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Get ready for the fun of Windows upgrade time. Again.
Apparently a Windows 11 free upgrade will be available later this year for compatible hardware. According to Microsoft, Windows 10 will reach end-of-life on 14th October 2025. So you have around four years to dump that old hardware and get up to date. Like you did at the beginning of 2020. Check out some new Windows hardware on Amazon, but be sure to the check the compatibility with Windows 11.
Back in the day, in the role of “Computer Development Manager”, I had the only PC in a reasonably large company. A large computer vendor account manager dumped a pack of diskettes on my desk, with the words “This is the future – learn it”. I had to go and buy a mouse first! That was Windows 3.0, running on my huge, for the day, 80286 with 256kB RAM and 20 MB hard drive!
Since then I have, in common with many, become intimately acquainted with most of the Windows operating systems. Who would have believed that we would be seeing an operating system with a basic configuration of 4GB RAM and a dual core processor.
But! I have never been a fan of Windows. It is for work, and stays there.
Since discovering Linux in 2000, I have, until recently, only used Linux for all of my home computing needs, from browsing to photo editing and everything else. A couple of years ago, to find out what it was all about, I acquired a real bottom-of-the-range HP Chromebook.
The last few months has been interesting, mainly due to the fact that I am, to put it politely, “between jobs”. So, at the moment, Windows is something I read about in the computer press. What has been interesting is that almost all of the day to day work I do is being done on the Chromebook. And that covers a lot of ground.
Of course the Chromebook is low spec, so some of the “heavy hauling”, like RAW photo editing, takes ages. That’s where the Linux machine comes into play. And there are a few apps which I prefer on Linux.
So, am I excited by Microsoft’s latest push to have everybody buy new hardware?
In a word, no! I may have to do something about it when I find a new job, but that can wait.
The main thing here, is that the home computing world has eveolved, and changed a lot. You have the choice of going with Windows and, very likely, upgrading your hardware. Or looking at some alternatives,
Drop a comment with your own thoughts. Happy to share Linux and Chromebook knowledge – just ask. I am planning a few posts on these alternatives in the near future.
Looking for a Chromebook? Try this link to Amazon.
** Top of the page image Photo by Burst on Unsplash
Hairy 1 Travels 
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