Windows 11 arrives amidst shock horror headlines

[mikkh]

After stating Windows 10 would be the last version ever, with only upgrades to follow, it seems Microsoft have now changed their minds and announced Windows 11.

Doom and gloom headlines abound because they have raised the minimum requirements and apparently are restricting it to hardware (CPU wise) not much older than 5 years and ceasing support for Windows 10 in 2025.

The minimum requirements for Windows 10 were so laughably low and basically a big fat lie because there's no way it's a smooth experience on a 1 Ghz CPU and 2 GB of RAM - those are more the requirements for the older Windows 7. They are being a bit more honest with Windows 11 requirements, stating for the first time it will require a multicore CPU (they claimed a single core was good enough in previous releases) and will need at least 4 GB of RAM. The requirements they should have stipulated for Windows 10 basically.

One ridiculous spin off article congratulated Microsoft on increasing the amount of hardware that will now be heading to landfill. He's obviously never heard of Linux.
Any computer that was running Windows 10, but fails Windows 11 requirements will be fine running Linux.

Dell estimates there are 700 million PC's out there that are 4 or more years old. Could be the start of the Linux revolution I've been waiting for ;o)

In the less dramatic headlines, the upgrade to 11 is going to be free - as it should be anyway, because nobody asked for it and it's clearly a ploy to sell newer hardware under the guise of better security and prettier desktops!

It won't be fully rolled out till the 3rd quarter, but I imagine there's a way of getting it now for the curious.

Don't be buying any early xmas presents with Windows 10 on them, they might not be good enough to upgrade to 11.

[elvis]

"Don't be buying any early Xmas presents with Windows 10 on them, they might not be good enough to upgrade to 11." Funny you should say that Mikkh I was thinking of getting a new Laptop, but now you have put this post up I think I will leave it and let them sort some new laptops out with Windows 11 as I am looking at next year anyway, and you have just saved me some cash thanks Mikkh.

[mikkh]

Glad to help, just make sure it has at least 8 GB RAM. Their minimum required (4 GB) basically means not enough to me.

16 GB is probably overkill, but if the price difference between an 8 GB laptop and a 16 GB one is not too much, then go for the 16.

[elvis]

H! Mikkh,

I was thinking (yes I sometimes do) One Trilobite, 8 to 16 gib of ram, !7 fore core depending on what's out there at the time, I will need a very good graphics card as I will be using it for Photo Editing I will be using windows for everything else.

I will be duel booting with Linux and Windows 11

What do you think anything missing?

Every thing I have written is subject to change.

Thanks

[mikkh]

Well I've just read an article from the laptopmag.com website entitled "best laptops for photo editing" and unsurprisingly they recommend spending up to 2 grand or more on most of them!

Probably a solid investment if it's your line of work, but a bit over the top for casual or part time use in that field.

What surprised me was that all but one come with 15.6 inch screens or less. Obviously all ultra high resolution, but I would have thought 17 inch or more would be quite a desirable option in that line of work.

I don't think a lot of thought has gone into it because most would sit quite comfortably in the best gaming laptop category too and only one appears to come with a stylus for freehand drawing, but I guess that's not a must have for just photo editing itself.

In case you're curious their top pick is the HP Spectre x360 15.6 (a 2 in 1 laptop or tablet machine with stylus) It will definitely support Windows 11 when it comes out.

To be fair any mid to high range laptop will support Windows 11, just avoid the budget ones that seem like a good buy but rarely ever are.

On Curry's/PCWorld they label the cheap laptops with 'everyday', 'light use' or 'social' but I'd call them barely adequate, junk or just plain rubbish.

For anyone looking for a cheap half decent laptop the LENOVO IdeaPad 5 looks a cut above the rest (speed wise) but is handicapped by a 14 inch screen and a tiny SSD - best sub £450 laptop I've seen so far scrolling through their list from low to high. Basic rule of thumb, if it's less than £400 it's not to going to be very good.

New winner for a few quid more is the HP 15s-eq1510sa (currently £500 with £50 off) Can't believe I'm still seeing chromebooks as I reach the £600 ones, definitely not worth buying.

Scrolling through the £600-800 ones I'm amazed I've only seen one with a 1 TB SSD so far, granted 512 GB is becoming commonplace on these more expensive machines, but we're talking quite a serious purchase now and I would expect to see 1 TB SSD as standard, especially as a 1 TB SSD is relatively cheap nowadays (well under £100 mostly and obviously much cheaper bought in bulk by the large companies)

Page 14 and I've finally seen one I consider good enough for heavy duty photo/video editing, well several, but we've hit the £900 mark now and you'd expect that.

