this post was submitted on 17 Mar 2025
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In a nutshell: As Microsoft prepares to end free security updates for Windows 10 in October, a significant challenge looms for charities that refurbish and distribute older computers to those in need. With an estimated 240 million PCs unable to meet the stringent hardware requirements for Windows 11, these organizations face a difficult decision: provide potentially insecure Windows 10 systems, send them to e-waste recyclers, or explore alternative operating systems like Linux.

Microsoft's requirements for Windows 11 include a 1GHz or faster CPU with at least two cores, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, Secure Boot capability, and TPM 2.0 compatibility. However, the supported Intel CPU list only goes back to 8th Gen chips, introduced in 2017, while the AMD list includes Ryzen 2000 series and above.

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[–] [email protected] 44 points 1 month ago (2 children)

However, Linux still lacks some popular applications, such as Microsoft Office and Slack, though alternatives are available.

Lol nice bait. Real talk though, just toss shortcuts to word.office.com, excel.office.com and outlook.office.com on the desktop and nobody will be any wiser

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago

Or use Libre Office which just does the same without costing you money or data.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Slack

??? Slack works just fine on Linux

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

Yeah there's a reason I didn't even call that one out and just called it a bait. It's in flathub, frequently featured in flathub, and in the same article they spoke with a nonprofit that stated they preload older computers with Linux Mint now, which has a graphical software center that covers both Flathub and the Ubuntu repos

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 month ago

Quality reporting right here

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I think it should be viewed as a trade-off. If you want cheaper refurbished PCs you'll have to tolerate adjusting to Linux. If you want to deal with Microsoft you'll have to pay for it: Licensing and new hardware and all.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

So, the question becomes: does a particular charity have a shortage of tech people working for them or a shortage of money? Which would be easier to get?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

mint, ubuntu, kde neon mabye... many more

[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 month ago (1 children)

IMHO each new version of Windows looks & feels different to the last anyway, so most (general users) wouldn't know the difference - they just need a web browser an email client and an office suite.

That 1 Windows-only program they use is probably not compatible with the next version of Windows too

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago (1 children)

That 1 Windows-only program they use is probably not compatible with the next version of Windows too

No it probably is, Microsoft puts a ton of effort into backwards compatibility

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

Yeah a lot of problems with Windows can actually be explained by some kind of backwards compatibility lol

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