Starting when Windows 3.1 was current until the implementation of Windows 10 I was in corporate IT, most of that time in the department of a very large company. Microsoft developers have changed things that didn’t need changing with every release of each operating system and each release of Office. One of my biggest peeves was changing the locations of commonly used configuration settings that everyday uses accessed regularly as well as system settings that technical people used. The function wasn’t changed; it just required learning the new locations by most Windows platform users with every release. There was never any benefit; just change for the sake of making it different. How many man-hours did that consume across every user in every company globally? Win11 is a whole separate gripe session! I don’t want a new computer. I cannot get a computer today that will have the features of my current Z-Book 17 laptop. It will accommodate an on-board pcie solid state hard drive and it has 2, 2.5” sata hard drive bays. The processor is an i7 quad core and it has an optical drive that I still use in every way that they can be used without apologies for it being “old technology.”
Never seem to hear anyone with Apple? And isn't there a 3rd operating system? We have dozens of burger places to go, beef or non beef!
I'm using Windows 10 across the board. No, I don't want a Linux desktop, except perhaps as an occasional plaything; my application environment is based on Windows. And Windows 10 does not crash on me regularly. It's quite stable. And since I only use the Pro version, I was able to turn off those automatic updates that destroyed work in progress via unwanted reboots. Like Unix and Linux, Windows is a primitive fat kernel OS that needs to reboot too often. But this is a serious question: What benefits, if any, are there to using Windows 11 vs. 10? Does it do anything for the user better than 10? I know it does more for Microsoft, by way of more intrusive telemetry. It sounds to me like a downgrade. Am I missing something?
I'm notably not a Windows fan, but must support it otherwise as a volunteer. I have vast and deep experience in Windows infrastructure. I will say this LOUDLY and without hesitation: Upgrade your stuff. There are fixes in those upgrades/patches/fixes for vulnerabilities that are active NOW and TODAY and may already be in your machine. It is reality, the way things actually ARE. Do NOT stare it in the face. There are bots ready to find your machine and ransomware it, today, this very minute. I'm not kidding. Patch your machine, or you're one of the irresponsible ones that will get blamed when all connected to your infected machine infects everyone else. I don't like it. No one does. It's like not upgrading your late model Kia; if you don't someone is going to steal your car and drive up everyone else's insurance rates. Please, just upgrade the damn thing. Microsoft Windows is full of holes. At least they patch it, now and then, sort of effectively. By not allowing updates/patches and fixes, you jeopardize all of us. Please. Thick or thin kernel is irrelevant to actual security. Please. Please. Please. The lunch they eat will be yours and you will be unhappy. Ask me how I know this. The answer will be: Listening to the sob story or the swearwords, or both. Then guys like me have to fix that mess because most people don't back up their stuff. OMG. OMG. OMG. 73 Tom W9YW
Windows 10 still get security updates and has an apparently reasonable antivirus built in. So security doesn't require going to Windows 11. And of course my home network is behind a decent firewall (MikroTik router, more professional than most home junk) and I don't click on unknown attachments. Hence this leaves the question open -- are there any reasons to go to 11, other than wanting to waste time (not something I have a lot of to spare) finding ways to make it usable again? I don't even know if my 20-year-old or so Soundblaster USB will still work in 11. Creative doesn't even ack its existence, but Windows 10 finds it automatically. It's perfect for FT8, even better than the Startech.
With the large number of Win10 machines out there that can't be "upgraded", I'm thinking that the support window will be pushed back. That has happened in the past but i can't remember if it was Win7 or Win8.1, I think Win 7. Beyond that, I'm going with Linux and a virtual machine for the programs that won't work, e.g., Log4OM and N1MM+. Getting tired of M$ and their endless money grab.
I use both. The short answers to your questions are "None" and "No". But I could say the same about Windows 7 vs Windows 10 or even Windows XP vs Windows 7. Too many product managers and too many coders with too much time on their hands. Microsoft passed the point of diminishing returns from Windows development about 20 years ago but hasn't admitted it.
I just started looking into 0patch, a company that distributes Windows patches, often without needing a reboot. They are likely to keep supporting Windows 10 after Microsoft limits support to its highest-tier paying customers.
My, admittedly subjective, belief is that W11 runs a bit faster than W10 on a given hardware platform - but there is not a lot in it. Martin G8FXC
I've been using desktop computers for more than 35 years and my experience is that in the long run there is no "upside" to delaying an upgrade process. Perhaps wait a few months for a new version of (OS, software app) to mature but beyond that, all you have in store is aggravation. There is a cost-benefit analysis. Major upgrades can also be hugely disruptive, but that is a one-off process. Also, despite my general dislike of Microsoft products, I have to admit that the upgrade processes have become easier and more automated. So that's good. The key software that I use in my desktop publishing business (Adobe Creative Cloud, Avid Sibelius) is sold on a subscription basis anyway. So it upgrades pretty much automatically, independent of OS. I am disappointed that so much hardware, including the PCs in our office, is not Win 11 compatible. So it's time to bite the bullet and upgrade the lot: hardware and OS, at the same time. We do this approximately every five years and it is now overdue. (Also, let's face it, nowadays the hardware is incredibly reasonably priced. The expense is your own time, not the equipment.) 73 de Martin, G3EDM
While I do upgrade some software, some "upgrades" are functional downgrades to me. What, I keep asking, does Windows 11 buy me that 10 doesn't? I know it buys Microsoft more telemetry and embedded advertising. And it buys me a headache to use third-party products to fix the broken UI. But is it an upgrade or just a change made to improve the vendor's profit margins? Other times an upgrade just breaks things because it doesn't take some edge conditions into account. My G90 only works with flrig 2.02 and 1.47. Later versions "improved" certain sensing functions. The serial line on my G90 is not clean, due to what I think are Chinese components not being in spec. The upgraded flrig doesn't handle the errors, nor does hamlib. And I've worked with both developers; it appears to be a defect in the long post-warranty radio, and I spoke to another vendor who has observed this repeatedly. So no upgrades there for me. Also, Office 365 is way buggier than Office 2010. And newer Adobe Readers are harder to use, though they devote more space to advertising Adobe's paid products (by default leaving way too little room for the actual viewer function). Fortunately they have an "old" layout option and I can manually close unwanted ad windows.
I agree! There are a number of things that can get worse, not better, after upgrading. My pet bugbears include the Windows interface, for instance the switch many years ago from the Multiple Document Interface to Single Document in many Win apps (but not all). All I was trying to say is that, on balance, not upgrading will eventually become counterproductive and cost more time and money overall. This is especially so if you run a business. 73 de Martin, G3EDM
That could be because of the Large Memory requirement for 11. Win 10 using 8 Gig of ram is fast enough for me. People are spoiled...
I'm talking like-for-like - the same PC before and after upgrading to W11. It just seems faster much of the time. Martin (G8FXC)
My experience is that upgrading a Windows OS to a new version almost always increases speed. IMO this is mostly because the upgrade process inevitably deletes a lot of the crud built up by years of using the previous version. It is not necessarily linked to inherent superiority in the new version. That, in itself, is a good reason to upgrade. In an ideal world PCs would not slow down over time. Indeed, Macs are much less prone to this effect. With PCs, after a few years it becomes nigh impossible to troubleshoot “slowness” problems and both easier and cheaper to upgrade. 73 de Martin, G3EDM
