Microsoft has made it clear that Windows 11 installation requires both a Microsoft account and active internet connectivity, and the company is systematically eliminating the simpler workarounds that previously allowed users to skip this requirement. While alternative methods remain available, they now demand significantly more technical expertise, specifically requiring users to modify the Windows installation image beforehand by configuring an unattended setup that includes a local account, a process that proves challenging for average users.
tech news are just shit lately, smh
After 30 years it is finally the year of the Linux desktop
I volunteer at a non-profit computer repair shop and the old folks that come in for free laptops have been returning windows and Mac laptops for ones we toss Zorin on lol.
They say it’s easier to use and faster
I mean, if you don’t need specific pieces of proprietary software and you don’t play certain video games on your computer, in a lot of ways, Linux is definitely going to suck way less than Windows, especially with modern day user friendly distros.
If it runs a browser, it works. Installing software is a bit of a learning curve, but the software store button makes sense. Plus it’s way harder to accidentally install a virus from an exe when you can’t run it.
Yep! I mean, there are tools for running Windows programs, but you have to be very intentional about it. It’s very difficult for the type of person who’s that careless in the first place to get a random Windows executable and carelessly run it. And most people really do only need a web browser and maybe basic office software.
We always install libre office and Firefox. No one even notices that it isn’t word because it just works. Half of them just want something that can do Zoom calls with their church and not constantly be asking them to update.
It’s also so much easier for techs to fix a borked Linux install. So far we haven’t even had any of the Linux machines come back except for hardware issues. The Windows machines are constantly having issues and getting malware though.
We track the Linux installs too and it’s fun to watch the graph over time be taken over by Linux.
Yep, that all tracks. I’m just happy to see perfectly good computers not end up as e-waste, but there’s something I really like about very non-technical people getting to actually try modern day Linux vs modern Windows, and saying the Linux system is the one that’s easier to use. Reminds me a bit of the story I saw of the guy who needed a replacement for his grandma’s ancient beige shitbox that had been running Windows 3.1 and finally bit the dust, apparently the woman knew what she was doing with a DOS prompt and could sort of navigate Windows 3.11, but just absolutely could not use modern GUIs. Strangest case of “old people having a Time with technology” I’ve ever heard. In that a thing you’d expect to be too difficult for an older and not exactly technical person, ends up being the easiest thing for them to use of the options available.
I heard Linux has AMD drivers that let you render ray tracing on non-RT GPUs (at a performance cost of course) which is cool. Getting better all the time.
I feel like windows has that too. I remember messing around with raytracing and getting like half an fps on an Intel igpu on both OSes