The End of Windows 10

Starting from today, Microsoft is moving their Windows 10 operating system to EOL aka end of life status. Which basically means, people who are still using the OS on their computer, will no longer receive any important security update automatically. Luckily, that does not mean your computer will stop working altogether. You would have few options in hand though.

First of all, if your machine meets the requirement of Windows 11, you can easily upgrade the operating system to Windows 11 for free. You can also consider purchasing a new PC, if you think your system is too old. In that case, you would have to opt for a PC that already has Windows 11 installed on it. However, if you are not ready to make any major purchase decision yet, you may sign up for Extended Security Updates (ESU) for a year which will cost you 30 bucks. Then again, eventually you have to make some decision regardless.

Back in 2015 when the Windows 10 was released, I was a student and didn't have the luxury to buy a new computer right away. I simply upgraded the OS on my desktop and moved on. However, that did not go as smooth as I anticipated for my laptop though. Part of the reason was the poor hardware configuration and it was a disaster. I ended up purchasing a new laptop which I still have and works just as smoothly on Windows 10. As soon as I learned that Windows 10 users will be able to upgrade it to Windows 11 for free, I did not hesitate to do that. Unfortunately, my laptop was not good enough for Windows 11.

Windows 11 seemed a bit more resource hungry compared to Windows 10 and unless your machine have a fairly good specification, the system would become sluggish off the bat. As you continue to install more and more additional software, it just goes downhill from there. For many of us who are still in possession of few years older system, Windows 10 continues to be a better option at this point of time. Then again, we are running out of time.

Currently, I am experimenting with various distribution of Linux to find my niche and I will eventually move away from Windows family altogether for my laptop at least. From purely professional point of view, such move may not be an ideal alternative for many of us. Thus, my workstation will continue to use Windows 11 until I become confident enough with the Linux. However, moving my entire workflow ecosystem to Linux would take sometime and I don't see it happening anytime soon because of some obvious reasons. Until then, we just have to say good bye to the Windows 10 and continue our journey on the same track.