Mastodawn

Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk Dec 12, 2024

Microsoft will soon cut off Windows 10 security updates, and says "up yours" to people with (somewhat) older computers who would happily use Windows 11, but now will be blocked

Intel and AMD appreciate this very much.

If you aren't ready to put your older but working-fine computer in a landfill, and further pollute the planet, you have a better option:

It's easier than ever to install and use Ubuntu or Mint or some other Linux system.

https://www.theverge.com/2024/12/4/24312928/microsoft-windows-11-older-hardware-tpm-support

Microsoft closes the door on Windows 11 supporting older hardware

Microsoft makes it clear that TPM 2.0 is a core requirement for Windows 11 and future versions. It has closed the door on hopes of lower hardware requirements.

The Verge

Western Infidels Dec 12, 2024

@dangillmor I think MS might be surprised how many people say "Eh... my phone is good enough," and just ditch the desktop / laptop.

Mastodon Migration Dec 12, 2024

This ☝️!!!

Have 2 old machines running Mint now. Love it!

https://linuxmint-installation-guide.readthedocs.io/en/latest/

Linux Mint Installation Guide — Linux Mint Installation Guide documentation

Grassroots Joe Dec 12, 2024

@mastodonmigration @dangillmor

I've got an old desktop that's mostly a backup resource, and it's got a read-write DVD drive! (Do they even make those any more?) Handy for ripping CDs I get for B-day and Hanukkah presents.

It'd be awesome if you guys did a couple of live step by step replace W10 with Linux sessions in late winter or early spring.

Dan Gillmor Dec 12, 2024

@joeinwynnewood There are countless guides to this, including on the sites run by the distributions. @mastodonmigration

Grassroots Joe Dec 12, 2024

@dangillmor @mastodonmigration

No doubt, and there's still nothing that comes close to a bit of live support.

Mastodon Migration Dec 12, 2024

@joeinwynnewood @dangillmor

This is a pretty popular how to tutorial video.

https://youtu.be/_qZI6i21jB4?si=mUQ7v4P9nCJn5JOW

Linux Mint 22: Excellent Distro for Windows Users

YouTube

Grassroots Joe Dec 12, 2024

@mastodonmigration @dangillmor

Thanks.
Bookmarked for when I have not a lot of stuff going on (2029?).

Guitarsophist Dec 12, 2024

@mastodonmigration @dangillmor Even on brand new machines Linux Mint is way better than Win 10. I haven't used Win 11, but I will bet that it is even more bloated and slow than Win 10. Yes, you will have to find alternatives for some software.

SpaceLifeForm Dec 12, 2024

I thought I read Microsoft backtracked on this, whereby if 10 worked, then 11 will now.

Anyway, you are still better off to use

EvilKiru 🇮🇸 he/him Dec 12, 2024

@SpaceLifeForm
I have an old laptop that runs 10 just fine, but Windows Update tells me that I cannot update to 11, because my bios, which has no upgrade path, doesn't support UEFI Secure Boot.
@dangillmor

SpaceLifeForm Dec 12, 2024

@EvilKiru @dangillmor

https://www.techpowerup.com/329691/microsoft-loosens-windows-11-install-requirements-tpm-2-0-not-needed-anymore

New Age Dec 12, 2024

@dangillmor The ordinary home computer user has sufficient computing power with technology from a decade ago. It's way past time to get off the Microsoft/Intel/AMD treadmill in keeping up with the latest and greatest.

craniac Dec 12, 2024

@dangillmor I'm running Lubuntu, a lite version of Ubuntu, on a 2014 Thinkpad that weighs about eight pounds. It works great.

Dewey Dec 12, 2024

@dangillmor I just moved the last windows machine in the house to Linux mint. Windows updates were clearly making the system worse, and Microsoft was nagging me with "you need an account" messages at boot. No, I do not need an account.

SouthFresh Dec 12, 2024

@dangillmor please check the absolute s**t-show of comments in this thread where they attempted to gaslight everyone on TPM requirements:

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/Windows-ITPro-blog/tpm-2-0-%E2%80%93-a-necessity-for-a-secure-and-future-proof-windows-11/4339066/

Michael Porter Dec 12, 2024

@SouthFresh @dangillmor I've always found that walking away is a *great* negotiating tactic.

SouthFresh Dec 12, 2024

@MichaelPorter @dangillmor I certainly won’t be touching Win11 for my personal use, and much of what I do on a professional basis is Linux-based already

Andrew Pardoe Dec 12, 2024

@SouthFresh @MichaelPorter @dangillmor My lovely Surface Studio machine is now obsolete, and not being replaced.

