It’s the end of the Windows 10 world as we know it…

People implored Microsoft to continue Windows 10 support. Even my frenemy Ed Bott, the noted Windows expert, thinks that when it comes to Windows 10 support, “Microsoft appears to have no empathy” for its individual users. 

Those pleas fell upon deaf ears. On Oct. 14, Windows 10 support ended for most users. 

Now, what are the approximately 400 million Windows 10 users — 40% of all Windows users — to do? Well, some are biting the bullet and buying new Windows 11 PCs or subscribing to Windows 365 cloud PCs. IDC claims PC sales jumped 9.4% year-over-year in the last quarter.  

But businesses have been slow to update their existing machines. As Omdia reported, even though we’ve known this has been coming for years, only 39% of surveyed businesses as of September had refreshed or updated their PCs. Indeed, 18% said they’ll keep using Windows 10.

Why? There are many reasons. First and foremost, users simply don’t see any advantage to switching from Windows 10 to Windows 11. Their attitude can be summed up as, “It works fine, why should I replace it?” In addition, many people loathe Windows 11. 

How much do they hate it? The UX/UI design agency Tenscope found in its analysis of Google Trends data that US searches for “hate Windows 11” and “when does Windows 12 come out” have both spiked over the past 30 days. Jovan Babovic, a Tenscope spokesperson, explained: “The fact that people are already searching for Windows 12 before Windows 11 has gained widespread acceptance shows just how resistant users are to changes they didn’t ask for.”

Oh? Windows 12? The beta should have been out by now. It’s not. I and others think you can might see Windows 12 in 2027. Or, as I’ve long thought, Microsoft might well go all-in on remote Windows on Azure. Your PC will only serve as a launching platform for your “desktop.”

Of course, you don’t have to move to Windows 11. For $61 per Windows 10 PC, Microsoft offers its Extended Security Updates (ESU) program for an additional year of support. The program will be in place for three years, with the yearly cost doubling every 12 months, reaching $244 per PC in the final year. 

That comes on top of annual price hikes for Microsoft 365 (M365) subscriptions. M365 Personal jumped from $69.99 to $99.99 per year, while the Family plan rose from $99.99 to $129.99 per year. For business customers, a 5% hike was also applied to monthly subscriptions under annual commitments starting April 1, 2025, alongside increases for specific services: for example, Teams Phone rose by 25% and Power BI Pro by 40%. These increases are largely tied to the introduction of new AI-powered features, notably Microsoft Copilot, whether users wanted them or not. 

In short, Microsoft services have gotten much more expensive, and users aren’t seeing much benefit for those higher bills. 

Many people and businesses are stuck with Windows 10 PCs that work just fine, even if they are a little long in the tooth. They hate the idea of trashing machines that have years of life left in them and spending money on new hardware.

There are ways to try to upgrade even “incompatible” PCs from Windows 10 to 11. In my experience, sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. But it’s worth a try, if you have time to spare. All you’ll lose is a system otherwise destined for the trash.

Or you can do what I recommend: get off Windows once and for all and move to Linux desktop. (Yes, I know Apple is another option.) Despite what you might think, Linux has been easy to use for more than a decade now. Sure, it helps to know your way around the Bash shell. But, hey, it helps to know your way around PowerShell on Windows — and how many of us know how to do that? Not knowing PowerShell never stopped you from getting your work done on a Windows PC, did it? It’s the same with the Linux desktop. (Personally, I recommend Linux Mint; I’ve even detailed  how you can give your old Windows 10 box a new lease on life with Linux.

Still nervous about moving to Linux? OK, do you know how to use the Chrome web browser? Yes? Can you do most of your work from a web browser? Then, instead of Linux, give your Windows 10 PC  a refresh with ChromeOS Flex.

ChromeOS Flex turns your PC or laptop into a Chromebook. True, you can’t run your standalone Windows programs on it, but it has no trouble with Microsoft 365 and essentially all other Software-as-a-Service applications. The installation is simple, and if you know how to use a web browser, which you must since you’re reading this article, you can use ChromeOS Flex. 

One advantage of either Linux or ChromeOS Flex is that you won’t need to worry about your PC going out of date. Heck, Linux only recently stopped supporting 486 chips! 

Whatever you decide, you can’t just sit there and run Windows 10 and expect everything to continue as usual. You’d be a fool to do so. Take Windows 7, for example. The WannaCry ransomware attack occurred before Windows 7’s official end-of-support in January 2020, but its effects persist even today, as not quite 10% of Windows users are still running Windows 7. 

You do not want to be that person in your company. 

Decide what you’re going to do and do it soon. I’d prefer you move to Linux or Chrome OS Flex, but do something. Sitting on your hands is not the answer.It’s the end of the Windows 10 world as we know it… – ComputerworldRead More