Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Linux is an option, It works decently on my 18 year old laptop.

+1 I have been using Linux for more than 10 years. Unless you have a program that is only compatible with MS then Linux is perfectly fine. There are newb versions easy to install (Mint, Ubuntu) or SuperGeek versions like Arch and Gentoo.

DP.

There is one interoperability issue I wish the Linux — maybe more accurately Open Office - community would fix. Identical fonts have different names in Open Office. So documents created/edited on Linux often look totally different when the documents are opened in Microsoft Office (happens both on Mac and on Windows). I cannot force my customers to use Linux, so this mis-formatting makes it very hard for me to use Linux for work.

There ought to be a simple fix, some sort of script that fixes the font names on Linux to match those in MS Office. I have not found such a fix yet.

Do you have the Microsoft fonts installed on Linux?

How would one do that?

Anonymous wrote:A worse problem is the horrendous bugs in the Windows Patch Tuesday updates. If you are not command line savvy it's almost impossible to fix them if they hit your machine. It's a crap shoot if they will. I pause updates and sometimes Microsoft issues a fix quickly but the November one has issues and no fix in sight. Paused updates for weeks.

What issues?

A worse problem is the horrendous bugs in the Windows Patch Tuesday updates. If you are not command line savvy it's almost impossible to fix them if they hit your machine. It's a crap shoot if they will. I pause updates and sometimes Microsoft issues a fix quickly but the November one has issues and no fix in sight. Paused updates for weeks.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Linux is an option, It works decently on my 18 year old laptop.

+1 I have been using Linux for more than 10 years. Unless you have a program that is only compatible with MS then Linux is perfectly fine. There are newb versions easy to install (Mint, Ubuntu) or SuperGeek versions like Arch and Gentoo.

DP.

There is one interoperability issue I wish the Linux — maybe more accurately Open Office - community would fix. Identical fonts have different names in Open Office. So documents created/edited on Linux often look totally different when the documents are opened in Microsoft Office (happens both on Mac and on Windows). I cannot force my customers to use Linux, so this mis-formatting makes it very hard for me to use Linux for work.

There ought to be a simple fix, some sort of script that fixes the font names on Linux to match those in MS Office. I have not found such a fix yet.

Do you have the Microsoft fonts installed on Linux?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Linux is an option, It works decently on my 18 year old laptop.

+1 I have been using Linux for more than 10 years. Unless you have a program that is only compatible with MS then Linux is perfectly fine. There are newb versions easy to install (Mint, Ubuntu) or SuperGeek versions like Arch and Gentoo.

DP.

There is one interoperability issue I wish the Linux — maybe more accurately Open Office - community would fix. Identical fonts have different names in Open Office. So documents created/edited on Linux often look totally different when the documents are opened in Microsoft Office (happens both on Mac and on Windows). I cannot force my customers to use Linux, so this mis-formatting makes it very hard for me to use Linux for work.

There ought to be a simple fix, some sort of script that fixes the font names on Linux to match those in MS Office. I have not found such a fix yet.

Anonymous wrote:Linux is an option, It works decently on my 18 year old laptop.

+1 I have been using Linux for more than 10 years. Unless you have a program that is only compatible with MS then Linux is perfectly fine. There are newb versions easy to install (Mint, Ubuntu) or SuperGeek versions like Arch and Gentoo.

Anonymous wrote:Windows 11 is fine, you just have to use it for 5-6 months to get used to it and get all the settings right.

+1

The move from 10 to 11 isn’t that much of a learning curve. You might have to tweak some minor settings to your liking but it’s still familiar.

My 85 yo Mom made the switch with little trouble.

Windows 11 is fine, you just have to use it for 5-6 months to get used to it and get all the settings right.

Linux is an option, It works decently on my 18 year old laptop.

You can download Microsoft's PC health check to let you know whether your computer can run Windows 11.

That could still fail on computers new enough to run Windows 11 if the BIOS settings are wrong. The latter can be easily changed in many cases.

If the issue is cost, then do web searches. There are various hacks that let one get a legal no-cost upgrade to Windows11 even for older hardware.

If the goal is stable and easy to use, then wait until late Spring 2026 and get one of the new — much lower cost — MacBook laptops expected to be released then. And yes, MS Office, Adobe, and most other important apps are available now for a Mac.

Just keep using Windows 10. Why not?
It's better anyway.

You can download Microsoft's PC health check to let you know whether your computer can run Windows 11. If it can, you can download the Windows 11 Installation Update from Microsoft.

If you decide not to do that, this guy makes good, calm explainers about staying on Windows 10. He says Microsoft will provide security updates until 2028.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpAIOcYPYgo
https://askleo.com/how-to-keep-using-windows-10-safely-after-support-ends/

Windows 10 will keep working, but security and bug fix patches will no longer be generally available. Depending upon your use case, you may or may not care about any of this. Eventually, software that you might use will drop support as well.

If you are concerned about patch availability (which you probably should be), you can buy extended support from Microsoft for one year for something like $50.

Otherwise, your options are to upgrade to Windows 11 (either by buying new hardware if yours is unsupported or by using any of the various methods that bypass the hardware checks that the installer does and which might or might not keep working) or switch to a different operating system.

How old is your current computer and what are its specifications? If it is newer than 2019, it likely has the ability to run Windows 11 in a supported manner, although you might need to change some BIOS settings.

I'm getting messages that Microsoft will no longer support Windows 10. I don't think my ancient hardware can even make the transition. I'd rather get a root canal than fuss with my operating system. Any advice?