- Windows 10 runs out of support in October 2025
- The new ‘End of 10’ project urges those who can’t get Windows 11 to shift over to Linux instead
- A clear case is laid out for Linux on an environmentally-friendly basis, and other strengths such as avoiding Microsoft’s adverts and telemetry
Windows 10 is not far from its End of Life, when Microsoft pulls the plug on support, and a new project has emerged pushing Linux as an alternative to upgrading to Windows 11.
The ‘End of 10’ initiative (as highlighted by Betanews) is squarely aimed at those with older PCs that don’t meet the system requirements for Windows 11, which are more stringent than Windows 10.
Devices which date back a while can easily be ruled out on the grounds of the processor being too old, or the TPM 2.0 security feature not being present (those are the two most common stumbling blocks).
The main thrust of ‘End of 10’ is offering an alternative to one of Microsoft’s commonly aired suggestions for those whose Windows 10 PC doesn’t qualify for Windows 11, which is to simply buy a new computer. The project argues that you can make your older PC “fast and secure again” simply by switching to Linux.
Linux is a platform of multiple operating systems – known informally as distros – built around the same core, but offering lots of (substantially) different variations. This project isn’t pushing any specific Linux distro; it’s just presenting the case that using any of them could be a viable way to keep your Windows 10 PC going if you can’t get Windows 11.
That case to keep any relatively old – from 2010 onwards – computer alive with Linux is built around a few key aspects.
Firstly, a core pillar here is the positive benefit for the environment. As the project website makes clear: “Production of a computer accounts for 75+% of carbon emissions over its lifecycle. Keeping a functioning device longer is a hugely effective way to reduce emissions.”
Secondly, we come to the argument that Linux has no adverts or spyware, in contrast to Microsoft’s promotional pushes that we’ve witnessed more regularly in Windows 11 of late. As for the spyware comment, that’s a dig at Microsoft’s telemetry – the data on Windows 11 users that it pipes back to its servers.
The project also makes the case that there’s a higher level of user control with Linux, as in you aren’t pushed to, say, upgrade to Windows 11 under threat of a deadline that pulls security updates out from under your feet if you don’t.
Linux is free, and the associated updates will remain free going forward. (Well, assuming your distro doesn’t dwindle and die, which is why it’s a good idea to pick one of the big names out of the best Linux distros).
What people might fear with Linux is that it’s a big change, and a leap into the unknown (assuming you’ve never used one of the distros before, and most people won’t have).
If you’ve been running Windows 10 for the past decade, or much of it, you’re pretty familiar with the OS, naturally, and Windows 11 isn’t much different. There’s no real learning curve there, and much of what is more radically altered is hidden under the bonnet of Windows 11.
Linux, though – well it’s a whole different way of working (and playing if you’re into games). Questions running through the minds of would-be Linux defectors may include “How do I install a Linux distro – and what if it goes wrong?”; “Can I use my software on it?”; and “Can I play all my games?”
This is where the project argues that community support via online forums is key, or indeed via local computer shops or repair cafes, and they may “often help you for free” in the latter case, we’re told.
The ‘End of 10’ project has a diverse collection of Linux enthusiasts behind it, and that includes folks who’ve worked on KDE and Gnome (which are desktop environments for Linux), as well as a representative from the Free Software Foundation Europe.
Analysis: how realistic is this advice on migrating to Linux?
As noted, shifting over to Linux is a big move, and we’re not that sure you’ll get help for free outside of online forums, as is part of the thrust of the ‘sales pitch’ here. I know people can’t easily get that sort of help in the UK, where I’m based, but a lot of the project seems to have its roots in other European countries, where the repair cafe culture is apparently quite different.
That said, there’s no doubting that the help you’ll get from enthusiasts on Linux forums will be plentiful. It’s a community that goes out of its way in this respect – truly – and this project itself shines a light on the extra miles Linux aficionados will go in terms of trying to spread the good word about the OS and its various distros.
I can’t, however, argue that for older PCs, which can’t have Windows 11 installed for hardware-related reasons – where even an upgrade isn’t feasible, due to the fact that you’d be pretty much replacing the entire guts of the computer – Linux should be a consideration to keep older hardware alive.
That looming scrapheap of PCs that we’ve been repeatedly warned about could become a very real – and literal – blot on the landscape, which is a serious problem that Microsoft has failed to meaningfully address.
Calls to ‘buy a new PC’ are hardly helping. And paying for Windows 10 support for another year, through to October 2026, is only kicking the can further down the road for consumers.
As to whether the less tech-savvy folks out there can realistically make this leap to Linux, sadly, I’m not sure. This isn’t just about the initial move – installing the Linux distro, and getting used to a different interface and desktop (plumping for a Windows-like distro will help, by the way) – but the realities as newcomers acclimatize to the world of Linux.
Those could range from hardware driver problems to your software not being compatible with Linux, and in particular thorny issues with games, such as anti-cheat systems chucking wrenches in the works. So, with online games (that invariably have anti-cheat), that can be a particular bugbear.
In some ways, this boils down to how much of an investment you’ve made in the Windows ecosystem – how many apps you’ve bought that aren’t going to play nice with Linux – and how much of a gamer you are, because Linux still isn’t ideal in that sphere.
That said, big strides have been taken in the latter respect, and if you’re not fussed about online gaming, it could be worth thinking about giving Linux a spin, as long as you’re not averse to having to do a bit more in the way of tinkering with your OS, and research online.
For many everyday users who are less tech-savvy, though, the hard reality of Linux is that it’ll still likely be too much of an uncomfortably steep incline to manage.
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