A reader shared her opinion about Windows 11:
“I am not going to be worrying about Windows 11 anytime soon. According to what I have read, my computer, which is fine with me, won’t pass muster. I have an Intel Core i7 processor, 64 bit, plenty of speed and memory, but with TPM 1.2. Flunk. Some of the tech sites I have read are showing experts livid with rage about the perfectly good excluded machines. Some are saying it’s a money issue for MS, inasmuch as mostly it doesn’t charge for upgrades.
It gets paid by manufacturers on new builds. Therefore, it wants to force everyone into buying a new computer. There are a lot of videos out there on workarounds, how to change ownership of and upgrade the TPM, how to find/create or manipulate ISO files to bypass some of MS’s requirements, etc. They have forced Windows 11 to install on machines as far back as I think, Core i3 processors and having boards without any TPM module. I sort of understand what they are doing, but, at present, actually following all these instructions is a little above my pay grade.
I have an emergency geek here in town who could probably manage everything, but at the moment, I’m not interested in spending all the time involved and forking over all the money for the bench time. I just don’t want to bother with it. As to the rest, I have seen screenshots of the new desktop, and I don’t like it. I am not looking for my desktop to look like a giant phone. So far, I don’t even have a smartphone. I have a “justaphone.” Therefore, I don’t care in the least about Android apps. I never used Cortana except to type into the search box. I don’t sync any devices. As much as possible, I steer clear of MS tracking. Thus, I never used any of the features that invite more of it, such as timeline, so I won’t miss those. I haven’t used Internet Explorer for years, so I won’t miss that. I don’t like the MS newsfeed sites selection, so I don’t use that tile. I will miss the live tile for weather, but I’m sure, when the time comes, I can find a replacement.
I suspect MS will be surprised by the small number of people who are clamoring for its latest wares. I have seen a fair amount of rejection commentary. People aren’t willing to crawl through the hoops and jump over the hurdles for what they see as little or no improvement.”
I do have one bit of good news about your weather tile. Weather has shifted to the Interests section, which actually displays conveniently on your taskbar.
The increased security is a plus, but probably more of interest to business clients. I wasn’t keen about the new design moving the start menu to the center, either.
But once I heard about Windows 365, which allows people to use Windows on all types of devices, I better understood it. They’re attempting to keep the look the same no matter where you use it.
They have a tricky tightrope to walk, offering a product that works for PC users and mobile users. More and more folks use mobile devices as their primary device.
Also, many devices that show they can’t upgrade to Windows 11, actually can – it’s just that the security isn’t enabled in the BIOS. If the manufacturer updates the BIOS, the device will become eligible.
We’ll see what happens. Thanks for your insight.