- KDE has a campaign to persuade users from Windows 10 to go to Linux
- The desktop environment manufacturer accuses Microsoft of ‘Tech Extrition’ with the end date of assistance for Windows 10
- There are serious environmental concerns here, but at the same time, the language used in this campaign goes too far
As Windows 10 is closer to the end of life – and we are now getting closer – there is an increasing movement that tries to persuade those who cannot (or not) go to Windows 11 to migrate to Linux instead.
Recently, we have seen the project `End of 10 ”, which is a group of Linux enthusiasts urging people to pass to one of the flavors (called distros) of this operating system as an alternative to Microsoft.
And now Windows has reported the last one we have “kde for Windows 10 Exiles”, which is, we will say, a little more complete in his attempts to persuade people to be lacking in Linux.
If you are wondering what KDE is, it makes an office environment called plasma which is preinstalled with some of the best Linux distros (and can also be installed with others).
The portal on the official KDE website does not punch, as we are told: “The execution of Windows 10 on your computer? On October 14, Microsoft wants to transform it into unwanted.
“It may seem that he continues to work after this date a little, but when Microsoft stops the management of Windows 10, your perfectly good computer will be officially obsolete.”
KDE then underlines that if it is not corrected, what happens when the management ceases, Windows 10 is not safe and you open up to be hacked, adding this too: “The new versions of your applications will not run, but Microsoft will prevent you from going to the next version of Windows as long as you do not buy the new computer they will decide.
“You will have to spend your money hard earned and unravel the land and water as long as your old rotten machine in a discharge. The air will also be polluted by emissions that come from the manufacture and shipment of a new device that you do not really need.
“Even if you accept this technological extortion now, in a few years, they will redo it several times in the past.”
Analysis: Pull the big guns
Ouch, in a word. It is completely heavy cannon fire intended for Microsoft. Indeed, the KDE website accuses Microsoft of taking advantage of a form of “technological extortion” here – but is it fair? Not really, no, but it is not entirely baseless either.
Anger comes from the fact that the requirements of the Windows 11 HEFTIER system mean that some Windows 10 PCs simply cannot have the more recent operating system, because their CPU is too old (or they do not have TPM 2.0, a security function).
This could be an impossible problem to solve with a laptop (where the equipment cannot be replaced at all), and perhaps even super tricking on an office PC (you can eventually upgrade everything, which could be far beyond the capacities of many owners, or do not make sense in terms of cost).
This application of a higher PC specification is carried out for what Microsoft supports is (mainly) safety improvements with Windows 11, and this is a decision that many organizations have criticized because it is likely to push a whole bunch of computers on the Scrapheap. It is there that the austere images of the discharge come into play, and it is an apparently environmental disaster on the technological front, I would not argue.
Can Linux save your old PC from this spell? Well, yes, it can, although it is not as simple as that. For less warned users of technology, a move to Linux will be a complex process where they may wonder where to start (choose a good Linux distribution for beginners, or perhaps the one that is similar to Windows, would be a start).
And I cannot claim that there are no serious shortcomings with Linux in some respects: this is a whole new interface to learn, some of the applications you have spent on may not work with the operating system, and certainly certain games will not work (at all).
There are brick walls that can be confronted, including potential equipment or drivers problems – and for a less experienced computer user, this will be much to face, based only on the online medium of the community to pass them. (Although I have to admit, the Linux community cannot be for lack of their usefulness).
I have already covered this land, but for Windows 10 users a little more experienced, a passage to Linux could be a sufficiently viable way to keep old material alive. For less confident technology types, however, perhaps not so much.
As for calling Microsoft for extortion – well, it goes too far. Windows is a paid operating system, and as such, it will not last forever. Windows 10 has existed for a decade, so really, it is not a bad value for money – especially, because a few people have obtained the upgrade for free, anyway. You can also pay another year of support for Windows 10, and it doesn’t cost much.
If I owed Chuck Stones to Microsoft’s Windows greenhouse, it would be the inclusion of promotional activity in a paid operating system, and not to invoice software in the first place. It’s a serious frustration with Windows. It would also be good to have the possibility of prolonged support for consumers who are also one year longer (although this can still happen, Microsoft has not yet said).
It should be noted that some people who work on KDE were part of the end of 10 project, and there is also a link to this last website. So, it would seem that KDE really makes a big game to capitalize on dissatisfied types which believe that Microsoft is unfair with its requirements of the Windows 11 system, and it’s fair.
However, I think it would be wise to slow down part of the language and the way this campaign is tilted here.
