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End of 10 is a campaign to move people over to Linux with Windows 10 support ending
(www.gamingonlinux.com)
Good luck, you're going to need it.
this post was submitted on 13 May 2025
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Windows stopped at 7.
10 is perfectly freat, 7 was not bad at all.
I kinda wish I had the time and knowledge to volunteer at my local commu center and do a "Save your old computer from the Dump!" Free upgrade! ~to~ ~Linux~" drive.
Doing it free means they won't take care of it or care. Don't dump that on yourself.
I considered it, but I think the overwhelming, unexpected workload would be migrating data, training users, and working with them through migration to FOSS applications from Office and the like.
It’s definitely not just going to be “installed Linux on your computer, have a great day!”
Remember when windows 10 was supposed to be the last version of windows? 🤣
It is the last - that a lot of us here will ever use willingly
Switched from W10 to EndeavourOS about two weeks ago. Happy so far. The full-screen W11 ads/W10 deprecation warnings were what pushed me over the edge.
Yeah, if the MS store and UWP apps worked out for Microsoft (they didn't lol).
Now win11 is "okay, now this really will be last version of windows, because you can't refuse installing our crap."
if the MS store and UWP apps worked out for Microsoft
Interestingly, that's exactly what prompted Valve to invest heavily into Linux compatibility. They saw a future where Windows became an iPhone-like OS where most users only obtained apps and games via Microsoft's store, and they absolutely did not like that idea.
That future never came, but later on the project would pay dividends by allowing the Steam Deck to exist.
Yep, and I'd argue thats one of the most fruitful things to come out of MS's blunders. It incentivized the other stakeholders to get win32/64 compatibility efforts into high gear for linux, and I couldn't be happier with what we ended up with today (on the linux side ofc)
Edit: Also, I mentioned the MS store and UWP because that was the reason behind that infamous quote - the team wanted to motivate developers to get on board with the platform, and announcing 10 as the last version of Windows was part of that campaign.
There are a significant number of Windows users that lack technical skills and rely on others for support. Many will also have hardware that does not support Windows 11.
They have 4 choices:
- keep using Windows 10 without support
- upgrade to Windows 11 (without support)
- upgrade to Windows 11 (new hardware)
- upgrade to Linux
Many, probably most, of these users will be happy continuing to use an unsupported version of Windows. However not all of their support advisors will be happy with this. That includes me. I do not want to take responsibility for these users on an unsupported operating system.
For the same reasons, I am not going to recommend running Windows 11 without support.
So, the choice is buy new hardware or try Linux.
These people that are perfectly happy with their computers the way they are, why do they want to go buy new computers? This is not a very attractive option. I think it is the least attractive option.
Given the other choices, trying Linux, especially as a trial to see if new hardware purchases can be avoided, sounds attractive.
If you are relying on others for support, moving to Windows 11 or moving to Linux is the same amount of work. It is no more difficult and probably no less scary if somebody is helping you.
People would rather stay with what they have. Microsoft will not let them.
I need Linux users to understand that Windows folks don't stop using an operating system just because the support ended
I think that's because they don't understand or don't care about the risks. Annoyingly I was in the process of making my own version of this campaign when it launched but I was aiming to explain why someone should care that the os is no longer supported and why its a problem first, then suggesting what to do about it. Options weren't exclusively Linux but I realise buying a new device isn't always an option either so some people will absolutely keep using 10. It's not about getting to 100%, just enough that you can make a difference or keep devices out of landfill.
good thing there's not any sort of digital information war going on. i assume having everyone's computers vulnerable will turn out super good
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Just moved my mother from Windows 10 to LMDE.
Noice LMDE
It's been a hot minute since I've used a linux distro for personal use, but I've got a laptop that probably needs to move over. That being said, I would still LIKE to play some windows exclusive games on that machine. Is wine still the go to for fudging compatibility? How good is it? Will I be able to download windows only steam games with relatively low effort for such uses?
Proton / wine is modern day magic
Most Windows only steam games work out of the box (you do have to enable it in the right click menu > Compatibility options, per game)
Games that use Anti-cheat aren't likely to work (it depends on the Anti-cheat used and how it's configured)
ProtonDB is a good resource for checking if/which games work, or fixes and workarounds
You can use proton or wine on non steam games, but that requires additional setup that I'm not familiar with
My personal experience gaming solely on Linux for about two years is a 100% success rate running Windows games. Mind you I don't play anything that has anti-cheat. And maybe 85%-90% without needing to fiddle with anything.
Depends entirely on your games list.
If you only play indies and singleplayer, it will probably work out.
If you play AAA and competitive multiplayer, not so much.
I moved from windows to ubuntu a few months ago. My entire steam library works when I do this. The only games I've heard don't work are LoL and CoD. Maybe a few more?
Okay dank I had no awareness of proton, this is very encouraging! Thanks!
Linux gamer here. Can confirm: both Proton and ProtonDB are wonderful.
There's also Lutris, https://lutris.net/, which uses wine and other software underneath, but with a nice GUI and a lot of scripts to further make playing your games on Linux easier.
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