As we reach £1000 and beyond, I haven't seen one that claims to be a gaming laptop yet, but I do see the bottom of the range HP Spectre x360 as recommended by laptopmag at £1100 (£100 off)
We've also reached Apple's cheaper laptops at this price point and while they're favoured by graphic and music professionals, they're an acquired taste and not for everyone.

Quick reversal and sort by most expensive.... £3000, ok I'm out of here!

[elvis]

H! Mikkh,

I have read your post on my post and it was interesting and i an keeping it in mind when i am browsing the computer sites.

I do not know what to do as on one hand I have the Money to buy one today and on the other hand would it be a wise move to buy today or even this year as next year i may be abil to get a better one for the same money.

As for Windows 11 I do not think I will be needing it as windows 10 will be around till 2025 but i may not be.

As for the size of the moniter I have a 32" moniter an i just plug it in to my laptop. (and they say size dose not mater)

As for the HP Spectre x360 i am thinking about it.

Thanks Mikkh

[alexham36]

My PC is rather old and has not Trusted Platform Module, nor could one be installed. So, my plan is to buy a new "box" with the latest motherboard and CPU, but without hard drives, monitor, keyboard and mouse. I would then install my SSDs with Windows 10 and continue using the "peripherals". That should put me in "capable of free update" situation and spare me the inconvenience of transferring personal files. I would appreciate a blessing of this plan or better suggestions. Also, will the free update continue to be available and for how long/

Many thanks,
Alex

[mikkh]

Microsoft are very paranoid about hardware changes in OEM licences, particularly the motherboard - OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer, it would be in a pre-built PC from the likes of Dell, HP, Lenovo etc but applies to almost any PC that came with Windows on it.
I don't know how that applies to upgrades from Windows 7, but I assume the OEM part (if it applies) gets transferred.

The other type of licence is full retail (for a hideous price) that usually would be on separate media (DVD mostly) to install yourself. This is not restricted in any way, hence the hefty price and you are free to make any type of hardware changes multiple times, as long as you only have one computer using the licence.

Basically your 'box' idea would only work if you're 100% sure it's a full retail version, otherwise it would be rejected as a different PC because of the motherboard change.
There is also a chance Windows will not reconfigure itself properly regardless of licensing issues and just fail to boot or simply crash and be unusable.

The free update to 11 will be avilable for at least a year. If they remember to switch it off, the free upgrade from 7/8 to 10 still works today, or did the last time I tried it about a month or so ago.

You'll probably have to extend the box idea to full base unit with hard drive and Windows 10 pre-installed.

[alexham36]

Thank you Mikkh for good advice. I shall go back to Power Computing in Bedford, who supplied my PC and ask them to install my SSD into the new "box" to test if it works. If it does not, then I will soldier on with Win10 until we see how others get round the problem. I am also running Linux Mate on a separate HD and Fossapup on a USB, so I am bulletproof and Microsoft can not do anything to me. In fact, if I am forced, I could get used to life without Windows and just use Linux.
Thanks again,
Alex

[mikkh]

As an IT tech I have to deal with Windows on a regular basis, but it's been many years since I've had it on my main PC - I just don't need it on a daily basis.

And I don't think most people do either when they break down what they actually use a PC for.

Number one use is obviously the internet/online in one guise or another and Linux can do that easily, mostly with exactly the same programs like Google Chrome, Skype, Spotify, Steam*, Qbittorent etc etc.

Second most popular use is probably printing things out, whether that's a photo or some kind of document, Linux has that covered too. A lot of people 'think' they need Microsoft Office, but unless you use it on a daily basis (mostly for work) they 'need' it more as a familiar program, rather than anything else and OpenOffice/LibreOffice is a more than adequate replacement and has the ability to read and write Microsoft Office files.

Linux has an Achille's heel though which is gaming, but that's not the fault of Linux which can run any games as well as Windows if a native (Linux) version exists, but therein lies the problem. It's a smaller user base and only a few titles get ported over. Open source games like Xonotic (a generic FPS much like the dozens of other FPS Unreal Tournament clones) are often slightly faster than the Windows version, so gaming on Linux is still possible, but with a smaller selection of games.

*Steam only supports about 80 games in the free to play section.

For us more mature users that isn't a problem though and little Facebook games work perfectly well in Linux.

From what I see on my travels fixing PC's, I reckon the vast majority could happily use Linux and still do the same things they're currently doing.

[mikkh]

Early estimates of a late Summer release have now been revised to nearer Christmas time. It could even be early next year, but I'm guessing they'll be pushing to get it ready in time for gift buying time.

Tech savvy people buying for themselves usually hold on till the January sales though.

[mikkh]

Hoist the flags, ring the bells, run round in giddy circles for today is the official rollout day for Windows 11 - hoorah!