📎🖐️ Alan Taylor 🎬 📚Dec 12, 2024

@SouthFresh @dangillmor

'Lastly... GREEN!!! - How can you possibly claim ANY green credentials by condemning SO many computers to landfill!?!? It's an ecological disaster.'

SouthFresh Dec 12, 2024

@dralant @dangillmor absolutely a valid point from "dr_orange"! The entire move is arbitrarily wasteful, ignores the environmental impact, and smells of collusion with hardware manufacturers.

Unless you're working in bleeding-edge fields, we've gotten to the point where the usability-lifecycle of our hardware has gotten much longer than any previous time.

For the average non-business user, the difference between a 4 year old system and a brand new system is much slimmer than it used to be.

OldDutchCap Dec 12, 2024

@dangillmor @JohnJBurnsIII agreed but posting this here (as opposed to FB or Bsky or Threads) seems a little futile 😀

John Burns Dec 12, 2024

@onorio @dangillmor

I'm not at those other places... but I suspect Tom Warren covers those other outlets. It's kinda his job.

Dan Gillmor Dec 12, 2024

@onorio I posted it there, too.

OldDutchCap Dec 12, 2024

@dangillmor awesome! If more people are aware of their options maybe there will be less eWaste to deal with!

Luna chan Dec 12, 2024

@dangillmor Install Linux distros like Mint are good enough for most people including most office workers.

Jeff Kotuby Dec 12, 2024

@dangillmor I have a pimped out gaming PC but I'm still not eligible to upgrade to Windows 11. I have no idea what the requirements are.

Lou Thomas Dec 12, 2024

@dangillmor Looks like there's a one year reprieve for $30, making the actual new deadline October of 2026. Nothing against Linux, but inertia is a powerful force where large masses are concerned.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/10/home-users-can-only-buy-one-year-of-extra-windows-10-updates-for-30-per-pc/

Consumers won’t be offered all three years of extended Windows 10 security updates

Home users can opt in for a single year of updates at $30 per PC—not 3 years.

Ars Technica

Corey Taylor Dec 12, 2024

@dangillmor Facts!! I myself am a Fedora Linux fan and I happily upgrade it to a new major release every 6 months on my 6+ year old laptop, which happily runs just as great as the day I bought it. My one remaining Windows PC, which I use for gaming only, just randomly corrupted itself after running Windows Update and I had to reinstall everything from scratch. Never have I ever experienced issues like that with Linux, even back when it was much harder to install and use compared to nowadays. People need to know there are completely free alternatives to scrapping perfectly good hardware.

Carsten Dec 16, 2024

@onpubcom @dangillmor Same for me with MacOs.

Sterling Dec 12, 2024

Absolutely !
Windows & Microsoft just keeps on getting worse and worse.
Meanwhile, Linux just keeps on getting better and better.

Alison Meeks Dec 12, 2024

@dangillmor Been running a Windows box since the early days. They can stuff 11 and Recall where the sun don't shine.

Roger Moore Dec 12, 2024

@dangillmor
Some of the equipment I use isn't yet officially supported on Win11. I think the LTSC versions of Windows 10 will continue to get security updates for longer than the consumer version, but I wonder if the manufacturer is ever going to support 11 or if they'll switch to Linux.

Michael Bishop ☕Dec 12, 2024

@dangillmor it's easy to say to install Ubuntu, Mint or other operating systems but most people lack the knowledge and understanding of how to do it.

@MichaelBishop @dangillmor The problem is that almost all computers don't come with Linux preinstalled. If you walk into a Micro Center or Best Buy in the US, apart from a Steam Deck, all of those systems run Windows out of the box.

We are consumers need to push OEMs to give us more Linux pre-installed options that have decent hardware.

Cassandrich Dec 12, 2024

@dangillmor I imagine there's also a way to patch some msi file or registry entry to fix it.

I'd love to see ppl dump MS, but on their own time and terms. Folks need the tools to put Windows in its place as long as they want or need it.

Cassandrich Dec 12, 2024

@dangillmor Also: Ubuntu is just Debian with good stuff removed & corporate enshittification added.

Chip35 Dec 12, 2024

@dangillmor Windows 11 runs fine as a virtual machine with TPM emulation turned on. Not really gaming ready but it operates my 3D printer as a guest under Linux.

