Dear Reader,

The impending end of life for Windows 10 has launched a new round of calls for Windows users to adopt Linux. KDE recently made a pitch [1]. The End of 10 initiative [2] is supported by a number of open source organizations who make the case that this is a good time for Windows users to switch.

The argument is that the new Windows 11 won't run on some of the old Windows 10 hardware, and it seems like a waste to throw out a working computer just because Microsoft won't support the OS. A topic such as this works better with facts, so here are some details. First of all, 32-bit systems won't work at all with Windows 11, so if you're using a 32-bit Windows 10 system, you have no path to upgrade. Required RAM goes from 2GB for a 64-bit Windows 10 system to 4GB for Windows 11. Minimum disk storage goes from 20GB for Windows 10 to 64GB for Windows 11. The minimum graphics card goes from DirectX 9-compatible to DirectX 12-compatible. Windows 10 still supports old-school 800x600 resolution displays; Windows 11 demands 720p display or better. Windows 11 also requires TPM (Trusted Platform Module) 2.0, a security-related hardware component that you can bet is missing from most older systems.

The reason Microsoft can get away with this is that the mandate to buy new hardware is actually more of a gold mine for the hardware vendors than it is for Microsoft. The planned obsolescence cycle gets stoked from both ends, and the customer is left in the middle, with no place of refuge except to bail on the whole scenario and go open source.

Some users undoubtedly will make the change, but I wouldn't count on a decisive shift. The freedom of choice offered by Linux is intimidating for many users. Linux users are a self-selected group who happen to find multiple decision paths exhilarating. Many perennial Windows users prefer to stay safe with a system where all actions are channeled through a narrow user experience. That isn't to say that we won't find some converts, but even if you can convince a user to switch, they won't stay in the Linux fold unless they reach a place of comfort with the experience.

Several years ago, before the rise of virtualization, I used to help Windows friends who wanted to experiment set their systems up to dual-boot, so they could try Linux without risking what they already knew. Sometimes when I went back to ask, "How's it going with Linux?" they would say, "I dunno, I just boot into Windows every time." In other words, they had a whole ghost operating system that they never used taking up space on their disk, all because they liked the idea of using Linux but didn't really like spending the time tinkering around figuring it out.

I realized then that I was overselling Linux. Of course, Linux has some significant advantages over Windows when it comes to security, transparency, and, most of all, freedom (you already know about these advantages or you wouldn't be reading this magazine), but many users don't want the freedom and don't need the transparency, and when it comes to security, all players have their talking points.

This time around, instead of saying "You'll love Linux," I'll be saying, "Linux is great, but you'll have to learn to operate with more independence. You'll get to set your system up exactly the way you want it, but then if something happens, you'll need to learn to look for answers online. You're not going to have Clippy [3] or some latter-day reincarnation of Clippy whispering solutions into your ear." I imagine some listeners will run for the hills when they hear this, but some, I hope, will get excited and be ready to dive down deep.

Joe Casad, Editor in Chief