I've always been amused by the scene in Rob Reiner's film This is Spinal Tap where the lead guitarist of the titular fictional rock band explains that his amplifier's volume control goes up to "eleven" for when you need that little bit extra. In some ways, I'm a little surprised Microsoft hasn't capitalized on that clip for their Windows 11 advertising campaign. I can just see the ads now: "Turn your PC up to Eleven!"
Be that as it may, I was one of the myriad users who was disappointed to discover that that my Windows 10 laptop would be left out in the cold when the new version, rolls out later this year. And like a patient receiving word of a terminal illness, the question uppermost in my mind regarding that computer is 'how long have I got'?
That said, I wasn't terribly surprised about my laptop's prognosis as it's a four-year-old, low end model that shipped with Windows 10 but these days struggles to run the latest iteration of the OS. It's little wonder that when the warranty expired a couple of years ago, HP put a notice up on its screen suggesting I make immediate plans to replace the device. Nonetheless, I'm still using it, although not as my go-to machine. That honor goes to an even older MacBook Pro. Yeah, they're way more expensive up front but in the long run, the total cost of ownership is similar, if not lower.
As a consummate technological cheapskate, I do feel like I need to make a long-term plan for this little HP laptop. Microsoft announced this week that support for Windows 10 is presently projected to end in October 2025. That means at least another four years of security patches but not feature upgrades. Of course, the flip side of the coin is that as I'm riding out Windows 10 support, I could end up stuck running older software versions as vendors stop supporting Windows 10 with their latest versions ahead of that cutoff date. And of course, that date could end up being extended as it was with Windows XP and Windows 7.
Looking ahead to the fall of 2025, if I still own this laptop, it is still functional and I want to wring some additional life out of it, I'll be faced with another choice. Do I continue using what by then will be an orphaned operating system or do I start looking for an alternative? If you've read some of my earlier posts, you may know that by "alternative" I mean Linux.
Even today, a lot of people's eyes tend to glaze over when they hear that 'L' word mentioned, thinking surely one must need some programming skills or at least some serious geek street cred to even consider jumping into it but the reality is you're probably using it already. If you have a Chromebook or Android device, it's running a variant of Linux. That's why you can install and run Android and Linux applications on newer Chromebooks. And don't get me started on the number of major e-commerce sites that run their servers on Linux.
I've been playing with desktop Linux off and on for a little over twelve years now and it's amazing how easy to use it has become. In some ways, it's actually easier than Windows. For most Linux distributions, or 'distros' for short, it's just a matter of downloading a disk image, copying it to a bootable flash drive or optical media, which increasingly means a DVD, and rebooting your computer with that as the startup disk to take the OS for a test drive. This should be done with the understanding that things will run a bit slower from external media than when the OS is actually running from your internal hard drive. The best part is most distros are free so it doesn't cost you anything except a little bit of time and maybe a blank disc or two. Once you've found one you like, back up your files, reformat your hard drive to replace your OS or partition it for a dual-boot system and install. More detailed instructions can be found elsewhere on the Web.
The biggest question many prospective Linux users must answer for themselves is which distro to install. There is no right or wrong answer to this question. Just use what feels most comfortable. Over the years, I have experimented with OpenSUSE, Fedora, and various iterations of Ubuntu. The most recent one I've settled on is Linux Mint, which is based on Ubuntu and its 'Cinnamon' interface will provide a comforting familiarity to new users coming from Windows that they will want to explore and get to know it better.
The other thing that some users might find somewhat off-putting going into the Linux experience is they may not be able to run all of the Windows software they are accustomed to. The good news is there are alternatives. Most desktop Linux distributions include LibreOffice, which includes direct replacements for most Microsoft apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.). Of course, one can also access Microsoft Office Web apps from any browser. Other frequently bundled software includes Web browsers, usually Firefox or Chromium (the open source basis for Chrome, Edge and other browsers) as well as email clients like Thunderbird. Other needed software is readily available, usually for free, from a built-in app store.
The bottom line to all this is that, as I have been saying for years, desktop Linux offers tools that are more than adequate for most basic functionality including Web browsing, emailing, office productivity, and even editing and curating photos and other media files. It's also a great way to extend the life of your hardware, helping you avoid contributing to the growing e-waste problem and perhaps saving you a few bucks while potentially polishing your geek street cred.
So if you're in the same boat I'm in with Windows 11, go ahead and enjoy Windows 10 while you can but begin considering whether Linux might be in your future.
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