The article focuses a lot on the security of the boot process, but there's no reason the TPM can't be used for DRM as well (as an example, https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/5283799). It's correct when it points out the locked down nature of consoles and phones.

We could conceivably be in for a future where Windows refuses to run code that's not validated even after the OS boots. Or where it sees pirated software on the system and refuses to function in some manner until the software is removed/corrected to its liking.

There are so many possibilities here and all of them are bad.

• Forced online accounts so Microsoft always knows when/where you login
• Stored encryption keys so Microsoft could theoretically provide access to any computer the government requests
• Telemetry already reporting god only knows what metrics about what and how you use your software
• Forced AI that literally watches everything you do on your screen storing it in a known location making for a valuable target and also potentially/likely being used to create more telemetry and insights into your habits
• Eventual full control over your hardware by enforcing "trusted platform" restrictions

It's so fucking brazen I'm gobsmacked. As an elder Millennial, I get it, I can already hear most of you tallying in your head if having to care about your OS is gonna be the final straw . This is no longer a nerdy request to please use Linux, this is a five alarm fire. Add to all this how much Microsoft is in bed with the US government and potential issues with all that on the horizon and I really, truly believe it's time to switch, for your own good.

Please. Even if you're not going to run out and install Linux tomorrow, you need to start mentally preparing yourself for the inevitability of the task. Get yourself accustomed to the idea and when you're ready to dip your toes in, just know how many resources are out there for you.

And to the Linux community out there, there are going to be a lot of newcomers who don't have the technical skills to undertake this and enjoy/appreciate this in the same way as you do. Be kind to them, the need for us to support each other has never been greater. Please.

I can hear the ‘just use Linux/BSD/etc.’ crowd already clamoring in the comments, and will preface this by saying that although I use Linux and BSD on a nearly daily basis, I would not want to use it as my primary desktop system for too many reasons to go into here.

Still though.

🐧

what a bizare take to suggest hoping for ReactOS to mature before using Linux as daily driver. A lot of the current reactOS app compatibility depends on WINE implementation anyway.

Fucking Christ, you have choices people. If windows won’t meet your needs anymore, USE SOMETHING ELSE! Why do these people pretend there are no alternatives to windows?!

You can argue all you want about TPM and its 'security'. I ALWAYS thought that forcing users to use TPM 2+ hardware is planned obsolescence and nothing/no one will convince me otherwise.

The only thing affected users can and should do is to leave that PoS of an 'operating system'.

I had a Windows 10 laptop that has a CPU not supported by Windows 11. It’s not e-waste, though. It just runs Ubuntu now.

Install Linux already

yeah I'm over here trusting them to flood the scrap market with AM4 motherboards so I can build Linux machines

This is on top of potential tariffs which if enacted will make PC costs skyrocket. I feel like a lot of people are just going to skip the generation like they do with every other windows OS version. They will just keep windows 10 forever kinda like XP did back in the day.

Where’s Microsoft’s Chief Sustainability Officer on this one? Too busy looking the other way on Copilot’s massive energy usage?

Microsoft: BUT WE’RE THE MOST ECO CONSCIOUS COMPANY WE KNOW!!!

Debian user here. All people have a doorkey. Some people have an alarm system as well. Infosec is about ' what do you have and what do you know '. So in principle TPM is a defencible argument. You should absolutely bail from MS products for different reasons. Like privacy. Your PC isn't yours anymore. Your NPU will reduce THEIR costs. Etc.

Don't enter Linux thinking its a drop in replacement. Go slow and do 'ships in the night'. Move data over to the new ship. Start embracing OSS on windows, it'll be familiar when you finally bail. G luck.

It's not really a TPM problem, my Dell has TPM2.0 which is perfectly compatible with win11. My problem is the CPU (i5 6th gen) missing some stuff for modern device drivers or something, that is preventing me from upgrading win10 to win11.

Yes I dual boot MX Linux on it :)

I can't wait for the surge in cheap PCs available to buy and install Linux on. Please, Microsoft, lock down Windows more.

Because it's so hard to use Rufus and make a win 11 install that bypasses the tpm requirements.

I'm grateful to Microsoft for Windows 11 providing me a bunch of free machines to stick in my basement and put Linux on.

ROFL no. I once knew someone who got offered an upgrade from whatever to Windows 10, only for it to fail half way through because their CPU was some weird corner case that the OS thought it supported but when it was time to boot... didn't.

Also if you want to talk e-waste, look no further than Chromebooks.

Windows 11 has problems, this is hardly one of them.