Well that's what Microsoft want to hear anyway, but for most people it's just another rain sodden October day with nothing particularly spectacular happening.

While Windows 10 was a stark reminder to many that their old hardware was probably not up to the job anymore, at least it installed and ran, well limped along badly in a lot of cases.

Windows 11 is not so forgiving, it will not install on barely anything that is 3 or more years older because it will fail the compatibility tests in one way or another.
The most common will be the limited set of CPU's it officially supports. You can download 'PC Health Check' directly from Microsoft to ascertain whether you can run Windows 11 or not.

It also requires secure boot and TPM 2 (trusted platform module) to be enabled in the BIOS, which again limits it to fairly new hardware and increases the chances of it failing.

I've just run 'PC Health Check' on the only computer I've currently got Windows 10 installed on. It's 8 years old, so I knew it would fail but I was curious to see in what way(s)
No secure boot or TPM 2 - that was to be expected, both are features of a UEFI BIOS (only common in hardware about 5 years old or newer) It also failed the CPU test, but passed all the others.

With an SSD it runs Windows 10 perfectly adequately (and Linux much better of course) so I've still got till 2025 to sell it. And it shouldn't come as any surprise that a new version of Windows requires more resources than previously, because that's always been the case with every new version, but it seems to catch people out every time.

What makes me laugh is people asking me to upgrade their computers to the latest version of Windows because they believe it will speed up their hardware somehow! At the opposite end of the scale I get many requests from people buying new computers wanting to downgrade to the previous version of Windows - that's made me a lot of money over the years ;o)

I'm tempted to try Windows 11 on my main PC, which will definitely pass the compatibility tests.
And as an IT Tech I will need knowledge of it eventually, but I don't think it's going to be needed for quite a while.

[mikkh]

OK, so curiosity got the better of me and I've just spent a jolly few hours first installing Windows 10, then upgrading to Windows 11.

First impressions? Less cluttered layout and rounded edges certainly make it more visually appealing than the stark downright ugly Windows 10.

They've moved a few things around, which is par for the course for any new version of Windows, but it's basically Windows 10 in a pretty new dress.

I managed to skip the sign into your Microsoft account nonsense which gives a smoother more streamlined system, but bars you access to certain features - that I never wanted in the first place!

I notice a few things 'borrowed' from Linux which made me smile and the default central taskbar more often seen in Apple and some Linux desktops can easily be switched to it's more normal left position.

It uses about 3 GB of RAM to boot to the desktop, but seems to do it a bit quicker than Windows 10 (which takes 2 GB of RAM to get to the same place)

There are a number of apps that aren't actually there, but get downloaded when you first click the icons.

Early days, but I don't hate it so far. I will be going back to Linux once I've acquainted myself a bit more with this version of Windows though - that was always going to happen unless Microsoft pulled off some minor miracle.

Nice to keep ahead of the loop ;o)

[mikkh]

Day 4, uninstalled it and back to Linux. Thanks to the snapshot feature in MX Linux, I was back in business in 10 minutes
I toyed with the idea of making a backup of Windows 11 and should have really, but I knew it would take a considerable amount of time and wouldn't really benefit me unless I was selling this PC.

Bottom line, I could live with it if I had to, but it had enough minor annoyances for me to cheerfully wave it goodbye.
The final straw was trying to make the power options behave how I wanted them to. Microsoft seem to make a big assumption that the computer is a laptop and thus needs power saving features by default.

I watch a lot of Netflix, iPlayer etc on my PC because I have a nice big monitor and can't be bothered to switch rooms to watch a TV program. Obviously this means I'm not interacting with the PC for long periods and Windows tries to blank the screen, go into sleep mode or generally second guess me in some way. I've tweaked the options to what should work but still end up with a blank screen sooner or later.

Virtual desktops is one of the new ideas, something that has been in Linux for a decade or more - well done Microsoft for finally seeing the light! I don't find it that useful myself, but I can see it could be handy for some people who habitually have a lot of programs running at once. The promised Android apps integration is held over for a future upgrade, but is of zero interest to me and other iPhone/iPad users anyway.

It's still blind to Linux, even though some kind of compatibility was promised with Windows 10. If you put a Linux USB stick in Windows 11, it will claim it needs formatting and can't read it. You still need a third party program before it recognises a Linux file system, but Linux can (and always has been able to) happily read and write to Windows file systems.

Is it worth buying a new computer for if your current one doesn't support it?
Probably not for most, there is support till 2025 for Windows 10 after all. That's assuming you're running Windows 10 at a decent speed though. If you're limping along, you've got two choices. 1) install Linux and get a new computer (speed wise) that way, or 2) bite the bullet and get a new machine.