In a nutshell: As Microsoft prepares to end free security updates for Windows 10 in October, a significant challenge looms for charities that refurbish and distribute older computers to those in need. With an estimated 240 million PCs unable to meet the stringent hardware requirements for Windows 11, these organizations face a difficult decision: provide potentially insecure Windows 10 systems, send them to e-waste recyclers, or explore alternative operating systems like Linux.

Microsoft’s requirements for Windows 11 include a 1GHz or faster CPU with at least two cores, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, Secure Boot capability, and TPM 2.0 compatibility. However, the supported Intel CPU list only goes back to 8th Gen chips, introduced in 2017, while the AMD list includes Ryzen 2000 series and above.

  • regrub@lemmy.world
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    16 hours ago

    You seem to have a lot more faith in microsoft than I do.

    My concern is the likelyhood that companies using MS products will cut corners by using deprecated/unsupported OSs for years after the last security patch, which will lead to security breaches for many consumers.

    Not on Linux yet, but I really need to make the switch soon. Will be nice to actually have some semblance of control over my own personal devices.

    • 0x0@programming.dev
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      8 hours ago

      My concern is the likelyhood that companies using MS products will cut corners by using deprecated/unsupported OSs for years after the last security patch, which will lead to security breaches for many consumers.

      That likelihood is high, real and current.