it doesn't leave random garbage all over my system and require a potentially buggy uninstaller to remove.
Ten years ago I wouldn't have advised most people to run Linux on their desktop. Windows has gotten worse since then and Linux has gotten better. If we assume your hardware is 100% supported (basically you're using a desktop PC or a laptop model with explicit support), and you don't need any Windows-only apps... I don't see why Linux wouldn't be the better choice.
It's pretty easy to get Linux in an unusable state (for a regular user). Windows it's much more resilient to various kinds of errors, including user errors.
In 2023 I can install Debian without messing with XFree86 configs or dealing with kernel modules. Modern Linux desktop systems just work, out of the box. Of course there are still a few hiccups here and there and I probably minimize their magnitude because of my familiarity. However, I don't spend hours futzing with it like I did as a kid in the late 90s. Linux has come a long way.
You want me to pay to go to windows 8 or beyond? And you promise not to download the 9 GB installer in the "background" on my slow rural correction if I don't pay? Ha ha ha ha ha ha, hard no!
Not saying a bunch of stuff wasn't upgraded, it just wasn't stuff I cared about (except security patches, but those just felt like mafia tactics -- "I'd hate it if something happened to your pretty little system.")
I'm currently on 10 on my one Windows computer and will be there until they stop patching security, which I guess isn't too far off.
I've used MS and Apple in the past, but both are privacy threats at this point. My next hardware update will be a made-for-Linux machine.
Shame on me already.
But that's not it. Windows 7 still works, in fact, all Windows versions still work if you still have the hardware (or VM) for it. It is just that upgrades from Windows 7/8 are not free anymore. But that's normal, major upgrades are rarely free. The free Windows 10 to 11 (previously 7/8 to 10) path is the exception here, because Microsoft really want as many people as possible to essentially beta test the latest version of Windows.
It’s a horrific, intrinsically anti-user idea that should be loudly and aggressively smothered every time it rears its ugly head.
There is no version of reality where OS-as-a-service does not become a n irreversible hostage situation, leaving users at the mercy of “line go up” corporate self-enrichment. We’re practically there already.
Look at the trajectory of IoT products. Even if you pay extra for a product that is sold as no-subscription - like the PHILIPS Hue line for example - one day you will inevitably discover the hardware that you already paid for is being held hostage until you accept the new Terms of Service and pay a subscription fee.
This isn’t hyperbole - it has already happened dozens, even hundreds of times.
OS-aaS is a cute idea for a world where the free market is working correctly, bolstered by strong consumer protections and effective enforcement of regulations.
There must be a line.
Imagine if I get screwed by Microsoft. I can always install Linux or some other OS on my PC.
With mobile, even if I don't pay monthly for the OS, after a few years, the OEM discontinues support and the only option if some hacker didn't build a custom ROM for my specific device is to buy a new device or see my system slowly break down as apps drop support, and that's without considering security.
So we are already being "taken hostage" without an explicit subscription, and in a way that encourages throwing away perfectly good hardware and produce e-waste.
The locked down hardware is the real big problem. A paid OS subscription on an open hardware platform is bad, but a "free" OS on a closed platform is worse, because while you are hostage in both situations, in the former, you still have usable hardware.
IIRC Philips Hue supports zigbee, so you are not completely hostage. With an open zigbee controller, you still have working light bulbs, you can stop using Philips subscription software. Inconvenient, but you don't have to throw away your lightbulbs.
Or are we going to pay to be violated? And told to like it?
There's also a not-so-good incentive of the manufacturer not having to worry as much about QA because it's a given the fixes / maintenance is going to be paid by the subscribers. That is, no sense increasing quality if the lack there of doesn't effect margin and perhaps is even rationalized as justifying the subscription model.
It is not that weird of an idea. As vendors of OS, must keep putting real effort in their products. And that isn't free. So either they can sell copy one time or then sell subscription.
Sad thing is that Windows has been extremely cheap for amount of use you can get out of single licence. Years of 24/7 use...
If you have the best Windows already, why on Earth would you downgrade to Win 10 or Win 11?