Anyone still defending Microsoft at this point has cognitive dissonance and deserves what they get. Seriously people - just use Linux. And for the 1% of you that can’t get that 1% of your programs working in Linux - just dual boot.
You can download the Windows 11 ISO from Microsoft for free. There's a gajillon different ways to activate it for free, too. Most likely it will just activate itself, unless you built the PC.
But if you only need it to run some software, you don't even need to activate it.
If whatever programs you need don't require internet access and you aren't at risk of evil maid attacks then it hardly matters if win10 isn't secure. It definitely isn't ideal, but if the options are:
A) Do all your personal stuff on linux and only boot w10 when you have to, offline.
This is on anticheat software at this point. “1%” of us can’t play many of our favorite games without dual boot and there are nitpicks with that that suck ass too. VFIO only brings you so far.
Most people who are fed up with Microsofts crap simply don't buy a new computer anymore. They just do everything on an iPad (maybe pro) or similar without Windows. Gamers switch over to consoles, with Nintendo and Steam deck being preferred. Those things may run Linux like the Steam deck or another non Windows OS, but the user won't notice or care since they don't interact with it.
The time of the desktop and to a lesser extent the laptop has come and gone. It's only for enthusiasts and people at work. At work people probably just use the same couple of apps or even just a browser with a webapp and never really interact with the OS. If it's even a full computer and not a thin client connecting to a virtual desktop environment. People don't know or care about OSes. Maybe they'll bitch about Windows at times, but they bitch about a lot of things at work and they have no influence over any of it.
I think your right about waning support for desktop for general use, as in the "home" computer but saying gamers will switch to Nintendo or Steam Deck, not a chance in my opinion..the whole reason people game on PC is a varied story, for me personally I wanted to experience the best graphics at the time, what made me stick around is the realization that I can play any game I want from any console in history with any controller I want, I dont have to pay for internet, I don't have to worry about backwards compatiilty and I'm free to shop around for amazing deals on games.
Your right about the average family home not buying in but your wrong about "gamers" or more accurately any tech person just switching or dropping windows