Salvo Dec 12, 2024

@dangillmor @briankrebs

I only use my old (unsupported) MS Surface for WSL and DOSBox.

Time for me to nuke and pave.

What is the best current Linux Distro for an old-school late 1990s Linux experience?

(Minimalist with something like Enlightenment, Windowmaker and/or Blackbox)

Dean Styles Dec 12, 2024

@Salvo @dangillmor @briankrebs Would AntiX be suitable?

Although presumably if you're after those sorts of desktops you're probably fine to roll your own with Debian 🙂

@Salvo @dangillmor @briankrebs Have you tried @q4os? More 2007 era, but it uses a @kde 3.5 fork called @tde (Trinity Desktop Environment) and it works pretty well! (Current versions of KDE Plasma are also supported.)

Mark A. ⏏️ {FalconMarkSix}Dec 12, 2024

@dangillmor I can't move to Linux fully because I can't fill in XFA PDFs. I've tried finding clients that let me fill in these forms properly and validate it.

But the only this that works is Adobe Reader which is only on Windows/Mac.

Dan Gillmor Dec 12, 2024

@FalconMarkSix Perhaps you could take it to your local library and do it there?

Mark A. ⏏️ {FalconMarkSix}Dec 13, 2024

@dangillmor I wish I could. I've been dealing with some chronic leg pain so it's an accessibility issue.

The most reasonable choice for me is to dual-boot both Windows and Linux, and use Linux as much as I can.

Pablonius Monk 🇺🇦Dec 12, 2024

@FalconMarkSix @dangillmor Most browsers now support XFA pdfs (Firefox, Chromium-based browsers too).

Also found this: https://code-industry.net/free-pdf-editor/

Forum post here:

https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/265845/pdf-reader-that-supports-xfa-forms-while-adobe-reader-for-linux-is-not-supporte

Master PDF Editor for Linux. Download Master PDF Editor for Linux.

PDF Editor for Linux. Edit PDF Files using Master PDF Editor in Linux.

Wittgenstein's Poker 🇵🇸 ☮️Dec 13, 2024

@pabloniusmonk @FalconMarkSix @dangillmor Yes. It's cross platform. It's in the Mint (and probably other) repositories. If you use the free version, it watermarks the copy. If you pay, it's just under £70 if I remember correctly.

Mark A. ⏏️ {FalconMarkSix}Dec 13, 2024

@linuxgnome @pabloniusmonk @dangillmor

It doesn't work. It also links you to this page.

How to use XFA Forms in Master PDF Editor

How to use XFA Forms in Master PDF Editor

Mark A. ⏏️ {FalconMarkSix}Dec 13, 2024

@pabloniusmonk @dangillmor

Chromium doesn't work.

Firefox and Master PDF Editor do come close. But they are still broken since I am unable to Validate the document properly.

For Firefox javascript IS enabled and posts online says that this happens with XFA forms that need to validated.

Master PDF Editor links you to this page.

How to use XFA Forms in Master PDF Editor

How to use XFA Forms in Master PDF Editor

@FalconMarkSix @dangillmor I think Okular might have just gotten an option to digitally sign PDFs. Not sure if that works with your use case...

Mark A. ⏏️ {FalconMarkSix}Dec 13, 2024

@cameronbosch @dangillmor

It still doesn't work unfortunately. I have the latest version of Okular.

@FalconMarkSix @dangillmor Well that sucks. Have you tried other (maybe not FOSS) options.

Mark A. ⏏️ {FalconMarkSix}Dec 14, 2024

@cameronbosch @dangillmor So far the other options have been a bust.

I'll just keep dual-booting Windows just for Adobe Reader and use Linux for everything else. 🤷

@FalconMarkSix @dangillmor Have you tried running Windows in a VM?

somtwo Dec 12, 2024

@dangillmor I installed mint on my laptop as a test. It was super easy! I'm aiming to do the same on my desktop.

iveyline Dec 12, 2024

@dangillmor Big tech like Microsoft couldn't care less about their customers. They just want to keep on making billions in profits by screwing us all. There must be millions of Windows 10 computers around the world that work perfectly. Their owners are just veing given the finger.

FunkETown Dec 12, 2024

@dangillmor Linux is great, and I recommend it.

Many hardware incompatibility issues for widows 11 come from a missing tpm module. You can buy them for between $10-26. I got mine for $10 and now have a windows 11 computer in my stable along side my debian 12

@FunkETown @dangillmor Good luck installing that in a laptop...