So, there was a little pop up message on my computer when I checked in this morning, courtesy of Microsoft.
It was basically letting me know that they will be "stopping support for Windows 10" sometime in the middle of 2025, about a year from now.
Don't Assume... on MY Behalf!
This is actually no big surprise to me. I knew this was coming at some point because everything they're doing now revolves around Windows 11.
The thing about it that bothered me wasn't so much the fact that they are turning all their attention to Windows 11 and deprecating Windows 10 as the little statement at the end saying "we highly recommend that you buy yourself a new Windows 11 computer!"
Do whut?
I'm sorry, but you're making an assumption on my behalf that I have a spare $800-$1200 lying around so I can just go out and buy new technology!
Yes, I know I can get a cheap refurbished no-name box somewhere for about $150 that might be "Windows 11 enabled," but likely it would barely be able to run anything more complex than email. To get something comparable to the 2013 machine I currently have would be closer to $1000.
This cat is annoyed!
It made me think of the days when I worked in the IT industry — granted it was many years ago — and one of the essential things we always had to consider was backwards compatibility of every single thing we did.
At this point it seems like the idea of backwards compatibility has been thrown out the window and replaced with the assumption that people are basically going to buy new technology every year like it's some kind of fashion statement.
I realize this all might be falling somewhat on deaf ears in this community where we're all about alternative lives and disrupting the mainstream, and many of our resident technologists would probably say ”oh well, you should just be using Linux or Ubuntu or some other freestanding open source operating system.”
And yes, I hear you — but after years and years of Using Windows based machines, and having loads and loads of (some of them quite old) apps and software designed to run on Windows 10 and before I'm not ready to completely have to relearn a whole bunch of different things from scratch.
So, the "Age of Prosperity?"
But it also made me think about the whole — often publicized — notion that we're entering "An Age of Prosperity", because I'm definitely not feeling prosperous, and definitely not feeling prosperous enough to follow the underlying assumption of evolving technology... which seems to be that I can afford to replace the old at an ever faster rate.
I'm sorry I just haven't become that prosperous and you haven't made your products ”virtually free” yet!
Open Source Operating Systems?
Anyway, I did spend a little time looking at potential open source operating systems for older computers, although I struggled to get past the fact that most of the people putting these "helpful videos" together seemed to have a great fondness for using AI text-to-voice for their clips, and I just can't stand listening to all those automated voices that very clearly are not spoken by a human being.
At that, I actually found myself chuckling slightly and wondering whether the new discrimination of our evolving times is going to a bias against AI because "they don't sound like us!"
Meanwhile I guess I'll be blogging more and saving up all my HBD to buy a new computer! At least that's a worthy goal... right?
Thanks for coming to visit, and do leave a comment if you feel so inclined!
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Posted with proof of brain